Frugal Friday: More than 100 Frugal Fall Family Activities

Fall is a busy time of year! School starting, sports, harvest time, etc. It's easy to lose track of important family time or get too distracted to make it happen. Here's some ideas to help your family spend meaningful time together without spending a lot of money. Hopefully these will get your brain wheels turning so that you can make some fun memories this fall with your family.

1. Go apple picking - find someone who has apple trees that they don't pick and go pick them together
2. Rake leaves into a pile and jump in
3. Try Leaf Rubbings - Go collect leaves and layer them between two pieces of paper. Rub crayons on the top and see the leaf pattern emerge!
4. Drive to see autumn colors or go for hike
5. Have a harvest party - eat foods that you've harvested from your own garden
6. Make homemade fresh Salsa and have a fiesta
7. Carve pumpkins
8. Play Pop Goes the pumpkin!
9. Make veggie characters - carve them or decorate veggies from your garden.
10. Play with Giant Bubbles
11. Make Mr. or Mrs. Potato head characters
12. Doorbell ditch some zucchini or other vegetable on a friend's doorstep.
13. Make Corn husk dolls
14. Make tamales!
15. Go bobbing for apples
16. Make Caramel apples
17. Do some artwork together - here's a cute idea: Potato Pumpkin Printing
18. Go forage for fruit
19. Paint Pumpkins
20. Go on a hayride
21. Make a scarecrow - use Daddy's old pants, an old shirt and stuff them with straw. Add a pumpkin for a head and there you go!
22. Play Pin the face on the Jack-O-lantern
23. Make your very own spider web out of string
24. Make Monster Pumpkins
25. Get someone to take your family pictures in the fall colors
26. Churn your own butter!
27. Go on a spider hunt in your house and remove all the spider webs (after Halloween of course!)
28. Read a story about an ancestor in your family
29. Plant some bulbs for the spring
30. Go to a farmer's market
31. Go on a family leaf walk - put on your boots and go stomp on leaves - swish your feet, enjoy the feeling of just being together
32. Have a "Spooknik" (i.e. a Halloween party) - Eat homemade Donuts, Dress up in your costumes for a family picture, play Halloween games, listen to spooky music and just have fun. This was our Halloween tradition growing up and we always loved it
33. Roast Pumpkin Seeds!
34. Play with play dough
35. Go for a Moon Walk - Check your calendars for the date of a harvest moon!
36. Clean out your closets and give your unused clothes to a local charity
37. Make Thankful Rolls
38. Have a family sleepover in your family room!
39. Invite someone to spend Thanksgiving with your family this year
40. Have a mummy contest and wrap up someone in toilet paper
41. Play "Don't eat Jack"
42. Go on a fall scavenger hunt
43. Make an acorn collage
44. Write letters to a far-away family member or friend
45. Have a leaf dance - turn on the music and dance and twirl in the freshly fallen leaves
46. Cuddle up with some hot chocolate or hot cider and watch a family movie
47. Play "hide and go seek" at dusk
48. Instead of "Trick or Treat" try "Treat or Trick" this year. Make a treat to deliver to someone on Halloween
49. Make Applesauce
50. Have a silly dance contest
51. Eat dinner with crazy utensils! Instead of regular utensils, set the table with egg beaters, spatulas, giant spoons, etc. Enjoy the laughs as everyone tries to eat.
52. Learn about the pilgrims and Indians and have a pilgrim dinner
53. Host a Halloween carnival with games and prizes
54. Make nature creatures - I love these!
55. Surprise a neighbor and rake their leaves
56. Take a family bike ride and enjoy the fall colors
57. Have a candlelight dinner
58. Finish a house project together
59. Make some Christmas gifts
60. Have a family talent show
61. Have a family game night and play board games
62. Get some sidewalk chalk, draw a +, and play four square
63. Have each family member find something around the house that makes music (pots, shakers, toys, etc) and have a band
64. Play Catch
65. Have a backyard barbecue and invite friends and neighbors
66. Enjoy the last few days of nice weather with a family picnic
67. Have a Halloween Costume Party
68. Go bird watching
69. Have a bug catching contest - set the timer and see who can catch the most. 
70. Have a leaf raking contest - see how many leaves each person can rake in 10 minutes. The winner gets a prize!
71. Make Hobo soup - everyone pick out a can of something from the pantry to add to the pot. Dress up like hobos. Eat on the ground. Eat out of the cans. Make a pretend fire. Tell campfire stories.
72. Wash the cars - and have one more water fight before it gets too cold
73. Go to a thrift store and see who can come up with the best Halloween costume
74. Make a big pot of witches brew out of water, pinecones, weeds, or anything else you can find in the backyard and pretend you're a witch family. Ride on brooms to get all your materials. 
75. Have a cultural dinner - try foods from another land. 
76. Make a nature garland with things you've collected to display in your home. 
77. Have a Turkey Trot - race around a field or track. 
78. Volunteer as a family - help those in need. 
79. Spend a night remembering the "Good old days" - look through old photo albums, tell stories, listen to music, laugh and enjoy. 
80. Read some poetry or sing some silly songs together 
81. Have a pajama party and start a pillow fight 
82. Create a silly video or skit together
83. Have a wrestling match
84. Have a neighborhood Trunk or Treat - Decorate cars in a parking lot, all the kids go around dressed in costumes to "Trunk or Treat". Here's a cute way to decorate your car.
85. Go on a Thanksgiving Day Scavenger Hunt to walk off all that turkey!
86. Read a chapter book together
87. Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
88. Play Broom Hockey with old brooms (bristles wrapped in duck tape) for sticks and a soft ball for a puck. Mark some goals in your yard and you're ready to go!
89. Go on a compass exploration (the old fashioned way). Before leaving, pick a destination on a map. Have the family use a compass and the map to direct the driver to the location by pointing to the correct direction and telling the driver to head north, east, south, or west. Besides being fun, this activity will help the whole family learn how to use a map and a compass and become familiar with directions.
90. Go for a drive in the countryside and see how many types of farm animals you can find.
91. Have a finger food meal - no silverware, only fingers allowed!
92. Make some fun fall decorations for your home
93. Thread candy corn on a string to make a necklace
94. Organize a chili cook-off with your neighbors!
95. Play Frisbee
96. Harvest your garden
97. Skip rocks at a nearby pond
98. Bake some bread
99. Put together a puzzle
100. Create a piece of artwork together - Have one person draw a few lines or curves on a piece of paper and pass it to the next. Continue to each family member until the picture evolves into its final masterpiece!

