Even if the autumn season still brings warm, sunny days where you live, fall brings crisp, fresh air that’s perfect for outdoor games. It’s a season that so many people love because of the cooler temperatures and the beauty of the changing leaves. It’s the perfect season to throw on a sweater and get the kids off the couch and out of the house to play fun fall games. Kids love to be outside, especially if there are some awesome and fun outdoor games for them to play. If you’ve been looking for some fun outdoor games your kids can play this fall, check out these creative ideas.
1. Pumpkin and broom relay race
If children use outdoor balls to play this game, it would make it too easy. Pumpkins are much more fun, as they never roll in a straight line because none of them are ever perfectly round. If you have a group of children, this makes a fun relay race. Grab a couple of brooms and a few pumpkins, set a start and finish line, and you are ready to go.
You can split the children into teams if you wish. When you do, give each child a broom and put a small pumpkin in front of them. On the count of three, they race to the finish line, pushing the pumpkins. The first one to get to the finish line leaves the pumpkin there but brings the broom back. They hand it off to their teammate, who runs to the pumpkin at the finish line and pushes it back, and the process repeats.
2. Treats in the haystack
This is definitely a fun game if there are younger children around that would like to play. First, find some receptacles, for example, they could be wheelbarrows, a bucket, a baby pool, whatever you can think of. Grab a bale of hay and put some hay into each. Along with the hay, add some “treats” that the kids can find. It could be anything from small wrapped candy to cute little toys that you can likely find at your local dollar store. Make sure to give each child a little bag so they can hold everything that they collect.
3. Scarecrow run
You will hear a lot of giggling with this game! Grab that pile of clothes that you have sitting in the back of your closet that you were going to toss and bring it outside. Split the children into teams. When the referee says “go,” they have to run to the pile of clothes and dress like a scarecrow. Once they have done that, then they have to run back to their other teammates, where the next child runs to the pile and also does the same thing, and the process repeats. The team with the last person dressed as a scarecrow who crosses the finish line first with their teammates wins.
4. DIY autumn cornhole
Everyone loves cornhole. It’s quite a fun game to play, plus it’s easy, especially for kids. Bring this sometimes indoor game outside. Grab a large cardboard box and cut out the holes to resemble something that reminds you of fall, whether that’s a leaf, a pumpkin, or an apple. This makes it fun for the kids to try to toss some beanbags into the holes. If you don’t have beanbags, you can always sew your own using dried corn and some fabric. The kids will love playing with each other in this fun fall version of cornhole.
5. Apple stacks
This is a great game to play with smaller kids. All this game takes is a bunch of apples! It’s kind of a “minute-to-win-it” sort of game. The premise is very simple. Within a certain time span, each child has five apples that they have to stack, and that stack has to stay standing for five seconds. The kids can stack them any way they want, as long as at the end of the one or two minutes, they are still standing. After the games are over, the kids can come in and have apples as snacks.
6. Leaf maze
If you have a lot of trees in your backyard, why not hold off on raking? Wait until the leaves all fall down, and when that time comes, you can create a “leaf maze” for the kids to wander through. Take your rake and start making small mazes around the yard. To make it even sweeter, put a small treat at the end of each maze for the kids to find when they navigate their way through the mazes that you have created. Little ones will love this activity.
You’ll definitely want to plan some time to be outdoors during mild fall nights. The kids will love playing these games while you just relax. They will definitely tire themselves out playing these games, which should make for a much more restful night for everyone. You can even get in on the fun and play these games with your children, which will delight them even more.
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