HERE IS A LIST OF MY BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
I created a list of 10 budget friendly fall activities to help you save money. Most of these activities that I found are free or really cheap to do. You can use some of these ideas to go on a date with your child or grandchild.
Do you love fall as much as I do? Having the fall breeze blow across my face and smelling campfires excites me! Does your family enjoy doing outside activities during the fall? I know mine does so that is why I created a list of cost-effective fall activities for you and your family to enjoy.
All it takes is some creativity on your part. Take a look at what I put together for you and your family! Enjoy!
OUTSIDE MOVIE NIGHT IS ONE OF MY COST-EFFECTIVE FALL ACTIVITIES
We all love watching movies. Try taking the movies outside to create new memories for the kids to enjoy. How about creating a comfy surrounding outside by placing big blankets and pillows on the ground. You might need some lounge chairs for the adults.
Place the television on a table outside. If you have a projector, you can put up a white sheet outside and project the movie on it. Wait until it is really dark outside so you can see the movie clearly.
MAKE SURE YOU PURCHASE THE SNACKS
Next, purchase boxed movie candy from the Dollar Store. Then, pop some popcorn to give your kids the ultimate movie theater feeling and smell.
You will have the experience of a theater without the expense. My kids love doing this with their friends. Their friends talked about this for a long time and they are always asking when can we do it again.
Let your kids or grandkids have input on what movie they want to watch so it can include the whole family. I really enjoyed doing this activity with them too!
COOKING OR BAKING TOGETHER IS ANOTHER ONE OF MY BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
You need to create memories with your kids or grandkids by cooking or baking with them. Have them watch you make the grocery list by pulling out the recipes and writing them down.
Then, have them walk with you around the kitchen to mark off items that you already have. This way they will see that you don’t always have to purchase every ingredient if you already have those ingredients.
Go to the grocery store together to show them how to get the items and how much they cost. Use a calculator to show them that things cost even when you do stay at home activities.
You could even take it a step further and give them money to purchase the items themselves. I would give them a little more money than what things cost and tell them that if they have any money left over then they can use it how they like. (No more than $2.00 over).
Once you get home with the items, pull out the recipe and start baking. Try using some family recipes to pass down to your kids. Those can be a family legacy! This is definitely one of my budget friendly fall activities.
GOING TO THE ZOO IS MY FAVORITE OUT OF ALL OF THE BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
What kid doesn’t like the zoo? I know your thinking, “How can this be a cheap outing?” Well, what would you say if I told you that it can be a free vacation?
All you have to do is go to your local library and rent a Zoo DVD. Check it out, take it home, watch it and then return it. Once you return it they will give you 2 adult and 2 children zoo tickets.
One downfall is that so many people check it out that it might not be available when you need it. The tickets do have an expiration date of 14 days after you receive them.
Make sure that you don’t rent the DVD until the last minute because you only have 2 weeks until they expire. See if you can reserve the DVD on a certain date.
If your kids or grandkids love animals then this is the perfect outing for your family. You might have to rent a hotel room or travel in one day if you don’t live far from a zoo.
ATTENDING FREE CHURCH EVENTS IS ALWAYS FUN
Go to church fall event. A lot of churches have fall festivals. Also, if you live near a major college, the college students may have trick-or-treating events.
Some places do trunk-or-treat. This is where they decorate their trunks and give out candy. The concept is instead of going house to house, they go trunk to trunk.
FIRST FRIDAY IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
See if your city has First Friday. A lot of times they will have events for kids there. Check out your local Facebook for your town and see what they provide.
Our town has Scare on the Square and Deck the Halls for Christmas. They provide Chili cook offs and other vendors are there. We fill our belly up with chili and then we vote on which chili is the best. A free meal is chalked up to a win-win for me!
Other activities they provide are jumps and rides for the kids. They have costume competitions and trick-or-treating is provided by local companies. Older kids get to go through the haunted house. First Friday is a big deal around here.
This is one of my kids favorite budget friendly fall activities.
HAVE A HALLOWEEN PARTY
Have a Halloween party at your house. Make sure the parents stay and bring a snack. My friend Claudia used to have pumpkin carving competitions.
She had each child bring their own pumpkin and carving utensils. The parents and children worked together to carve out their pumpkins. Parents drew the face while their kids would carve on top of the drawing.
