Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! Need some ideas to enjoy the season without breaking the bank? I’ve put together a mix of fun, practical, and budget friendly fall activities!
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1. Have a bonfire
This might be my favorite fall activity. Sweatshirt weather is my absolute favorite, and adding in a bonfire can make for a perfect night. If you have a fire pit, this can be a good chance to burn some brush or old cardboard instead of throwing it away. Invite some friends over, make some smores, and enjoy the nice weather!
2. Rake some leaves
This is more practical than fun, but jumping in leaf piles can still be fun as an adult! Grab a rake and start working on your yard. Not only will you be glad your yard gets cleaned up, but you can make it fun by inviting some friends or playing with your pets in the leaves.
3. Have a fall movie night
There are SO MANY great fall and Halloween movies. This is a really easy and inexpensive activity — it’ll just cost the price of snacks and drinks. You can even split that with all your friends. An even more fun idea is to rent or borrow a projector, and watch the movies outside somewhere!
4. Carve a Pumpkin
You can never be too old to carve a pumpkin! Walmart sells pumpkins, so this is a really cheap activity. This will be especially fun if you do it with friends (and maybe some drinks after the carving!)
I always carve at least one pumpkin, but since we are expecting to have some trick-or-treaters this year for Halloween, I might do a few more! There are a ton of awesome jack-o-lantern ideas online.
5. Visit a corn maze
Corn mazes can be a ton of fun with a group of friends. I have wanted to go to a corn maze for several years now and just haven’t gotten around to it. I think this year I’m going to get some of my friends together to go to our local one. There is even one near us that has wine and beer stations throughout the maze!
6. Visit a pumpkin patch
You can definitely just go to the store to pick out a pumpkin, but going to a pumpkin patch can add a layer of fun! This is usually a pretty inexpensive activity and can be a lot of fun. A lot of little farmers markets and farms sell pumpkins in the fall, along with cider, kettle corn, and caramel apples (plus other goodies!) If you have something like this near you, it’s definitely worth checking out! It might be hard to stay away from buying everything, but it’ll make for a really fun seasonal afternoon — plus you can support a local business.
7. Decorate your house for fall
I cannot wait to decorate for fall! Check out Pinterest for some great budget and DIY fall decoration ideas that you can try out. The dollar store also usually has some great fall decor you can modify, as well as the Target dollar spot! You can also decorate your porch for fall just by adding a few pumpkins and a mum or two!
I’m planning on trying to make a DIY wreath this year, and hopefully finding a few other fun crafts to try! I’m also planning on getting some pumpkins and decorating my pet room for fall as well. This activity can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.
8. Go hiking in a local park
Hiking in cool fall weather with a backdrop of changing leaves just sounds amazing to me. Plus it’s free! Grab some friends and find a nice local park to spend an afternoon exploring!
There is a nearby park where we live that is really neat because it used to be a quarry; the water is always cool colors because it’s so deep. I love walking around this park in the fall because the color contrast is really beautiful.
9. Bake a pumpkin pie
I am a pretty bad cook most of the time, but I am going to try and make my first pumpkin pie this year! I love pumpkin pie and I usually only get it at Thanksgiving. Fall is time for pumpkin everything, so check out Pinterest for a great Pumpkin pie recipe, and see how you do!
10. Have a fall photoshoot
This is another free activity that can be a lot of fun. Grab a couple of friends and your phone and find a fun location with great colorful trees in the background! You can take turns taking photos with each other and have fun messing around with poses and playing in the leaves! We used to do this in college and it was always a lot of fun — and we usually got some great photos!
11. Get your yard and house ready for winter
This is definitely more of a practical activity than a fun one, but it can be really important. Raking leaves, trimming plants, planting bulbs, and putting away outdoor furniture can keep your yard looking nice.
I am going to be planting bulbs for tulips and hyacinths this fall. These flowers will come up in the spring and add some color to our yard. We will also be putting all our outdoor furniture away in one of our sheds so it’ll last longer.
12. Find a fall fair or festival to check out
Even though there are fairs all summer long, I love looking into festivals in the fall. Junk food, apple cider, and sweatshirt weather all make for a great festival atmosphere in my book.
In my boyfriend’s hometown, there is a festival every year to celebrate it’s founding. It’s something I enjoy because there is always outdoor music, a quilt show, and a parade. Even if we don’t see all of those things, I just enjoy being outside enjoying the awesome weather.
13. Take a drive to look at the leaves
This is probably my favorite fall activity. The best part of fall is the amazing colors that backdrop everything when the leaves start to change. I enjoy this part of the fall as long as I can.
An inexpensive fall activity I love is just taking a drive around in the country to enjoy the colors and the sunshine. We have access to a lot of gravel roads where we live, so I’m looking forward to taking advantage of those this year and driving through the country.
14. Go apple picking
I’ve never actually done this, but I really want to! I see signs all the time in the fall for places where you can pick your own apples. This would be a lot of fun with friends or as a date idea. It doesn’t cost very much and would definitely get me in the fall mood!
15. Go on a hayride
This can sometimes be more of a Halloween activity, but it still happens in the fall! This can be super fun if you invite some friends. Even more fun if you can find a haunted hayride! A lot of pumpkin patches have hayrides you can go on.
I love doing this because it reminds me of the farm we used to go to when I was a kid. We’d take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, pick out our pumpkins, and then get apple cider when we got back. Plus the hayride was “haunted” and it was always a lot of fun!
Do you have any frugal activity ideas you’re going to try out this fall? I would love to hear some more ideas!
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