Fun Family-Friendly Activities For Fall And The Holidays

Need to decorate the table for an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner? Or maybe change up the decor around the home to suit the holidays? Turn to nature! 

When we start looking at things around us with a fresh pair of eyes, we realize how many things we often overlook that are beautiful in their own way.

By using natural decor, we learn to appreciate the smallest, simple things and reduce our footprint on this earth.

Some fun natural decor examples:

• Bowls of freshly picked pears and apples add just a small pop of color!
• Multi-colored dried corncob
• Leaves and branches, berries
• Pine cones
• Pompous grass
• Dried herbs for a lovely scent
• Mushrooms
• Dried seed pods
• Feathers

This is another fun activity for kids! Decorate pine cones you have foraged or collected on the fall scavenger hunt and use them for holiday decorations. 

You will need:

• Pinecones
• Foil and a shallow baking pan
• Adhesive spray
• Some gold or silver spray paint if you wish to add a touch of glam
• Ground cinnamon

Steps:

• Send the kids to go collect as many pinecones as they can.
• Clean them from any debris.
• Space the pinecones on a baking tray lined with foil.
• Place in a 200 degrees pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pinecones have open pores, and by baking them, they will seal and crisp up.
• Let them cool.
• Optional step: Spray with gold or silver spray paint and let it dry
• Spray the pinecones with adhesive spray and immediately roll in or sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Place back on tray to completely dry.
• Don't be afraid to go wild with the decorating!

Gift sustainably this holiday season with 'Cookies in A jar' gifts.

You will need:

• Wide Mouth Quart Jar for ingredients
• 1.25 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4  tsp baking soda 
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 tbsp room temp plant-based butter ( or desired butter) 
• 2 tbsp almond milk ( or desired milk) 
• Egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg 
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Note* The above ingredients is for one cookie jar

Directions:

• Layer the dry cookie ingredients in the jar with a funnel in the following order: Flour mixed with baking powder, baking soda and salt, brown sugar, cranberries, chocolate chips, walnuts, and white sugar. 
• When making the cookies, it’s best to cream the sugar and butter, so add a layer of cling wrap first to the jar and pour the sugar into it, push it down and to the sides, then twist the cling wrap before putting the lid on.
• Decorate the jar and add a note with the cookie recipe below.

Cookie Recipe:

• Pour the cookie mixture into a mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until very fluffy.
• Next, add the milk, vanilla, and egg replacer and combine with a mixer.
• Thoroughly mix into dry ingredients until fully mixed. 
• Drop or roll large teaspoons of dough onto a greased (or parchment paper) baking sheet. Flatten the cookies a little bit. 
• Bake at 375* for 12-16 minutes, or until the color has tanned a bit on top and browned around the edges.