Just in case you're still looking for MORE ideas:

> 100 Frugal Family Activities for Summer

>100 Frugal Family Activities for Spring

> 100 Frugal Family Activities for Winter

A Great Pinterest Board for Fall Ideas

Family Fun 50 Ways to make Fall Fabulous

100 Ideas for your fall bucket list

Linked to: Frugal Friday, Thrifty Thursday, Hearts 4 Home, Finer Things Friday, Weekly Kid's Co-op, Frugal Tuesday, Mommy Club, Frugal Friday

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Dehydrating Pears

If you've been following my facebook page, you know that I've been preserving food like crazy! A few weeks ago we had more bushels of pears sitting in our basement than I care to admit or remember right now. A kind neighbor has shared his pears with us for the last few years, which comes in handy because our pear trees are still not mature. For us that means pear jam, canned pears, eating pears, and my personal favorite: dried pears!

Have you ever tried dried pears?

Dried pears are so good they almost make you feel guilty eating them. They are one of my favorite sweet tooth cravings because they taste like candy. I love to snack on a few during that gap between lunch and dinner when you're ready to go grab a snickers to curb your sweet tooth. They are a great after school snack or a great addition to a healthy lunch from home for the kids.

The nice thing is they are super easy to make! Here's what you do:

How to Dehydrate Pears
Printable Tutorial

Step 1: Wash pears and peel, if desired. Really the only point of peeling pears is for aesthetics. Pear peels do not compromise the taste of dried pears because they are so thin. And I personally think leaving the peels on gives dried pears a little personality. Not to mention, it's a WHOLE LOT EASIER!

Step 2: Cut pears in half and core.

Step 3: Slice pears thinly lengthwise. For this step the easiest thing that I've found to do the job is one of these handy, dandy manual slicers. They slice the pears evenly, which makes it really easy to tell when to take the pears out because they are all dried at once. The thinner you slice the pears, the quicker they will dry. This particular slicer slices the pears so thin that they come out like pear leather. You may want a thicker slice so they come out more chewy. Experiment with both to see which type your family likes best.

