The Ultimate Autumn Bucket List + Free Printable!

This time last year I wrote about my Autumn favourites.  I struggled to write the post because I have so many favourite things about Autumn.  For me, Autumn signifies the start of Christmas.  Christmas in our family is more than just one day…it’s a build up where we try to enjoy everything about the season, starting with Autumn and all the fun things that brings.  I hate the thought that Christmas is all just about opening presents and eating a big dinner, it’s so much more than that to us.  The countdown started on Saturday when it was officially 100 sleeps until Christmas.  We traditionally play The Pogues –  Fairytale of New York and start making our plans for the upcoming festivities!  It helps that there are lots of birthdays in the Autumn, including mine, Harry’s and Phoebe’s and then with Halloween and Bonfire night it gives us plenty to get excited about.  So this year, in order to plan things properly I thought I would put together my Ultimate Autumn Bucket List!

1. Decorate the front door/porch for Autumn

   I love the beautiful Autumn wreathes you can buy at this time of year and will be definitely be finding one for my front door.  Homesense and TK Maxx have a great variety of them as well as some gorgeous ones on Amazon.  I would love to make my own, but with this long list of things to get through I’m not sure I’ll have the time!

2. Leaf Crafts

   I remember when my Mum used to look after the children whilst I was at work she would always take them out to find some colourful leaves and make an Autumn picture.  We will definitely be doing something similar this year and Pinterest has so many wonderful ideas for Autumn crafts.

3. Autumn Photography

   There is no doubt that this time of year is perfect for getting some amazing family snaps.  I haven’t dug out my DSLR for ages so definitely want to make sure we get out among the trees and get some pictures of us all together.

   

4. Make a fresh apple pie

   I’m sorry to say I’m a pretty lazy baker and when it comes to puddings I generally resort to good old Aunt Bessie!  So this Autumn I’m determined to make at least one fresh apple pie…I even found some apple pie seasoning in Aldi so I’ve got no excuse.  It would be doubly great to pick the apples too…but one step at a time!

5. Pumpkin picking

   We always buy pumpkins for decorating at Halloween but I usually just get them from Tesco.  This year we’re going to definitely pick our own.  There are pumpkin patches up and down the country and they often put on activities for children in the run up to Halloween.  The children are off school in the week running up to Halloween so one day will be spent scouring a pumpkin patch for the BEST pumpkins we can find!

   

6. Go for an Autumn walk

   I reckon we could probably team this with number 3 but getting outside in the crisp fresh air and kicking up the leaves is one of my favourite things about this time of year.  Wooly scarves and hats are a must and we’ve already dug out our warm boots.  Family time is precious especially when lives are so ridiculously busy.  Sometimes you have to stop, put everything else to one side, and take time to enjoy a day together in the sunshine.

7. Buy Autumn candles

   I can pretty much tick this one off the list already! I still have one of my Bath and Bodyworks candles from last year but recently made a trip to B&M stores and stocked up on some of their gorgeous scented candles.  We have Pumpkin waffles, Marshmallow Fireside and Fresh Baked Cookies and OMG they make the house smell incredible!  I doubt they will last long so I’ll be off to get some more before long!

   

8. Go on a Halloween Pumpkin Hunt

   For the last few years we have got together with friends and visited Castle Ashby Gardens for their annual Pumpkin Hunt and it never disappoints!  A great opportunity to get the kids running around in the fresh air and lots of fun activities to keep them busy.  Check out your local pumpkin hunt, they are so much fun!

   

9. Go to the sea

   Back in the Summer I wrote a post about the lure of the sea and how much I felt like I needed to make a trip to the seaside – I find it so calming and grounding.  Annoyingly we never made it over the Summer, it’s just such a long drive and for one day it’s really just too far.  I was determined that we would at least get to the sea before the year is out though and we are very excited to be visiting Andrew’s family in North Devon over my birthday weekend in October and I cannot wait to see the sea!

10. Put up some Autumn printables

    I try to change some of our prints throughout the year to match the seasons.  I have previously made some of my own and am tempted to do the same for some Autumn printables.  However, there are so many amazing ones to choose from!  Check out my Autumn Pinterest Board and my Printables Board for some brilliant ideas on how to decorate your home for the cost of some photo printer paper!  Incidentally, Poundland do a pack of 10 photo printer papers for just £1!

11. Watch a Halloween movie

    I am a little embarrassed to say I have never watched a Halloween movie!  I’m all over the Christmas films but Halloween seems to have bypassed me!  So this year we’ll hunker down one night and stick on one of the greats – Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare before Christmas come to mind!

12. Trick or Treating

    This is a favourite activity for 31st October and we were so impressed with the efforts our neighbours made last year and the kids had such a brilliant time!  The previous year was our first month in our new house and we were the only family trick or treating in our neighbourhood and the children were so disappointed that nobody else had made an effort.  We were pretty spoilt where we used to live because everyone properly went to town with decorating their houses and we have hosted some great parties too over the years.  We’ll definitely be out and about again this year and I will put on one of my special Halloween teas too!

    

13. Decorate Pumpkins

    Well Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween if we didn’t decorate pumpkins and I certainly couldn’t leave this activity off my Autumn Bucket List!  I reckon we’ve got pretty good at it over the years! Not that we’re competitive or anything!!

    

    

14. Toast pumpkin seeds

    Every year I promise myself I will do something with all the gunk that we scrape out of the pumpkins!  However, as I mentioned earlier, I am a lazy baker and it always ends up going in the bin which I know is criminal!  So I thought I would set myself an achievable task and try toasting the pumpkin seeds.  We all like to eat pumpkin seeds and they will make a handy tasty snack – I reckon I’ve got a jar or two lying around to keep them in!

15. Make a fabric pumpkin

    My friends and I have a running joke when we visit craft fairs.  We always see lovely things that we refuse to spend money on as we think we could make them ourselves.  The problem is, we never do!  I saw some gorgeous fabric pumpkins online that I was so close to buying then found a few tutorials showing how easy to make them.  So the challenge is on!  If I ever tick this off the list I will post the instructions and some pics on here!

And that’s it!  Phew, we had better get cracking cos that’s a pretty long list of activities that are going to keep us super busy over the coming months.  I’ve put made my list into printable form so you can use it for your own family’s Autumn activities.  You can download it here.

Autumn Bucket List Free Printable!

Enjoy these cosy Autumn months and let me know if there are any extra things you would put onto your Autumn bucket list.

 

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