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20 cozy fall activities + free bucket list!

9/10/2021

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Now when the days are getting shorter it's time to get cozy! Grab the free bucket list, choose your favorites from the list of fall activities, and make tons of nice memories this season!
Cup of hot chocolate, book, and fall leaves on breakfast tray on deck

After a hot summer it's easy to start looking forward to the cool crisp air of fall! The thought of cozy socks and sweaters, changing leaves, and curling up in blankets with a cup of hot chocolate is suddenly very appealing!

Time can go so fast (for real, where did the summer go??), so a good way to make sure you actually do all the things you had looked forward to is to make a fall bucket list! This way you can easily find things to do and get the dopamine rush of crossing things off. If you're a scrapbooking person you can also add photos of all your activities for a cute reminder of what you did. 

This year (and the last) we want to be as safe as we can during the pandemic, but luckily most of the best fall activities are easy to do at home or socially distanced! Keep reading for 20 super-cozy fall activities that will make you appreciate the season!
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20 cozy fall activities + free bucket list!

1. Have a picnic

Whether you go alone or with someone, set it up in your garden or go to a park, having a picnic is an awesome way to enjoy the outdoors if you're not up for something physically challenging. Pack up some sandwiches, brownies, and cider, maybe a book or a card game, and spend the sunny hours lounging in the grass. 

2. Go to an apple orchard

Spend an afternoon wandering an apple orchard and get fresh supplies for homemade pies, cider, and muffins. Bring a blanket to combo in a picnic in the same outing!

3. Make apple cider

Another fall drink to make is apple cider. It's really easy to make, and homemade is always so much better! If you put it in a thermos and take it on a hike it can keep you warm and cozy on the trail, too. Great way to use up all those apples from the orchard!

4. Have a blanket fort movie night

Steal all the pillows, blankets, and duvets from the house and make a blanket fort! I am positive that a movie night is infinitely superior in a pile of pillows. Put on your coziest pajamas, set up a tray of caramel popcorn and hot cider, and let the scary movie marathon begin!

5. Make a hot chocolate station

Okay there's a reason we put on weight in the winter lol, there are so many foods around. When I lived in Ireland they had this awesome cafe with the biggest cups of hot chocolate I've ever seen, filled with chocolate chips on the bottom and mini marshmallows floating on the top. You can set up a hot chocolate station with different toppings like peppermint, nuts, and whipped cream, and make a date night out of it. Maybe, for health reasons, we shouldn't eat these things all too often, but if you do it you do it right! ;) 
Two cups of hot chocolate on wooden table
​Photo by Rinck Content Studio

6. Make smore's over a fire

Whether you have a fireplace, a firepit, or go to a park with a fire ring, nothing says fall like bundling up in sweaters and blankets and making smore's over an open fire! Having some friends over to have a drink by the firepit as the sky gets dark is a great pandemic get-together too, as it's outside and you can social distance. 

7. Decorate a pumpkin

I haven't carved a pumpkin since childhood, but I enjoy painting them! If you're not too handy with a knife you can paint them black for Halloween or different shades of white, gray, and blue for general fall decor. The small ones are great for this!

8. Bake something

Fall is the perfect time to indulge in some yummy apple or pumpkin pies, apple zucchini muffins, and candy apples! As a plus, the house will smell amazing.

9. Go camping

When the heat of the summer is over, take advantage of the pleasant temperatures and go camping! Getting away from cars and neighbors and enjoying some quiet is amazing for your mental health. You can enjoy hiking or fishing, or just bring a cooler of good food and drinks and relax. 

