Put away your swimsuits and get out your flannels, it’s finally time to start dreaming of crisp autumn mornings and cozy fall nights. No matter how you feel about the change of the seasons, fall is a wonderful time to create some cozy family memories. Here are 75 ideas for ways to enjoy the season alongside your friends and families.
Visit a pumpkin patch
Take in a haunted house or (haunted!) hayride
Bake a spice cake
Jump in a pile of leaves
Wear flannel
Eat cider doughnuts
Swap out bedding and throw blankets for peak autumn coziness
Bring soup to a neighbor or someone who needs soup
Roast marshmallows
Hang twinkle lights
Read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (and then make a leaf man of your own)
Donate food to a micropantry
Get a pile of cozy books from the library
Snuggle under a warm blanket
Admire a woolly bear caterpillar
Complete a puzzle
Watch a football game
Attend an oktoberfest or a fall festival
Make a dip in the crockpot
Eat some candy corn
Clean your gutters and check your furnaces
Take a foliage-themed road trip
Make caramel apples
Read a spooky book or two
Go on a flashlight walk the first week it’s dark early
Do a leaf rubbing
Throw a Halloween party or a Friendsgiving
Start a gratitude practice in November (like a Thankful Turkey)
Make a fall playlist
Listen to an audiobook as a family
Enjoy a firepit or bonfire
Go stargazing on a chilly evening
Have an autumn picnic
Launder and prep hats, coats, gloves and scarves
Install a bat house or a bird feeder
Fly a kite
Carve a pumpkin for The Carillon
Take a family bike ride
Walk or run a 5K
Roast pumpkin seeds
Watch a Halloween movie
Make a pinecone bird feeder
Learn a new card game
Slice apples for apple stamps
Host a chili cookoff
Go on a hike
Light a fall candle
Get lost in a corn maze
Visit a local indie bookstore
Make an apple-themed dessert
Store your outdoor cushions and clean your grill
Go on a weekend getaway
Stay in pajamas all day
Dance to the “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett and the Cryptkeepers
Make homemade oozy slime or cinnamon-scented Play-Doh
Bake some cookies
Build a haunted house out of blocks or LEGOs
Choose a Halloween costume (or make your own)
Decorate your porch for fall
Prioritize rest and self-care before the clocks change
Make cinnamon rolls
Go apple picking
Simmer some homemade stovetop potpourri
Have an apple taste test to compare crunchiness and juiciness
Read a spooky, nostalgic book (remember Goosebumps?)
Watch the sun set
Schedule your flu shots
Visit the Old Capitol Farmers Market
Make trail mix
Drink tea, cocoa, or hot apple cider
Try a fall sport
Learn how to make stovetop popcorn
Pick up mums or your favorite fall plants at the nursery
Set up no-phone zones and/or times of day
Enjoy the people that you love and the time that you have together this fall
This article appears in 2026 Fall Guide.
