Lori Lori is a work-at-home mom of three living in Noblesville, Indiana.

Cooler temperatures haven’t hit yet, but when they arrive the fall fun can begin. We’ve really enjoyed developing our fall family traditions over the last few years. I want my kids to always have things to look forward to while they’re young – and as they age, they can reflect on these times on with fondness. Hey, maybe they will even carry on some of our traditions with their own families some day. There are so many fun fall-related traditions and things to love about the season. Here I’ll share some of our favorite family fall traditions:

Family Family Fall Traditions

We visit the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch is so fun for kids of all ages. We enjoy the hayride that takes us to select our very own pumpkin. We also like to see the farm animals and, overall, the experience is fun and kid-friendly. Of course, that leads to the tradition of carving pumpkins as well. We haven’t done that yet, so this year will be a first for that tradition!

We make fun fall treats.

One of my favorite fall treats is to peel a banana and put on chocolate chip eyes and a chocolate chip mouth to create a “Boo”-nana ghost. Another treat is a peeled cutie orange with a celery stalk on top so it looks like a pumpkin. It’s a cute, simple and healthy Halloween-themed snack for the kids. I saw these ideas on Facebook a few years ago, so I’m uncertain where they originated, but they’re pretty darn cute!

We watch fun Halloween movies.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent my fall enjoying the wonderful “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” I absolutely love the movie, and it is a flick I’ll always encourage my children to enjoy. Hopefully when the years of Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers and the Halloween movies take over, they’ll still have a few minutes to watch Charlie Brown hiding out in the pumpkin patch hoping to spot the Great Pumpkin.

We donate to needy families.  

We do this year-round, but especially this time of year I find great pleasure in making donations to those families who really need warm clothes in the winter. We have lots of things around our home that we’ve outgrown that are in great shape. So pretty frequently, I’ll make sure we move clothes out of our home and off to help someone who needs them more than us! We also buy toiletries and other items for local food shelters. It’s so important to me to teach our children to help others and not to place a high focus on material items.

We watch football!  

I know this is a tradition that will become more pronounced as the years go by: Many of our Sunday afternoons in the fall are spent watching the Indianapolis Colts kick some butt! We also eat fun snacks from meatballs to oatmeal banana muffins during the games, and I think this is a way to enjoy many fall afternoons for years to come.

Your fall family traditions don’t have to be complicated. Simple traditions are great, too.  It’s never too late to find fall kids crafts or other activities you will love doing with your children.  Turn the fun into family fall traditions and let the memory making begin!

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Category: Family Free Time

Tags: autumn