Step 4: Arrange pear slices on the dehydrator trays, making sure there are no overlapping pieces or your pears will not dry evenly. While you can dehydrate with the sun or the oven, I highly recommend buying a dehydrator. It will save you a lot of extra time and it's one of those purchases that is well worth the cost! I bought this low cost dehydrator and it has been great. For more serious dehydrating, there are bigger models like the Excalibur Food Dehydrator that are like the Cadillac of food dehydrating (and on my dream wish list for someday...)

Step 5: Spray or brush sliced pears with lemon juice, optional. Doing this will dehydrate your pears to a lighter color so they are more aesthetically pleasing. The easiest way that I've found is to fill a Misto Sprayer with lemon juice (I usually just use the bottled lemon juice because it's easy). First spray the tops of the pears with the lemon juice. Then hold the tray up and spray through the grating to get the bottoms of the pears. This goes really fast with the misto sprayer so I highly recommend one.

Step 6: Dehydrate for 8-24 hours. The exact time will depend on how thick your slices are, the humidity, your dehydrator and a lot of other factors. Dehydrate until pears are still bendable but not sticky.

Step 7: Store dried pears in sealed containers in a cool dark place. If you've dehydrated them enough and stored them correctly dried pears will keep for a year or more. But in our house, I can’t seem to keep them that long. They get eaten up too fast!

Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

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Pear Jam

My husband's favorite fruit is a pear. He loves them more than just about anything in the world! Unfortunately our pear trees are still maturing...so we don't get very many yet, but...luckily we have a kind neighbor who lets us come and pick from his five trees to our heart's content.

Last year I discovered pear jam. Have you discovered it yet? Oh my goodness, if you haven't you have been missing out! It is divine! Think: melt in your mouth, nectar from heaven, pure sweetness that can't be replicated any-other-way or how... amazing.

And this year I'm making more. In fact, I don't think I'll get away with not making this jam EVER. It's become our most favorite jam - the one we pull out for extra special guests or extra special occasions. Yes. It's that good.

Pear Jam

Printable Recipe

*Makes about 5 cups

*Note: This jam also freezes well if you don’t want to can. Just put the hot jam in jars (leaving ½” headspace) and stick them in the freezer when they’ve cooled.

INGREDIENTS:

About 4 lbs. pears

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

3 Cups Sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash jars, lids, bands and rinse well. Heat jars and lids in boiling water. Heat up water in your boiling water bath canner.

2. Prepare fruit by peeling, removing the seeds, and finely chopping. Measure exactly 4-1/2 Cups of chopped pears into a 6 or 8 quart saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and water.

3. Measure 3 Cups of sugar into separate bowl. In another small bowl, mix 1/4 Cup sugar from measured amount and 1 box Less or No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin (Make sure it specifically says "for less or no sugar needed"). Stir pectin-sugar mixture into fruit in sauce pot. Add 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired (I don't usually do this).

4. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining sugar quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam.

5. Take empty jars out of simmering water, one at a time and ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/8" headspace. Wipe the rims and threads of each jar with a clean, damp cloth. Center the heated lid on jar and screw band down until fingertip tight. Then place jar in canner and repeat with other jars.

6. Once canner is full, add water if necessary to cover jars by 1 or 2 inches. Place lid on canner and bring water to a boil and lower heat until water stays at a gentle boil. Process according to times below (based on your current elevation).

Processing Times:
10 min (0-1,000 ft) 15 min (1,001-3,000 ft) 20 min (3,001-6,000 ft) 25 min (6,001-8,000) 30 min (8,001-10,000)

7. After processing, turn off heat and remove the lid for 5 minutes before removing jars from the canner. Set the jars upright on a towel to cool for 12 to 24 hours. Once jars are cool, test jars for a seal by pressing the center of the lid. The lid should not flex up and down. If it does, immediately refrigerate or reprocess with a new lid for the full length of time. Clean jars and remove bands. Label and store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to one year.

One of my favorite ways to eat this jam is with butter on a roll or slice of fresh bread!

Linked to: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

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