Our favorite season of the year is here, and there's plenty to do in 3 short months! Enjoy WoodlandsMommy.com's "Bucket List" of activities to ensure you have the best fall yet:
1. Visit a pumpkin patch. (Use our list, found here.) Dress the kids in coordinating fall attire, snap adorable photos, and take home your favorite pumpkin finds. Use one or two to decorate your home or front doorstep, and don't forget to carve Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.
2. Purchase fresh produce from a farmers market. It's harvest season, and you're bound to find fresh fruit & veggie favorites, farm-fresh eggs, and handmade preserves and pickles at one of the many open-air farmers markets in our area.
3. Treat your family to a fall festival. Get ready to shop the markets, run through corn mazes, enjoy live music, and try your hand at ring toss. And if you're up for a drive, the Texas Renaissance Festival is an enjoyable themed event with costumed entertainers, fun performances, old-fashioned rides, delicious foods, unique shoppes, and more!
4. Decorate your home with fall flair. You don't have to be Joanna Gaines. Simple, thoughtful touches like fragrant candles, autumn-inspired throw pillows, floral arrangements of orange, red, and brown colors, and a few tasteful set pieces will provide a warm welcome to your fall guests.
5. Participate in fall crafts with the kids. Fall leaf lanterns, decorative wreaths, and pumpkin apple stamps are just a few ideas. Find a thousand more on Pinterest! For older kids and parents, consider a project that's even more ambitious such as sewing a quilt or building an outdoor fire pit.
6. Bake. Your oven begs you! We won't tell you what to bake, but by all means, bake something. Zucchini bread, banana nut bread, and pumpkin pies are great ideas to get your started. And find our favorite (it's delicious!!) blackberry-peach coffee cake recipe from Southern Living.
7. Set out on a nature walk. Enjoy the beauty of a cool autumn day with a leisurely stroll through one of the wooded parks in our area. Collect leaves, gather pine cones and nuts, hug trees, and look for animal homes. If you have an infant or toddler in a stroller, make nature walk a daily occurrence if possible.
8. Air out the house. Open all the windows and let in the crisp, cool air. Autumn is usually the best time of year to allow your home to breathe.
9. Take a fall foliage drive through the country side. As the trees come alive with color, it's time to take a drive through a more rural area to enjoy the scenery. A drive through areas of Montgomery, Magnolia (toward Plantersville), and Tomball (FM 2920 west) are a few routes to consider.
10. Love your neighbor. This isn't just one of the greatest Commandments, it's a definite bucket list item for the fall! Show love for an unsuspecting neighbor by surprising him/her with freshly baked goodies or a basket of fresh whole fruit and gourmet candies. Too busy? Tiff's Treats in Shenandoah can deliver warm, freshly baked cookies to your recipient.
11. Shop for boots. In Texas, we're all about our boots year-round, but it's fun to get a special pair at the beginning of fall. I personally like to shop at Marshall's for a variety of affordable, name-brand, fashionable options for the entire family.
12. Go Trick-or-Treating. If you celebrate Halloween, don't miss trick-or-treating. The Woodlands Township has a Trick or Treat Trail for 2024, and several other public treat-collecting events will take place in our area (keep your eyes on our Events Calendar, plus check our Halloween Fun list here). And at the very least, dress your child in costume on the actual night of Halloween, then trick-or-treat up and down your street before heading home to provide treats for other neighbors.
13. Have a party. You needn't call it a party, but a shindig, get-together, soiree, or any of those words will suffice. Just invite over friends and family, and plan to have a great time celebrating this fun season. Depending on your available space, budget, and guest list, festivities might include bonfire roasts, s'mores, finger foods (or a full spread for a dinner party), sack races in the backyard, and trivia games.
14. Indulge in your favorite autumn beverage. Hot chocolate? Apple cider? Pumpkin spice latte? Whatever it is, grab a seat on the back porch and enjoy your drink in solitude.
15. Take your family's Christmas photo. Yep, the time to take those beautiful photos of the kids donned in red and green is NOW. The Christmas cards will need to be mailed out in late fall, at the latest.
16. Watch a fall-inspired or spooky movie. For the kids, consider "Migration," "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," "The Addams Family," "Monsters, Inc." "Hotel Transylvania," and "Coraline." Then put them to sleep and cozy up with your honey to enjoy one of your old spooky favorites. "The Others" perhaps?
17. Go camping. If camping's not quite your style, consider "glamping" instead. Ditch the tent and rent a cabin (or even a lake house). But whatever you do, spend the night star-gazing, singing songs, and playing the harmonica. Maybe consider family-friendly camping at Space Center Houston or YMCA Camp Cullen!
18. Shop homemade. Fall is the best season for finding handmade / homemade treasures to adorn your home or for gift-giving. Strawberry preserves, crocheted scarves, peasant dresses, wooden toys, rag dolls, yard signs & the list goes on and on. Locate a local crafts fair, or do you shopping on Etsy.
19. Ride bikes. Take advantage of the 160 miles of hike & bike trails in The Woodlands, and get your pedaling on.
20. Read an engaging book. 'Tis the season for slowing down and enjoying life just a bit more deliberately. Delve into a passionate love story, a historical fiction tale, or a non-fiction book about organizing. Or try a classic story like The Hobbit! Reading good books make for an interesting escape from a mundane day.
21. Carve pumpkins. See #1.
22. Have a fall picnic. Pack a basket of roasted veggies, pumpkin soup, sliced sausages, and mini pies, and take your crew to the park for a midday picnic in the breeze.
23. Have fun at a farm. Few fall activities are more enjoyable than the seasonal fun to be had at the local farms in our area. From train and pony rides to petting zoos, amuseement places such as Oil Ranch, P-6 Farms, and 7 Acre Wood will keep your family busy and happy!
24. Attend a football game. You'll have so much fun sitting in the stands, cheering for the players on the field, watching the cheerleaders and drill team, and listening to the band at one of your local high school or college football games. Bring money for nachos!
25. Make fall treats. In addition to baking (see #6), you'll also want to indulge in other treats that are fun to make this time of year - chili, candied apples, s'mores, and funnel cakes, to name a few.
