FUN Autumn Activities for Teenagers

Autumn is the last season before the bitterly cold weather so our family always spends quality time outdoors doing activities with our teenagers. Most people think that teens do not enjoy traditional activities but if you start them out doing the same things every year they do look forward to the activities, especially if they can bring along their friend.

Here are a few autumn activities that my family enjoys

On a sunny afternoon, we make plans to go to a pumpkin patch. Pick out pumpkins for decoration and for carving into a Jack O’ Lantern. Our teenage kids always like picking the biggest pumpkin that they can find. Half the fun is getting it back to the car.


I will watch for the advertisement for the fall bazaars in my hometown then check out the activities, looking for the traditional autumn activities like pumpkin carving, drinking apple cider, going for a hayride, or enjoying roasting marshmallows on an open fire for s’more chocolate treats. Teenagers love participating in the carving contests, they will eat smores and listen to live music. City festivals are always fun for families with teenagers.


Know that teenagers have different interests so my husband will plan an ATV outing. He will choose a trail where the trees are in full autumn color. Sometimes he brings along a picnic lunch, other times just snacks and drinks for the kids. Everyone loves this outing especially if the day is warm and sunny.


What activities do you do with your family during the autumn season?

Best Garage Sales are in Autumn

Autumn is the perfect season to go antiquing or hit the area garage sales. I know in my city we tend to shop for bargains in the spring and the autumn because summer is too hot. Normally I do not go to garage sales in the spring but autumn is a must on my to-do list. This is the time of year when you can bargain shop for autumn and Christmas decorations.

People tend to do a fall cleaning of their house and stored items and want to earn some extra cash for the holidays. I found some home décor products including a stained glass lamp at an autumn garage sale and there was nothing wrong with it. 

Here is a photo of my best buy at an autumn garage sale.

It is best to know what you are shopping for and to check out the newspaper on Wednesday and look for garage sales that offer a list of products that they are selling. Then make a list of the garage sales that you want to check out.

The night before the garage sale I will do a drive-by. If they are setting I will park get out and ask if I can take a quick look. Many times if you find something that you love you can buy it ahead of time. Otherwise, plan to go to the garage sale at the crack of dawn. In my experience, everyone has the same idea so if you want something special then it is best to get to the sale early.

Things that I look for at garage sales; vintage china, leaded glass ceiling light covers, sterling silver flatware, vintage table lamps, table linens, trivets, crystal or cut glass perfume bottles, hat boxes, vintage dolls, art deco jewelry, bag and gloves and holiday decorations and ornaments. My husband shops for vintage cameras, 1970s Peter Max posters and autumn season posters or prints, antique door knobs or knockers and antique train sets.

Going to garage sales in autumn is something my husband and I enjoy, we think of it as entertainment because it is a fun thing to do. Plus when we find something of value and it is a good price we are ecstatic.

Autumn Activities at Joplin Nature Center

This year we are blessed with warm weather so I find that I am making plans to be outdoors on the weekend with family. In my hometown, there are many activities, including hayrides at the park, bonfires, and church bizarre. Those activities are always fun but this weekend we took to the nature trails at the Audubon Center just south of Joplin Missouri.

The nature center was built on land that is adjacent to Wildcat Park and Shoal creek. This is the perfect location for watching birds and wildlife in their natural habitat.

Today we visited the center first to see what they had on display and to pick up their brochure for upcoming winter events. My husband and I enjoy the night owl watch and also like to participate in other wildlife events held at the park.

We decided to have lunch before taking our walk since there were tables available under the pavilion. So we ate a picnic lunch of sandwiches from Panera and we both had coffee. Lunch was good but instead of rushing off to the trails we sat for an hour and enjoyed the beautiful day. You could not ask for a more beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the temperature was 72 degrees.

After lunch we took to the nature trails, we saw a few black-eyed Susan’s in the wildlife gardens, some butterflies, and gray squirrels. There were hawks circling above us but other than that no deer or other wildlife was in sight.

The trails were windy and at one point the tree's overhang was so thick that no light was coming through. The path turned dark and rather spooky. We quickened our pace and soon we were back in the sunlight.

There was a bench close to Shoal creek and we sat to take in the view. This section of the creek is where you could see the bluffs on the other side. We had heard stories of Indian markings on the bluffs and that there were caves in this area, but in order to get to the other side, one would need a boat so we will plan to do that on another day.

The nature trail at the Audubon center is very scenic and I believe it is 20 miles long. Needless to say, we did not walk the entire trial. Instead, we looked at the tree's leaves that were starting to turn. Many were orange, yellow, and a few dark red and we enjoyed the beautiful autumn day.

Favorite Outdoor Autumn Activities

Many people are making plans for summer vacations, but here at my house we are talking about the fall season. This morning I spoke with my friends about the spring baking day and the autumn season day of baking was discussed also, in fact we set a date.

Know that in five months my husband will start organizing his Halloween decorations so I guess it is okay to discus autumn activities in February. Needless to say all this talk about autumn has got me thinking about my favorite outdoor autumn activities.

When the leaves change from green to golden, orange and red and the weather changes to the point where the nights are cool enough for a sweater that is when you will find me sitting by the fire pit drinking hot apple cider. I will make plans to celebrate this harvest time of year by participating in the activities that I enjoy with my family and friends.

Missouri Shoal Creek Autumn Photo Print by Susang6

My Favorite Fall Activities

1. Hiking off trail in the Ozark Mountains
2. Photographing the trees in full seasonal color
3. Floating down Shoal creek on an Indian summer day
4. Touring corn mazes
6. Attending a harvest bazaar at a country church
7. Baking harvest fruit pies
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Note: Shoal creek is located just south of Joplin Missouri and this creek features Missouri's largest waterfall. The creek plunges 15 feet over chert rock which is a very hard creek bedrock. In fall hiking or taking a float trip along the Shoal creek is one of my favorite things to do.

Traditional Holiday Baking

Today I met up with my friends and we agreed that we will all get together before Easter and then again in the fall for a day of baking. Baking with friends is fun and it enables us to to have variety of desserts and breads for our family.

In the spring we will make cream pies, cookies, breakfast muffins and sweet bread recipes and in the fall we bake with our harvested fruit; apples, pears. Plus we will make cranberry, chocolate and pumpkin recipes.

I always look forward to baking day, but my favorite holiday for baking is in the autumn. I really enjoy making comfort bake goods. Last year the baking day was in my kitchen and it was way too small. This year I will go to my friends house and there will be plenty of room for all of us.

As a rule, we must use recipes that are passed down through the family. Or in other words none of the recipes are new, they are all from our childhood.

When all of the baking is done, we will grab our food containers and go through the line picking out a variety of desserts and baked goods for our families to enjoy, throughout the holiday season.



Do you participate in a Tradtional baking day?