Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. My husband says I say that about every season, I just can’t help myself! I couldn’t be more excited that it’s finally here after a few of those hot spells, I genuinely am a Girl of The Four Seasons! Although, winter could be shortened by like three months, right? There are so many reasons that I love fall. It’s always the perfect weather for a pair of jeans and a cute sweater. I love cheering on our favorite football teams with our friends and family with a Wisconsin craft beer in hand and, oh, the cheese dip! Nothing quite like a family drive to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard, making up songs along the way, or getting lost on a favorite State Park trail for a treasure hunt. I never want it to end. But, just like summer, fall tends to go by way too fast. Each year I end up feeling like Christmas starts to creep up earlier than the year before and I don’t get to enjoy all the things fall that I intended, and in all actuality, winter doesn’t actually start until December 21st!
Here is a Family Fall Bucket List that I have compiled. We have started some and we are still on our journey to completing others before Old Man Winter comes bearing his breath. I wanted to create a Fall Bucket List so I can keep myself on track and accountable to be more “in the moment” making fall memories with my kiddos. I don’t want to let fall fly by and Christmas to take over!
1. Take a fall day to adventure all of the glorious apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Seems like there are more popping up every year. You could visit several in a day, all offer similar festivities, but no two are alike. Check out my picks of the season over at Live Northerly.
2. Decorate your home for fall, you can never have enough fall decor. Make homemade fall decor and a wreath.
3. Pick your own apples and make an apple recipe! Not only does it fill your home with warmth and smell delicious, the kids love making recipes with produce that they picked themselves. A few of our favorites are apple pie and apple bread!
Granny Brenda’s Apple Bread:
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/4 C milk
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C chopped apples
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda and powder, and salt and set aside
Mix together remaining ingredients
Add flour mix to wet ingredients
Place in sprayed loaf pan
Bake for about 50 minutes
4. Visit Halloween at the Henry Vilas Zoo on October 28th from 9:30 am-3 pm for trick or treating, a bouncy house, face painting, activity tent, and more!
5. Enjoy the 13 Days of Halloween Event at the Madison Children’s Museum. Visit Downtown Madison for several free Halloween events October 19th through October 31st. Black Earth Children’s Museum and the Madison Children’s Museum both have craft rooms to create fall crafts!
6. Hit the Wisconsin trails! We are so lucky to be surrounded by several State Parks right at our fingertips. The Driftless region of SW Wisconsin, Blue Mound State Park, and Governor Dodge are a few of our favorites. Whether you are biking or hiking, there is something to be said about the scenic views and fresh air. We love to make our trip into a scavenger hunt by finding the prettiest colored leaves on the ground to use for pressing. making leaf people or leaf turkeys, for painting or crafting at home, searching for caterpillars crawling and getting ready to form a cocoon for winter, acorns, singing birds, the ideas are endless!
7. Visit a local farmers’ market
8. Make these adorable and easy black Halloween sock cats! We had so much fun!
9. Have a bonfire and make s’mores! Most State Parks have fire pits for public use, so grab some plaid blankets and pack a picnic, or make hot dogs or s’mores over the fire! Our favorite location for a bonfire is at Brigham Park since the fire pits are quite large and the view goes on for miles!
10. Make one of my favorite delicious homemade soups with local produce.
11. Rake a pile of leaves and jump in them and take pictures!
12. Make homemade apple cider. You can buy all the store bought cider you want, it will never come close to the quality you get by making your own.
What you will need:
– 10 apples, quartered
– 3/4 C white sugar
– 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
– 1 tablespoon ground allspice
Directions:
Place apples in a large stockpot and add enough water cover by at least 2 inches. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cover pot, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.
Strain apple mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard solids. Drain cider again through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Refrigerate until cold.
You can also make this recipe in the crockpot
13. Paint and carve pumpkins.
14. Go to a fall festival.
15. With the days getting shorter, bundle up and have a fall picnic outdoors while watching the sunset. Fresh air always makes for a great night’s rest.
16. Have a Halloween cookie decorating party.
17. Go for a scenic drive.
18. Make a thankful tree out of your children’s handprints cut out.
19. Visit the petting zoo and haunted houses at Peck’s Farm Market East near Spring Green.
20. Most importantly, as always, be kind. Volunteer at your local food pantry or Humane Society, thank a farmer, or BOO and GOBBLE someone.
Happy Fall Friends ????
