10 Budget-Friendly Family Fun Ideas for Autumn Weekends
Meet Helen, mother of two and member of our fantastic Parent Panel*, a diverse community of Bright Horizons parents sharing their experiences of raising happy, thriving and confident children. In this blog, Helen shares her top 10 suggestions of things to do on a budget on an autumn weekend.
*Incentivised content
Autumn is my favourite season. Not just because I’m a fan of baggy, cosy jumpers and hot chocolate, but I adore the crisp air and sunny days, colourful falling leaves and endless possibilities for crafts and activities with my little ones.
I would struggle to choose my favourite autumn activity, so here’s 10 low-cost suggestions:
1. Acorn rescue
As a parent of young children, inevitably your coat pockets end up stuffed with autumn treasures like pinecones and acorns! My favourite quick prep activity is to place an acorn into each section of an ice cube tray, fill with water and leave in the freezer overnight. Pop the acorn ice cubes out into a tray and give you little ones some tools you find around the house so they can ‘rescue’ the acorns – a pipette and warm water, a plastic hammer and tongs, some extra bowls and spoons.
2. Ready steady bake
You know it’s autumn when Paul Hollywood appears on your telly. My two love getting involved in baking, especially when it’s apple season. Stewed apple, apple crumble, apple muffins, apple loaf… the list is endless; custard is optional. Get little hands involved in picking or chopping apples with child-friendly knives, make something delicious together and enjoy tasting the ‘fruits’ of your labour.
3. Snuggle with stories
Nothing beats a cuddle and story, so I jump at any chance to hibernate under a blanket and read with my children. I feel we’re spoilt for choice with autumnal stories. Covering both funny and beautifully illustrated, our favourites are The Leaf Thief (Alice Hemming), The Squirrels Who Squabbled (Rachel Bright) and The Oak Tree (Julia Donaldson).
4. Cosy crafts
This is my happy place – crafting with my children! Keep costs low by collecting and using autumn treasures: make a leaf wreath, embrace leaf printing, make a sensory bottle, have a go creating pinecone animals (hedgehogs and owls are good to start with), paint conkers. There’s plenty of inspiration online or just sit back and let their creativity shine.
5. Woodland walks
We all love pulling on our wellies to go for a stroll and my children’s eyes light up when I suggest a nature scavenger hunt. We head out with a list of things to spot, with pictures next to the word so it’s suitable for both my littlest and biggest. Sometimes I print one I’ve found online, sometimes I create a list myself. Top tip: download the free Woodland Trust British Tree ID app – it’s a really simple interactive guide which helps children (and grownups!) learn more about the natural world.
6. Community litter pick
I recently discovered our local community centre runs a monthly litter pick. This free activity gets us out of the house together and is a great way to lead by example. Show how you can give back to the community, talk about recycling, meet other families and the children cannot get enough of the litter picker grabber!
7. Build a den
If you have glorious autumnal sunshine, count yourself lucky and head outside to build a den in your local woods. Even if you can’t find big branches, grab loads of little sticks and build a shelter for bugs, animals or even fairies! If it’s pouring with rain and you can’t face outside then grab all your sofa cushions, pillows, blankets and make a fort in the comfort of your own home. All the cuddly animals can be invited. Bonus points if you can lie on the sofa while your children build a den around you.
8. Movie night
An obvious choice for the time of year is Room on the Broom. To be honest, any of the Julia Donaldson adaptations are delightful and a good length at around just 25 minutes. Little ones feel grown up watching a film but there’s not the parental guilt of too much telly time. Sometimes I go the extra mile by making a simple ‘ticket’ to give to them and setting out a selection of (healthy-ish) pick-n-mix snacks.
9. Design dinner
Many big supermarkets give away free foody magazines. My two really enjoy practising their scissor skills as they cut out pictures of food. I give them some cheap paper plates, and a glue stick and they will spend ages making endless plates of ‘dinner’ for us.
10. Declutter days
Whether you have loads of toys at home or a few toys at home, children grow up so quickly and interests change. Every so often I encourage my children to pick out a few books or toys they wish to donate – whether we pass it onto a friend with younger children or give to a charity shop or baby bank. I think it’s lovely to teach the importance of giving from a young age. If your little one might need some encouragement, then pitch it as a toy swap. They donate two items to a charity shop and they have £2 to spend in a charity shop. It might not tick the declutter box but it’s great for toy rotation.
If you’ve read this far, you might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned pumpkins. I could write a Top 10 list just about pumpkin-related activities… let’s save that for another time.
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