They turned out really cute. Claudia had small prizes for each winner. She voted for the scariest, funniest, happiest, silliest, most fat, most skinny, tallest, shortest, etc…
We would all eat then the kids would run around and have fun! Come up with your own version of a Halloween party. You could have Halloween games for the kids (Bob for apples). See who can bring the most creative dessert and judge that too! Have fun with it.
LOCAL FARMS IS ANOTHER ONE OF MY FUN BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
Find a local farm that has fall activities for families. Many have a corn maze, hay rides, cornbox (like a sandbox), a playgound and a jump house. Our kids love going to ours!
They usually don’t cost that much and only have these activities around Halloween. Ours gives us a small pumpkin per person to take home.
ROASTING MARSHMALLOWS IS A CLASSIC WAY OF CONTINUING THE BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
We have a homemade firepit in our backyard. A tree fell and left a big hole. My husband burned the stump where the tree was and it created a man made firepit.
You can purchase an above ground pit or create your own with stones. Look on Pinterest to see how to make one. We roast marshmallows at night and sit around the fire to relax. Try roasting pecans around the fire and eating them.
These are such good memories with our kids. We talk about the day without getting interrupted.
GO ON A PICNIC TO KEEP UP THE FAMILY TRADITION
Our family tradition is to go on a picnic. We have them at parks and in our backyard. Have the kids help make your food or grab a bite on the way.
Either way is fine because it’s about the company you keep not the food that make the memories. We go on nature walks or on the playground. Your kids or grandkids just want to spend time with you.
SUPPORT LOCAL PLAYS
Attend local plays at schools and performance art places. We like to support local activities.
Most plays don’t cost much and are age appropriate. Call your performance art center, college art center and high schools to see what performance is coming up.
Some plays are geared more for adults while others are for kids. I enjoy the kid plays just as much. Give it a try.
PICK YOUR FAVORITE BUDGET FRIENDLY FALL ACTIVITIES
Which activity sounds like one of your favorite out of the budget friendly fall activities? Mine is outside movie night and going to the zoo.
Either way, you are spending time with your family and making memories. These are great activities to do in the fall. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. If you have any fall family traditions, let us know in the comments below!
I referred to this in one of my earlier post “Is your child struggling to learn”? It talks about how video games create the startle effect which creates Cortisol in the body. Too much Cortisol for a long period of time creates stress on the body.
We as parents need to know the signs!
Did you know that screaming at your child can cause their Cortisol level to elevate? As long as you are not yelling all day, the affects won’t last long. It’s when a child is being yelled at a lot that it affects their prefrontal cortex.
Three major biochemicals are released when a body is in stress. They are Adrenaline, Cortisol and Norepinephrine. It makes their body go into fight or flight mode. Everyone goes through that some time or another, but it is not healthy to stay in that mode.
My Story on why this became
my mission to help parents.
I was in a situation where my stress level (Cortisol) was up from being around people who yelled. It eventually caused me to have an autoimmune disease. Realizing this, I did research to see if it was true.
It was compelling to find the link between my situation and how Cortisol levels affected my health. Every time I found myself stressed out, I could physically feel my Cortisol level go up. This needed to change.
If yelling affected me in this way, then I needed to know how it affected our children. I did some research and came across an article that talked about how yelling can be a drug-like fix where the brain gets a buzz from the Cortisol. You can read more on this from this Blocked to Brilliant article.
High cortisol levels can lead to anxiety, stress, fatigue and more.
There is a correlation between elevated Cortisol and blood sugar imbalance. Children are gaining weight and it’s not entirely because of bad eating habits. It can be contributed to high levels of Cortisol. Knowing this is the key to healing.
– Kim Fowler
Awesome news
You can help change the levels of your child’s Cortisol!
1. Less Exposure to Stress
Be aware of how much stress (Cortisol) your child is exposed to on a daily basis. Some stress if okay, as long as it is not long term. If they are stressed out about something, talk to them, or have them talk to someone they are comfortable with.
2. Control their diet
The way your child eats can affect your child’s hormonal imbalance. This is where we see anxiety attacks, insomnia, mood swings and weight gain. There is a great book that explains how to heal your gut. The book is called, “Cooking for Hormone Balance” by Magdalena Wszelaki.
3. Teach them to relax
This is where I go to my happy thoughts. I sit still in a quiet place to calm down. You can have them visualize their favorite place (Ex: the pool) with their eyes closed. Remind them of the sounds, smells, taste, feel and things they see. Mine is the beach. I think of feeling the sun on my skin and putting my feet in the sand, hearing the waves crash, birds chirping and wind in my ear. I taste the salt water and I see my kids swimming, laughing and having fun. Have a plan in place for which thought they can have if they get stressed out. Demonstrate it for them.
