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Fall for our family (and in the Pacific Northwest) is the time of year we return to the inside of our homes for longer periods of time. It’s still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors, but there is something so fun about returning to the indoor craft projects, cooking/baking in the kitchen, and playing games throughout the home. All things we have purposefully left alone for a season of outdoor everything. Just as heading outdoors for warmer days is exciting in May, returning mostly indoors in late September is also exciting. To get the ideas and inspiration flowing for the coming Fall season we have 18 insanely fun fall activities you can use as you spend time with your grandkids! From crafts to snacks and games, we’ve got the fun fall activities covered.
Fun Fall Crafts
Owl Ornaments
My granddaughters are really into sparkly things and glue right now. LOTS of glue. They love to race through a craft, not to get it done, but to make many slightly different versions of the same thing!
If you have grandkids in the early childhood range and this sounds familiar to you, these owl ornaments would be a perfect addition to your Fall crafts. All you need is glue!
Popsicle Foxes
I’ve mentioned this before, but my grandkids will see a fox run by their house and down the road a few times a month around this time of year.
Glued to My Crafts has this Popsicle Fox craft that older grandkids would find enjoyable if they love to get creative! They could be used as decor, gifts, etc. after they are done.
Leaf Foxes
Any craft that uses googly eyes is a craft up my alley and these are so simple! Enjoy going on a hunt (although you may not have to look very hard) for a variety of leaves and then turn them into a family of foxes.
I’ve seen all different sizes of eyes used which is what makes each fox unique. Using oversized eyes or even drawing and cutting out your own from the cardstock is a simple way to make them silly too!
Easy Peasy and Fun even added a little bit of paint to the leaves to make them more realistic.
Leaf Rubbings
This craft is timeless. Did you gather leaves and make these drawings as a kid? I sure did! It’s one of the most simple crafts out there and yet there is something so satisfying about watching the leaf details show up on your page as you rub over it with crayons.
This idea from Melissa and Doug is a great way to make the leaf gathering a little more “official”. It looks like they don’t sell the crayons anymore but you could easily create the same experience with a small notebook and any box of jumbo crayons.
This one is a must on our list this year as my granddaughter LOVES gathering and collecting evidence imagining she is a scientist.
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Leaf Lanterns
I can’t believe how classy these look and yet how simple to make! I especially appreciate the variety of sizes and use of different leaf shapes. This is a great project for older grandkids and it would be one to display for weeks afterward. Hallmark has you covered on this one.
Scribble Lanterns
If you think the leaf lanterns are a bit too involved for your grandkids then these may be the perfect solution. No pressure to color inside the lines on this one! It would also be great scissor practice to cut all the lines during assembly. Visit A Place Like This for the full tutorial.
Fall Fabric Wreath
If you have teenage or college-age grandkids hang on to this one!
My grands are young, but I think this is so cute I might just do this project from A Beautiful Mess with my daughter after she puts the kids to bed.
All you need is fabric strips, a wire hanger, and ribbon. It’s a great way to use up a bunch of fabric scraps from previous sewing projects. I personally don’t have many scraps in these colors so I will probably purchase some from the clearance section.
This is one of those craft projects when you turn on a movie and just enjoy the process of a repetitive motion and it doesn’t require too much thinking.
If you have a college-age grandchild this would be a fun way to add some Fall fun to their dorm room or apartment when they probably don’t have many decorations. If you have time, you could even ask for their opinion on fabric if you plan to purchase so that it fits their style.
Autumn Hedgehog
Last but not least, the cutest hedgehog you ever did see. Verywell family gathered a variety of crafts and this one is toward the bottom of the page. Grab your glue, gather some leaves and you are well on your way to layering up this adorable autumn hedgehog.
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Fun Fall Games
Okay, while I could craft all day, I also love playing games and so do my grandkids. Here are some great games you could add to your Fall bucket list.
Elephant March
Supplies: 10 plastic cups, 2 tennis balls, 2 pantyhose, and 10 apples.
