Sometimes, all I want to do is forget all my worries and celebrate the season. I don’t want to think about work or the stressors that come with life, I just want to stop and smell the roses pumpkins. But of course, that can get pretty expensive. With everything requiring a purchase or an entry fee, it can get a little discouraging trying to find some budget-friendly fall activities.
This is especially true when you are trying to entertain a child. You want to give your children all the autumnal experiences possible, but when you are trying to save money, it can become difficult.
Can you believe that my local pumpkin patch was charging 18 dollars just to get in? And then you had to pay for each activity separately and to take home a pumpkin. It seems like you have to pay for everything now.
But that just means you have to get a little creative with your planning. There are so many budget-friendly fall activities out there, with the added bonus of being COVID friendly. You can still take time to enjoy the season around you, without spending a fortune.
Also, if you are looking for other ways to save money this fall, check out this post! I include some helpful hints to save the most money this autumn season.
With today being the last day of October, and the last day we can celebrate Halloween until next year, I wanted to include both autumnal and Halloween-themed activities. That way those who are still holding on to Halloween have something, and those over the holiday can focus on fall as a whole.
Budget-Friendly Fall Activities
1. Leaf Peeping
As someone who lives in an area that doesn’t experience the changing seasons of fall, I have always wanted to do this.
Imagine, you are with your friends or family, grabbing a warm pumpkin spiced latté, and taking a walk through a park, hiking trail, or forest, simply enjoying the changing leaves around you.
One of the most common pieces of mental health advice has to do with getting outside, connecting with nature, and taking a walk. There is a reason for this. Spending time outdoors is so beneficial in clearing the mind and connecting with something real, instead of worrying about money and work, two made-up concepts.
Just don’t forget to bundle up. As the days get shorter, the weather will get cooler. It won’t be fun looking at leaves if you can’t stop shivering.
2. Fall Movie Marathon
If you have taken a look around my blog this month, you will know that I am a huge fan of fall films and TV series. As an introvert, I love getting to spend time with myself, or with a couple of friends, and watching something scary or spooky.
If you are looking for some recommendations, here is a list of a few posts I created this month?
- Slasher Movies
- Mystery Series
- Paranormal Movies
- Spooky Series
- Hulu Halloween Series
- Prime Video Halloween Series
The beauty of this is, you probably have everything you need for a movie marathon already at home. But if you don’t, it isn’t too expensive to head to a retailer like Walmart and pick up some cheap candy, chips, drinks, and other snacks to enjoy while watching your autumnal entertainment.
3. Carving Pumpkins
This may sound like a strictly Halloween activity, but there is certainly no limit to when you can carve pumpkins. You can even make it geared more towards fall by carving fall leaves or nature designs into your gourd.
The best part of carving pumpkins after Halloween? There are some fantastic sales on pumpkins. Although they are already cheap, they get even cheaper after Halloween, when grocery stores are trying to get rid of all their leftover inventory.
Even better? I have 5 free pumpkin carving templates, which you can find here! What’s better than free? I also include some helpful hints to carve the perfect pumpkin and a recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds!
4. Coloring and Activity Pages
This one is geared more towards younger kids, but let’s be honest, I’m in my mid-twenties and I still love spending time coloring and doing crossword puzzles.
You can find so many resources online for fall and Halloween-themed coloring pages and activity sheets. Stay tuned at the bottom of this post and you will find some free fall activity pages that I am offering!
These are great ways to capture your child’s attention and get them to use their brains. it also gives parents a little break while the kid is focusing on their activity.
5. Board Game Night
Having a board game night is by far one of my favorite budget-friendly fall activities. I love nothing more than an activity that allows me to stay home in my comfy clothes.
My family owns a ridiculous amount of board games. We love to go to thrift stores, and it is so easy to find fun and strange board games for really cheap, only a couple of dollars.
This makes board games a lot of fun in my house. We spend time learning new and weird games that we found at the thrift store, and picked up on a whim. We have definitely played some boring games in our time.
Make it a whole evening by choosing something to cook, having dinner, and spending the rest of the time playing a game. Get competitive with it, the time will fly by!
And if you don’t feel like buying new games from a thrift store, use what you have. You can make a fantastic game night with even a pack of cards and something to bet with!
6. Making leaf prints
Another fun activity to do with kids is making leaf prints. I remember when I was young, in grade school, my class would take a trip outside, collect leaves, and create leaf prints. It was always so fun, and a fantastic way to connect with nature.
All you need for this is paper, some fall leaves, and coloring utensils. You can use crayons, colored pencils, or pastels. I don’t recommend anything with ink because it does not work as well.
To create a leaf print, place a leaf underneath a piece of paper, grab your coloring utensil, and draw all over the page. as you add color to the page, an imprint of the leaf will start emerging.
I remember doing this when my class started to learn about the changing of the seasons. It was a great way to introduce the subject and it makes children feel more connected with the outdoors.
Free Printable Fall Activities
Halloween Themed Word Search
Enjoy this free printable word search full of words related to Halloween.
Fall Themed Word Search
Enjoy this free printable word search with words relating to fall/autumn.
There is nothing better than enjoying the season while also saving money. This is why I love all of these budget-friendly fall activities. There are so many options for families to do that don’t require an exorbitant amount of money.
And there you have it, the end of October, and the end of blogtober. I am so proud of myself, for completeing another year of this blog event. It is hard work creating 31 posts in 31 days, so I will never undermine that accomplishment.
Now time for November, where I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month. Then December, when I am thinking about doing Blogmas. I really don’t give myself a break.
But anyway, thanks for stcking with me this month! It was fun.
