Fall is full of family-friendly festivals and seasonal activities. But not all autumnal diversions are created equally. Some of them never live up to expectations and can even be downright unpleasant. We’ve picked four undertakings that are better left for the magazine spreads and perfectly posed family photos and given you a way to make each one better.
Carving pumpkins
Let’s be real. Very few of us are going to produce Pinterest-worthy carved gourds on our kitchen tables. The knife somehow always seems to break halfway through, the guts are gross, and it’s dangerous! A nine-year study by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that Halloween is one of the top three holidays resulting in ER visits- and the highest percentage of those injuries were hand or finger injuries. Nope. Not worth it!
Alternative: There are loads of ways to make pumpkin decorating safer and easier. Paint them, cover them in glitter, decorate them with buttons attached with straight pins, or create patterns in upholstery nails.
Bobbing for apples.
More like bobbing for the flu and wet hair. Pass!
Alternative: Hang apples from trees or the ceiling and have guests try to munch away on one without using hands. It’s surprisingly difficult but still more sanitary and less messy.
Jumping in a pile of leaves.
This seems so picturesque and quintessentially autumnal…until you’re spending the rest of the day picking stems out of your hair and sneezing. And somehow you always forget about the wet leaves hiding at the bottom of the pile, laying in wait to make your clothes wet and leave you shivering in that brisk fall air. No, thanks!
Alternative: Rake those leaves into pumpkin trash bags (the smallest you can find) and treat them like a slightly chillier version of a blow-up beach ball.
Hayrides.
Sure, bouncing around in the country in a cozy pile of hay bales SOUNDS like a blast. In reality, hay is pokey and uncomfortable and you always end up going slower than anticipated so you end up just staring at the other families who are also attempting to have fun.
Alternative: Walk right past that hayride and into the adjacent apple orchard. Apples somehow taste at least 20% better when you’ve picked them yourself and you can pack them in your kids’ lunchboxes all week or make a pie if you’re feeling ambitious.
We hope this guide helps you make the most of Fall activities this year.