Our family finds renditions of this game to be absolutely hilarious. Choose two players and set 5 cups top-side down on the floor in front of each player. Set an apple on the top (or I guess that would be the bottom) of each cup. Put a tennis ball inside the leg of the pantyhose and then put the pantyhose on their head. Each player must move their head around and try to swing the tennis ball in the pantyhose to knock over the apples from the cups, leaving the cups standing. If you have a large gathering, this could be played tournament style and if there are only enough supplies for one person it could be a race against the clock rather than a two-player battle. For my younger grandkids, we will replace the apples with lighter objects so they are a little easier to knock off the cups.
Oreo Face
Supplies: Orange filled Oreos or other cookies
Place an orange-filled Oreo (or other cookies) on your forehead. Using only your face, move the Oreo from your forehead to your mouth and enjoy a treat! If the Oreo falls or you touch it with your hands you must start all over.
Pumpkin Hunt
Supplies: Small pumpkins or images of pumpkins
This game from My Tuesday Therapy is basically a Fall version of an Easter egg hunt. Gather small pumpkins or photos of pumpkins and hide them all over your house (inside or outside). Encourage your grandkids to go and find the pumpkins! You could play many variations, such as who can find the most within a certain time frame. Prizes or no prizes, this one is sure to have the grandkids excited.
Leaf Blower
Supplies: leaves and straws
Gather a bunch of leaves and place one leaf in front of each grandchild. Designate a starting and finish line. Encourage them to use a straw to blow the leaf across the space and over the finish line. The first one done, wins!
Fall BINGO
Supplies: BINGO boards, pull cards, and place markers
Fall BINGO is a great game for those of you (like me) who are long-distance grandparents! Simply set your FaceTime date and play virtually. We’ve done it many times and just keep adding more themed BINGO boards to our collection.
Apple Apple Pumpkin
Supplies: Nothing
This one is for the grandparents of kids in their early childhood years! It’s amazing after all this time that Duck, duck, goose might still be the toddler game of choice every day. Let’s just “Fall” it up a bit and play Apple, Apple, Pumpkin.
Fun Fall Snacks
Kids love to spend time helping in the kitchen and these are snacks they can help you assemble. These snacks are great for Fall and also nutritional so they’re sure to be parent-approved! As always, make sure to check in with your grown kids first on the food that will be served while you’re with your grandkids if there’s anything new.
Apple Donuts
Supplies: Apples, Cream cheese, food dye, sprinkles
These are absolutely adorable! Follow the instructions from Hello Wonderful to make these stinking cute apple donut snacks. We recommend giving it that “Fall” feel by swapping out the bright neon colors for harvest colors such as orange, red, and yellow. Anything my grandkids can put sprinkles on is sure to be a hit!
Owl Rice Cakes
Supplies: rice cakes, peanut butter, cheerios, bananas, blueberries, apples, and cantaloupe.
My granddaughter and I made these a couple of years ago and I just had to add them here because she had so much fun making them and she ate most of them too! I showed her a picture of what the owl treats look like and she just went for it. It was really fun for both of us. It’s not very often she gets to get creative by playing with her food! Visit A Few Shortcuts for a full tutorial.
Orange Pumpkins
Supplies: oranges and celery
This one couldn’t get any easier. Simply peel the orange, cut the celery into a 2-3 inch chunks and stick them into the top of the orange. It will look like the stem of a pumpkin!
Turkey Pretzels
Supplies: pretzels, Hershey’s kisses, orange & yellow M&Ms, candy corn, and candy eyes
Hallecake describes how to make these turkey pretzels perfectly!Although they may not fall into the “healthy” category we had to add these in.
I love how cute and funny they look and anything with simple assembly is great for kids. They could make one or lots of them depending on how much they enjoy the process. Either is okay! They will enjoy eating them for sure.
Whether you have many reasons such as football games or other events to gather multi-generationally, or its a simple grandma and granddchild FaceTime date there are many fun fall activities you can take advantage of here. Enjoy another season of connecting with your grandkids!