The fall months are full of opportunities for a family to spend time together and a little planning can ensure that both kids and parents alike will have fun doing it, according to Care.com. The changing season means that the air will be cooler, leaves are changing, and many local organizations will have fall festivals and parades to celebrate. To make the most of the mild weather, outdoor activities should be a top priority and an entire day can be planned around a nature hike, picnic, and visiting an apple orchard to pick fruit, bake apple chips, and taste apple cider.
Everyone can grab an assortment of leaves, acorns, and other fall foliage while exploring the outdoors to bring inside for crafts. Leaves can be used for rubbings and pressing into photo albums, pinecones can decorate a kitchen table centerpiece, and acorns can have little faces painted on them and glued to a poster along with hand-print turkeys. Later on, sticks can be used around a fire pit or campfire to make s'mores while the family tells stories and spends time together under the stars and away from smartphones and television.
In the kitchen, everyone can get involved with making amazing treats using seasonal ingredients. Apples from the orchard can be used to create a hot crock-pot applesauce or dipped for candied or caramel apples. Meanwhile, fresh berries can be baked into a crisp, and those with an ice cream maker can use pumpkin puree as a base for pumpkin ice cream. Even without special ingredients or hardware, decorating sugar cookies with fall themes is messy fun on a budget.
