Fall Family Favorites For Fun

Fall Family Favorites

With the weather getting cooler and the days getting shorter, we’ve needed to find more things to occupy our family indoors. From activities and games to products to make life easier to toys that are both fun and educational, there’s a wide variety. Our Fall Family Favorites is a list that will entertain each member of your family.

I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate links for each product. Please see my Disclosure Policy for more information.

We actually own and love each thing I’ve included. If you click on the picture or link, you’ll be taken directly to Amazon through my link.

So, here we go with our Fall Family Favorites.

Activities

Even though we have to stay indoors on rainy, cool days, it doesn’t mean we have to stay home. The boys are really good at sitting through movies, they love going to the library, and they can almost make it through a Target trip without whining for toys. Almost.

Another cheap form of entertainment, and one of the boys’ favorite places to go? Costco. Yes, Costco.

They love all the free samples!

Also, during this time of year, they love to see the Halloween displays, Christmas trees, and the electric fireplaces. Not to mention all the toys and candy aisles.

They know we only buy food and household supplies, so I don’t get any of the whining.

I get my shopping done, and the boys get a free lunch with entertainment. Perfect.

My husband, on the other hand, prefers taking them to places other than stores…since he’s not a big shopping fan himself. They toured a bunch of city buildings during an event called Doors Open Milwaukee. They also went to the Art Museum, the Public Museum, and The Domes.

In fact, his VW Bus is on display there right now, which was pretty awesome.

Toys and Games

Trains will always be on the twins’ favorite list, but lately they’ve been more into cars. Specifically the cars from the movie Cars. Big C carries a Lightening McQueen in his pocket at all times. (Plus, a Lego Batman, but that’s a story for another time.) His two favorites right now:

Little P kept telling me his favorite was a minivan. I didn’t remember a minivan in the movie, but he finally showed me that those are the names of two different cars: Mini and Van

I’m also happy to report that they’ve branched out a little. They’ve recently been playing with Duplos. Now, of course, they still build trains and cars with them, but they build other things too…train depots, houses for the cars, etc.

Well, it’s a little progress.

Mr. B is still into Legos too, but he likes the smaller variety. Right now, he’s big into Star Wars sets. Not only does he build the sets as they come, but he also makes his own creations.

So, here are his favorite sets:

Then, he uses Classic Legos to build his own command centers and base camps.

All three boys love playing board games and card games. We often make up our own rules, but as long as they are having fun, I call it a win. They got Tip It from their NICUversary, and they love it. Monopoly Junior has cute little game pieces, and they just like to roll the dice and go around the board.

Operation has a Cars’ theme, so of course they love that. And Mater’s voice, so it’s not annoying at all. But they do get to practice fine motor skills trying to get the car parts out.

Finally, The Cat in the Hat game uses both fine and gross motor skills by having you do different activites…or at least attempting them.

Grandpa actually introduced them to Go Fish, but it was really hard for the twins to hold the cards. So, he found these cool holders, and now there is much less screaming.

Helpful Household Items

With cold and flu season coming up, we’ve been running our oil diffuser non-stop. I’ve heard so many great things about essential oils and their immune system benefits, plus they make the house smell good. Living with 4 boys, that can be a big job.

While many people enjoy cooking, that’s not one of my fall family favorite things to do. However, being healthy is, so I’ve been working on making new, healthy dinners. One item that makes it easier is my Nutri Ninja.

The other night I made an avocado alfredo sauce with it, and it was so nice and creamy. I put it on top of spaghetti squash with some chicken, and it was really yummy and filling.

The Ninja also really blends things, so the kids will never know about all those extra carrots and spinach in smoothies or spaghetti sauce.

Entertainment

I think my boys would watch TV all day and night if I let them. That or silly YouTube videos. How watching other people playing video games or opening toys is entertaining, I’ll never know.

Instead, we’ve been doing a lot more reading. The twins love when I read to them, and Mr. B is getting better about reading on his own. He’d rather climb on my lap and let me read, but that’s OK too.

Plus, the twins are starting to “read” in Kindergarten. They come home with short books featuring one letter, and are able to read each page to me. I’m pretty sure they are just memorizing the pictures, but it’s still pretty impressive.

I was sent a book called Penguins Love Their abc’s in exchange for my honest review. It definitely met the twins approval. They absolutely love it. It’s bright and colorful, the penguins are adorable, and there’s a cute message too.

I actually don’t mind reading it over and over…which was their request.

One of my all time favorites is Room on the Broom. It’s especially fun during this time of year, but we pull it out all the time. The rhyming is fantastic, and the boys love the characters.

In addition to reading, all three boys love to draw and color. Mr. B likes to draw his own things, but the twins like coloring and activity books. These two are their favorites.

           

I also love to read. I’m part of a book club, which introduces me to books I might never have picked on my own. I also read a lot of book reviews to find new authors. Here’s what I’m reading right now:

I wasn’t sure if I’d like it because it is non-fiction, but I can’t put it down.

We recently read Gayle Forman for Book club, so I decided to try some more of her books, and they really suck you in. They are also young adult, so really fast reads.

Another one of my favorite authors is Liane Moriarty. She’s written Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret, which I couldn’t put down, so I tried an older book:

Great book.

And finally, you think you have everything figured out, but you don’t. It keeps you guessing until the end.

I hope you found at least one thing of interest in our Fall Family Favorites list. What are some things you are loving right now?