Whew. September is over already. It just flew by for us. Now we enter that crazy hectic fall/winter holiday season. YIKES! September is always so busy but it seems it just gets even harder from this point on to find time for some family togetherness. It’s not impossible though, especially with these ideas for 15 Minutes of Family Fun in October!
These ideas for 15 minutes of family fun in October are quite simple and don’t require a lot (or any) special equipment. They’re inexpensive and focus on spending time together – which is what’s most important after all!
And remember, family fun doesn’t have to take much time. Other related lessons? Fun doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be fun.
Indoor Activities:
Fall related ideas:
If you haven’t done so already, come up with a fall bucket list of fun activities to do.
Make some simple bird feeders together for the birds staying behind. Even just the old classic – pine cones covered in peanut butter and rolled in birdseed are quick and easy to do!
Make a crown of fallen leaves.
Use some of the leaves you find outside and make some pretty leaf rubbings.
Make pictures out of leaves. Turn them into people, animals, whatever you can think of!
Thanksgiving Related Ideas:
For those of us in Canada, this month is Thanksgiving! Get the kids to start making the classic hand print turkeys. If you have the time over the course of the next couple weeks, they could even make one for each of your guests to take home.
You could also give the kids some paper place mats and let them color Thanksgiving-themed pictures on each. Or how about place cards for each of your guests? There are lots of ways to add simple personal touches to your holiday dinner.
Pull out your summer photographs and start putting them together into a scrapbook. Add drawings and journal entries. If you break this down into 15 minute segments, this could be an ongoing project throughout October. Or just spend some time reminiscing – you could even come up with ideas for next year! <<< Make a connection to Thanksgiving by talking about the things you were grateful for about your summer together!
Halloween Related Ideas:
Brainstorm ideas for Halloween costumes. If you’re looking for some easy no-sew costume ideas (perfect for last minute!), check out this post.
Plan a Halloween party (even just a little pre-trick-or-treating get-together!). Start gathering up ideas. You might like to check out these posts:
8 Ideas for Throwing a Halloween Get-Together
Spooktacular Halloween Party Recipes
Make a list of Halloween movies you want to watch for family movie nights this month. What are the must watch movies for your family?
You can start making Halloween crafts and decorations too. How about these coffee filter bats or these spider suckers (perfect to start making now and hand out to trick-or-treaters)? These glitter candy corn brooches are super easy to make and just adorable!
For older kids you might want to try these:
Create a Halloween witch out of an apple! It only takes about 15 minutes or less to get the face carved and then it needs to dry out over the course of several days or weeks so start early!
Paper quilling is easier than it looks. These Halloween bat earrings are a great beginner project.
Grab some pony beads and make some adorable Halloween beadie buddies. They are great to give to friends as gifts or to hang from backpacks!
Outdoor Activities:
Gather up leaves for some of the indoor activities we’ve suggested!
Have dinner in the backyard as an autumn picnic. You could even head to the park instead.
Go bird watching and check out all the birds heading south for the winter.
Rake up the fallen leaves and jump into the pile.
Take a walk around the neighborhood and look for signs of fall – leaves changing colors, animals preparing for winter, and so on. How many can your family find?
What are your favorite fall activities?
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