101 Cheap & Free Fun Things To Do This Fall – 2016 Version
- Visit a pumpkin patch
- Carve a pumpkin
- Paint a pumpkin
- Enter a pumpkin carving contest
- Roast pumpkin seeds
- Go through a corn maze
- Drink apple cider
- Go to a Fall festival/fair. My church has one every year. It’s fairly inexpensive. Only things that cost money are ride tickets and food.
- Window shop at Halloween stores to get some of your own ideas for making decor and costumes. Also, it’s fun to see what’s popular this year for Halloween. For instance, this year Spirit is selling Trump and Clinton toilet paper!
- Apple picking
- Collect pinecones, acorns, fall leaves and corn stalks for Fall decor
- Make Fall art out of leaves
- DIY Fall decor. See my previous blog post about 60 cheap DIY fall decor ideas
- DIY Fall crafts with kids
- Make your own Halloween costume. Here are some ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/goodwillwm/diy-halloween-costumes/
- Go to Goodwill’s Halloween department. The costumes there are new, but at least 35% less than Spirit Halloween’s prices and you can get used costumes there for even less. Check out this board for some ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/goodwillvalleys/halloween-costume-ideas-at-goodwill/
- Enter a costume contest
- Watch Halloween movies – My favs: Hocus Pocus, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ghostbusters, Double, Double Toil and Trouble, The Adams Family, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
- Watch scary movies
- Make candy apples
- Go to a haunted house. Not the expensive theme park ones, but a local haunted house. The ones here only charge $5-$10 per person.
- Burn Fall candles or fragrances. Try a new pumpkin or apple candle.
- Make your own fall potpourri http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/11/how-to-make-your-house-smell-amazing-during-the-holidays/
- Make a fall wreath
- Go for a hayride
- Make halloween cookies. Here are some easy & affordable cookie ideas: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g3676/easy-halloween-cookie-recipes/
- Go camping if you have the equipment or if it’s too cold go indoor camping
- Make an apple pie
- Bob for apples
- Make a pumpkin dessert (cake, rolls. cupcakes, etc). Check out this Pinterest board for some ideas: https://www.pinterest.com/allrecipes/pumpkin-recipes/
- Make your own pumpkin latte. Save money by making homemade pumpkin lattes that are just as good as Starbucks, but a lot less money. https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/homemade-pumpkin-spice-latte/.
Tip: you can also add a tablespoon of pumpkin puree for a more creamy pumpkin taste. - Go trick or treating
- Have a Halloween party. It doesn’t have to be expensive. You can make it a potluck or find inexpensive party decor ideas/recipes.
- Try hard apple cider or pumpkin beer
- Hike in the woods
- Have a cup of hot cocoa
- Read a Halloween book to your kids (You can borrow these at your local library. See my previous post for more free things that libraries offer )
- Read a Halloween magazine
- Plant some mums
- Play in the leaves
- Take a nature walk
- Have a bonfire
- Make s’mores
- Take a scenic drive through the fall foliage
- Play a fall game – https://www.pinterest.com/explore/fall-games/
- Make treat bags for Halloween trick or treaters with cheap things like $1 packs of pencils, spider rings, small candies, etc.
- Go to a Farmers Market. Support local farmers and take advantage of the bountiful harvest this season.
- Watch a football game
- Tailgate and bring some chili
- Drink chai tea
- Eat Boo Berries or Count Chocula
- Make a Halloween playlist/soundtrack for trick or treaters. My favorites songs to add to my playlist are Thriller, Monster Mash and Harry Potter music.
- Make chili, soup or another crockpot meal
- Eat kettle corn or caramel popcorn
- Check out Goodwill’s Halloween decor
- Eat candy
- Make a pumpkin breakfast item like pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or donut
- Scare someone! BOOO!!
- Visit a haunted place in your area or take a ghost tour (some tours can be expensive though so check prices first)
- Sit by the fire and sip a warm fall drink
- Celebrate Octoberfest with german food and beer
- Attend a craft fair
- Make caramel apple sangria – http://www.anightowlblog.com/2014/09/caramel-apple-sangria.html/?m
- Visit or tour a farm. Here in Florida, we have a lot of orange grove tours with samples and lunch included for under $15. A good way to support farmers and learn more about farming.
- Make a scarecrow. http://thequeso.com/how-to-make-a-scarecrow-without-involving-any-money-or-actual-skill/
- Get winter clothes at Goodwill – sweaters, long sleeve shirts and boots
- Host a potluck Thanksgiving
- Make gravestone and leaf rubbings
- Rake leaves and then stuff them into a pumpkin leaf bag
- Use a Fall or Halloween wallpaper on your phone and social media sites
- Tell ghost stories
- Have a Ghost Adventures or Ghost Hunters marathon
- Make apple or pumpkin butter
- Watch the harvest moon
- Dress up like a zombie and go to a zombie crawl (small admissions or donation fee)
- Make or buy your dog a costume and go to a Halloween dog parade. Goodwill sells dog costumes for $1.49.
- Celebrate Day of the Dead. Here in Florida, there are many parades and celebrations.
- Get free pancakes from iHop the day before Halloween (12 or younger)!
- Make luminaries with paper bags. My grandmother used to do this every Halloween when I was a little kid. You can decorate the bags and make cut out designs. It’s fun for kids.
See this site for some luminary ideas. http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/60064/30-halloween-luminaries-light-night - Open your windows to enjoy the crisp, cool air
- Make dinner inside a pumpkin “bowl”.
Example: http://www.crisco.com/recipes/creamy-pumpkin-soup-in-pumpkin-bowls-2095 (most of the ingredients are things you probably already have on hand) - Go antiquing for Fall decor ideas. Avoid the boutique type antique stores and go for the antique malls or even flea market antique stores — you are more likely to find better prices there. https://www.pinterest.com/explore/vintage-fall-decor/
- Get a free donut at Krispy Kreme when you arrive in costume on Halloween.
- Make a mask with free printable – http://mrprintables.com/printable-halloween-masks.html
- Print some halloween coloring pages out for your kids. http://www.raisingourkids.com/coloring-pages/holiday/halloween/
- Halloween ComicFest – participating comic book specialty shops across North America celebrate the Halloween season by giving away comic books free to anyone who comes into their shops. It takes place on October 29th.
- Stock up on Halloween candy after Halloween, when it goes on sale
- Have a picnic in a park and enjoy the fall colors. Bring a thermos of a warm drink and some pumpkin treats!
- Donate canned goods or volunteer for thanksgiving food drives
- Play a murder mystery game. My town has several different companies to choose from and it doesn’t cost too much if you go through Groupon or you could make your own and invite friends!
- Drink mulled wine
- Have Halloween Oreos
- Make a Halloween Tree from Dollar Tree stuff (small pot for vase & paint halloween colors, small knickknacks like spiders, bats, glittery halloween branches, black roses, etc).
- Eat candy corn
- Read a scary story or book. Steven King, Edgar Allen Poe, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
- Make homemade applesauce
- Create a Fall bucket list of your own. Choose the top 10 things you want to do this Fall! Download my free Fall Bucket List printable
- Have a Harry Potter movie marathon and make butter beer and pumpkin pasties http://wizardingworldpark.com/butterbeer-recipes/ and http://www.browniebites.net/pumpkin-pasties-from-harry-potter/
- Make your own Halloween cards
- Have a bake sale and sell Halloween and Fall desserts like apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread… there’s so many options!
- Take family photos in the fall foliage.
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