22: Happy Fall Y’all – 3 Ways to Enjoy Autumn With Your Big Family

• Lance Osborne
• 9 years ago
• Categories: Episodes
• Tags: activities, autumn, events, party

Labor Day has come and gone…

… and the dog days of Summer will quickly fade as Autumn arrives soon.

In anticipation of the cooler weather and changing leaves, we put together a show to help you make the most of the season with your big family, including all kinds of ideas for Fall family activities. (After all, the craziness of the holiday season will be right around the corner!)

 

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Listen to this episode on iTunes or Stitcher, or in the player below:

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 This week’s episode: 3 BIG WAYS to enjoy Fall family activities to the max:

1. Light Travel: Hiking, camping, and daytrips

   • Get outside! No, we’re not talking about sports, etc. this time. We really mean the great outdoors!
   • We mentioned National Parks around the 16:30 mark of the show. If you haven’t already checked out our post about how to get into national parks for free, do it!
   • Note: Of course some parents will get overwhelmed by just seeing “travel,” and thinking about cramming the kids in the van, especially if you went somewhere over the Summer. If that’s you, don’t miss our travel episode for some tips.

2. Big Fall events

   • Besides the obvious (corn mazes, petting zoos), we talked about a few events you may want to check out if you’ll be in the South / mid-South area soon (check websites for dates for this year):
     • West Side Nut Club Fall Festival in Evansville, Indiana
     • Nashville Oktoberfest, Germantown area of Nashville
     • Reid’s Orchard Apple Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky
   • Around the 26:30-31:00 mark, be sure to catch our tips on how to enjoy these events, even when you’re on a budget.

3. Partying at your place!

   • Before the holidays come at you full force, do a little entertaining at home (and outside to boot!) with a Fall Festival of your own.
   • Key takeaway: PLAN. IT. NOW. That way you’re committed and you can get your friends, families, and neighbors all on board to join in the fun or maybe even help pull it off.
   • Activity ideas:
     • Bobbing for apples
     • Pumpkin carving (Use a drywall knife, or spring for a legit carving kit!)
     • Potato sack race
     • Chili cook-off
     • Beer tastings
     • Corn shucking race

 

Other Resources:

• Peak Leaves
  • One of the best things about Autumn travel is the changing leaves.
  • If you’re planning a trip in the upcoming months, check out the Fall Foliage Prediction Map from our National Parks service to find out exactly when the colors of Fall will be at their peak.
• The Original Oktoberfest
  • A top item on my (Lance’s) bucket list is to experience the real Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany! This year – the event’s 182st anniversary – it runs from from September 19th until October 4th.
  • But is this something you would want to take the kids to?  Culture is a great thing, but I don’t want my children hanging around a bunch of drunk people. Turns out event organizers are concerned about this, too, and they’re working on it. Good on ’em. From german-way.com: 

  • In recent years, the Oktoberfest organizers have made an effort to combat what was a growing problem with rowdy, inebriated people who were creating an unwelcome atmosphere. The organizers have taken steps to make Oktoberfest more family-friendly, while preserving the fair’s oompah beer core. Some tents offer a special “kids night” once a week to encourage family attendance.

• Are You Smarter Than… Hey Bobby? It’s definitely “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader,” not 3rd grader! Ha!

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