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Fall Bucket List 2026: 40 Things to Do This Autumn

Internet · By SpikeToday ·

A row of tall old trees with yellow and orange leaves above a grassy path covered in fallen leaves
Autumn trees in the wildlife park in Dülmen, Germany. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Here are 40 simple things to do this fall, from apple picking and leaf walks to a meteor shower and a moonrise. Most cost little or nothing. Pick ten, screenshot the list, and tick them off before the first snow. In the Southern Hemisphere? Save it for March.

Outside

  1. Pick your own apples at an orchard.
  2. Take a slow walk somewhere the trees are changing color.
  3. Find the best fall-color spot near you and go back every week to watch it change.
  4. Shop at a farmers' market and cook with whatever is in season.
  5. Go for a walk on a cold, clear morning, right at sunrise.
  6. Hike a trail you've never tried.
  7. Jump in a pile of leaves. Nobody is too old.
  8. Have a picnic in a jacket.
  9. Watch the Orionid meteor shower before dawn on October 22.
  10. See the Hunter's Moon rise at dusk on October 25.

Food and warm drinks

  1. Bake an apple crumble or a loaf of pumpkin bread.
  2. Make soup from scratch on a rainy day.
  3. Roast chestnuts or sweet potatoes.
  4. Try a new tea, or make hot chocolate the slow way, on the stove.
  5. Bake bread for the first time.
  6. Host a cozy dinner for friends or family.
  7. Cook an autumn dish from another country, like a red lentil soup or a squash curry.
  8. Warm apple juice with cinnamon and cloves for an easy spiced drink.

At home

  1. Swap summer clothes for warm layers, and give away what you didn't wear.
  2. Build a reading pile for the long evenings.
  3. Watch a film series from start to finish.
  4. Start a big jigsaw puzzle and leave it out all season.
  5. Make one corner of your home cozy with warm lamps for the dark evenings.
  6. Write a letter or a card to someone far away.
  7. Learn to knit or crochet a simple scarf.
  8. Plant spring bulbs, like tulips and daffodils, before the ground freezes.
Rows of small apple trees full of red apples in a green orchard under a blue sky with white clouds
Apple picking day at Great Woodend Farm orchards in England. Photo: Roger Davies, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Creative

  1. Take part in Inktober: one ink drawing a day, all October.
  2. Take one photo a day of the same tree and watch it change.
  3. Press the brightest leaves you find inside a heavy book.
  4. Keep a short gratitude list every evening.
  5. Learn one song on an instrument.
  6. Make a playlist for rainy days.

Goals for the end of the year

  1. Start a winter arc: 92 days of small, steady habits.
  2. Try October theory and pick three things to change by December 31.
  3. Set a reading goal for the rest of the year.
  4. Use the extra hour when the clocks go back to go to bed early.
  5. Learn ten words a week in a new language.

With other people

  1. Volunteer at a food bank or community kitchen.
  2. Collect warm coats for a local coat drive.
  3. Call an older relative and ask about their favorite autumn memory.

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