4. Light exercise
Your child isn’t going to go to the gym. Go out as a family and kick a ball around, go for a walk at the park or go to a playground. Enjoy nature. Getting out in the sun for some Vitamin D is good along with spending time together. Moving around is healthy for the soul and body!
5. Make a plan for your family
Do some research yourself. Once I decide what action plan that I am going to use, then I write it on a piece of paper. Write down the most important actions first (How to make our morning less stressful, visualizations to do for my child when is stressed out, healthy menus, exercises for ya’ll to do and a plan for you when you are stressed to help control yelling), Let me show you what I mean. The night before I lay out clothes, make our lunches and lay shoes out to make our morning easier. I make a meal plan for the week on Saturday. These meals are healthy to improve my hormone balance. Then I find time that our family can spend outdoor time together (swimming). A walk with my teenager gives us time to talk about what is bothering her and come up with a plan. In the evening, if my child’s day was stressful, I message her back (not long) and walk her through visualizations of her happy thoughts..
USE YOUR CALENDAR TO SCHEDULE
I lay out my calendar and write in the important things for the month. EX: I schedule when we will spend family time together, whether it is fun or exercising. For instance every Monday and Wednesday can be for exercising and Thursday and Saturday can be for family fun. Just don’t overload your schedule because that causes stress.
Then schedule your doctor appointments. Next, fill in when to meal plan and go shopping. After this, schedule time for you then schedule time for you and your husband. Taking time to fill yourself up (activities that you love or relaxing) will give you the energy to fill others up and let go of stress. Yoga seems to do this for me.
Now that the important things are filled in, see if there is time for anything else (volunteering, etc.) Looking at your calendar after everything is filled in, will show you how busy you are. Too much busyness causes unnecessary stress. In today’s time, our kids are in a lot of sports. Maybe they can only do one sport at a time. This can free up your calendar if you do this. Get your own calendar out and try this. Maybe you can carve out something in your schedule to help you out. If you need help, let me know in the comment below. I would love to hear from you. Enjoy!
Are you trying to find new fun ways of getting your family close again? Noticing that our family was always on the internet and we were becoming disconnected to each other. We decided that we had to change that one step at a time. You need ways to keep your family connected.
My husband came up with a brilliant idea! He said we needed to have game night along with finger foods. We needed to make memories along with cultivating our relationships. It started off simple with a game and a food. Then we became fancy and made our foods start with the same letter as our game or food and games of the same origin (Hispanic game with Hispanic food). The kids were included in the decision making and it became fun. Here is our list suggestion if you want to give it a try.
GAMES TO TRY
Uno – Nachos
Clue – Chicken fingers
Rummikub – Ranch Wings
Sorry – Soup or Sandwiches
Mexican Train – Mexican Lasagna
Bingo – Baked Potato
Monopoly – Meatballs
Twister – Tacos
Life – Loaded Tator Tots
Balderdash – Beef Quesadilla
Spoons – Sausage Pizza
Pictionary – Pigs in the Blanket
Dominoes – Dumplings
Scattergories – Salad
Boggle – Burgers
Bring the games outside. We like to play bad mitten, corn hole, ball toss and games like that outside
EXTRA THINGS TO TRY
Another thing we do is to volunteer as a family. Your local soup kitchen is good for most ages of kids. If you don’t want to do that one, then ask around for a good place to volunteer. So many places need help. This will show your kids how fortunate they are and they should appreciate what they have more.
My husband and youngest daughter enjoy having a song off. Rodney will play two of his favorite songs and my daughter will judge those songs. In return she will play two songs and he will rate those songs. They laugh a lot when they play this game.
We do a lot of laughing during these games and become more connected as a family. Pick one day a week to keep your family connected. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to make your child feel special. Sit down together and choose which games fit your family best. Try to find games that are age appropriate for all family members if possible.
I would love to hear your ideas. You can share your ideas in the comment down below. Have fun with it and get creative.
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About me
Hey, I am Kim the founder of Brain on the Go. I am so glad that I am talking to you! You came across my website for a reason and the common denominator is that our kids are struggling to learn. My passion is to work with you to help your child learn while they are moving. Let’s do this together!