10. Cozy up with a cup of tea and your favorite book

I tend to feel like I'm "wasting" my free time if I'm just watching TV, but switch that out to a book and BAM it's self-care center. ;) Reading enriches your mind, after all, and there's nothing cozier than curling up with some tea, candles, and re-reading your favorite book. 
  • Related article: Quick anxiety tip: Mint & lavender tea

12. Knit, crochet, or do needlepoint

Fall and winter are the optimal crafting seasons. Try your hand at knitting some mittens, crocheting a blanket (super easy!), or working on a needlepoint. My current project is a cross stitch fox, but my pride and joy is the Honeymoon Boat I worked on for THIRTEEN YEARS. Very on and off of course, but tell me something else that can give you thousands of hours of entertainment for $20!
Closeup of hand working on embroidery
​Photo by Benjamin White

11. Set up a relaxing/music corner

I listen to music all the time, but I miss just listening to music. We finally got our hand-me-down speakers fixed, so I have set up the record player in the library among all the flower pots next to the reading chair, so I've been embracing my inner hipster and just hang out there and listen to the records I've found at Halfprice Books. Of course you can just listen to your phone, but setting up a little space just for relaxing, meditating, and reading will make a real difference! 

13. Get out your fall clothes

You know what I'm talking about -- your cozy knitted socks and sweaters, scarves and mittens, blanket wraps and jackets. In the early fall my biggest pet peeve is having to change clothes when it goes from cool morning to warm midday, so last year I got some awesome knitted thigh high socks! I can wear them with shorts or dresses in the morning and then just take them off when it warms up and voila I don't have to go from jeans to shorts back to jeans again in the evening. Plus they are SUPER CUTE. 
LOVELY ANNIE THIGH HIGH SOCKS

14. Sew/make a Halloween costume

If you're crafty you can spend the fall making the most awesome Halloween costume ever! Pinterest has tons of tutorials and ideas and it gives you something to look forward to! Bonus points if you make matching couple/family outfits!

15. Use fall-scented candles and wax melts

Making your home smell like cranberries, pine, or apple pie is a sure-fire way to make it feel like fall! My favorite is pumpkin spice wax melts, nothing makes it feel cozier than that!
SENSATIONALS PUMPKIN SPICE WAX MELTS

16. Decorate for Halloween

I love decorating for Halloween! I only do one room, but I have blackout curtains, spiderwebs, potion bottles, spell books, skulls and skeletons, jars of mermaid tears and eyeballs . . . I have found a lot of stuff for crafting at the thrift store, but my favorite are my two haunted American dolls I painted two years ago. It is a lot of fun to craft some weird scary stuff!
American dolls Halloween makeover - before
Before
Margaret Halloween doll makeover - after
Margaret, who truly scares me a little, haha
Amelia Halloween doll makeover - after
Amelia with her pet rat

17. Go to a pumpkin patch

This is an outside activity that is easy to keep socially distanced. And picking out your own pumpkins is a lot more fun than getting them in the store! This is also a great way to support your local farmers. 

18. Go hiking 

When the leaves are changing into beautiful red and yellow, get out there and enjoy it! Take your dog or a friend and get some beautiful pictures in the forest. 

19. Take a foliage drive

If hiking isn't your thing, you can go on a scenic drive instead! Most cities have instructions on where the good places are, and maybe you'll discover something new where you live!

20. Decorate for fall

Choose a space, like your porch or kitchen, and make it look like the season! I only have a few little white ceramic pumpkins, but we usually get a bunch of pumpkins in various sizes to decorate the porch with. Add some haybales and you're good to go! 

I wish I had done a summer bucket list, too. It's good to sit down and really think of what you want to do! You can do this list by yourself or with your family and make sure you get tons of cozy fall memories to look back on! 
fall_bucket_list.pdf
File Size: 4200 kb
File Type: pdf
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Printable fall bucket list

Related articles:
  • Free printable Christmas bucket list
  • Five ways to Hygge all year round
  • How to make your friends a priority + free bucket list!

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    Hi, I'm Erika!

    I know what it's like living with anxiety and depression, but living and living are very different things. I believe in practical tips and methods, and​ I will use them to help you be the brave, daring, darling individual you are.


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