This fun family fall party is perfect for celebrating the season in your own back yard. Invite your famiy and friends over for some good old fashioned jumping in the leaves, leaf themed sweet treats, and a hot chocolate bar!
Why You'll Love This Backyard Fall Party
- It's fun! Your family and friends will love the fall leaf theme, playing in the leaves, and the treats!
- This party is easy to put together. We used easy and store bought food for our themed treats.
- Fall is such a great time to entertain outside. Not too hot, not too cold.
- It's budget friendly. Jumping in the leaves is free!
- Playing with leaves is perfect for all ages, from toddlers to teenagers.
Jump to:
I'm so excited to share this beautiful fall party with you today. One sunny fall afternoon we set up a family leaf raking party at our friends house, and enjoyed good old fashioned leaf raking and jumping in the leaves with the kids and some sweet leaf themed treats to munch on. It was so much fun!
We love celebrating fall. You might also like our Cozy Soup Party, Pink Halloween Party, Halloween S'mores, Halloween Movie Night, Pie Buffet Party and our Fall Tea Party.
Outdoor Fall Party Decorations
- "Happy Fall" Banner: I also added a "Happy Fall" banner. I made it out of felt and burlap, and used acrylic paint to add the letters and polka dots.
- Pompoms: Above the snack table I hung these fun pompoms made of autumn coloured tulle. The fall pompoms were really easy to make. I picked up some inexpensive tulle from the fabric store and tied them.
- Table Cloth: To keep things rustic, I covered the table in simple burlap fabric I found at the hardware store. It's very inexpensive and worked perfectly.
Fall and Leaf Themed Party Foods
The table was filled with lots of fall and leaf themed treats that were easy to make and oh so yummy.
For this little party, I used mixes for the baking to give me time to focus on the little details instead of taking the time to make everything from scratch. It worked out great, and I really recommend it as an easier way to do a dessert table for friends and family.
Rake Cookies
I made these amazing rake cookies. They fit our theme perfectly. I found the cute leaf sprinkles at HomeSense. I used a simple sugar cookie mix from the grocery store -told you these treats were easy. Form the cookie into a triangle-type-rake shape -yes that's the technical term. Stick a pretzel in for the rake handle, and use a fork to make look rake-ish on the bottom.
After they're baked, just dip the end in melted chocolate as glue, and then into the sprinkles.
So cute right? Loved them.
Brownie Pops
I also made some chocolate brownie pops.
I used a mix, again really easy treats for a party. Then, I stamped a popsicle stick with an eraser end of a pencil to make the polka dots. Insert the stick in one end, and dip in melted chocolate.
I decorated with a little orange chocolate swirl. Everyone LOVED these. If I was making them again though, I might make the brownie a little smaller, just to make it easier to dip without it getting too heavy and wanting to fall of the stick.
Fall Leaf Jello Gigglers
I thought it would be fun to make some jello giggler leaves.
We whipped up some jello in red, yellow, and orange, using the giggler recipe, and let them set over night in big, flat trays so they were fairly thin. Then, I used cookie cutters to cut out the leaf shapes.
Pretty simple, and so cute. They fit the leaf theme so well.
Caramel Corn Cones
I also did some simple cones of caramel corn. To up the fall factor, I added some brown, orange, red, and yellow M & M's. They were like little hidden treasures to the kids.
Apples and Dip
I also made some yummy fruit dip. My sister-in-law Heather hooked me up with her easy and oh so yummy recipe.
It's a container of light cream cheese, with a few tablespoons of brown sugar stirred in, I also added a little vanilla. Then just top with caramel sauce, and chopped bits of Skor bar. Serve with granny smith apple slices, the tart apples are so perfect with the sweet dip. And nothing says fall like apples!
Another great addition would be our Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats.
Hot Chocolate Buffet
I also set up a little hot chocolate bar with whip cream, regular and chocolate marshmallows and some orange sprinkles -which the kids loved!
Fall Party Activites
Jumping In The Leaves
We had so much fun raking leaves and jumping in them, over and over and over again. Including variations of this like going down the side into the leaf pile and having leaf fights.
Don't forget to have some rakes for making those piles, and some leaf bags for bagging up the leaves at the end of the day. A leaf blower would be a good addition too.
Fall Treasure Hunt
Prep some fall themed treasure ahead of time, by putting some little treasures in a some plastic fall colored plastic Easter eggs. Depending on the age of the kids, look for small toys like boncy balls, yo-yos, stickers, or jewelry. Hide the Easter eggs in the leaves, and let the kids have fun finding them.
Pumpkin Carving and Painting
Another great activity for a fall party is carving and/or painting pumpkins. For pumpkin painting, set up a table lined with brown paper, and arcylic paints, with paper plates as paint pallets, and paint brushes. Glitter is a fun addition too.
Pumpkin carving is a great activity too. Set up a station with carving tools, including carving knives and scoops. We love making pumpkin fairy houses. For this be sure to also include some dried flowers, leaves, and twigs. And don't forget some glue to apply them with.
Staying On Budget
This party is quite inexpensive to put together. Leaves are the star of the show here and free. We made our own decor, and all of the food which was also very budget friendly. Serving just dessert and drinks helps keep the costs down too.
You could also ask friends to bring food. If you do decide to do pumpkin carving or painting, you can also ask friends to bring their own pumpkins to decorate.
We had a great time raking, jumping, playing and snacking!
With a leaf raking get together like this for a family fall party, life really is a party!
Expert Tips
- You need a lot of leaves for the leaf raking and jumping in the leaves. Be sure to pick a spot that has lots. We had our party at a friends house who had big trees in the backyard. A park is a great option too.
Frequently Asked Questions
This party is best outside, and you definatly don't want to jump in wet leaves. So if it rains, it's best to move your party to another day. Watch the weather leading up to the party and you can always reschedule to a rain date.
Want to add a savory option for food, a hotdog roast would be great. If you can build a campfire in your backyard have guests roast their own Winnies, and don't forget to have some marshamallows and smore fixings too. Another great option would be a soup party buffet, or chill.
Leaf raking and pumpkin carving or painting are great outdoor fall activities. You could also add in pumpkin bowling, bobbing for apples, and large outdoor games like corn-hole, or jenga.
More Fall Party Inspiration
If you try any our Fun Fall Party Ideas ideas, or any other ideas on my blog please let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Heather - Chickabug says
What a great idea! You turned a chore into an event! I love it! : )
Denise says
Oh, gosh. You made a party out of a regular day. What fun! I'm going to have to try this.
Clever rake cookies!
Janie Gore says
Your treats look so yummy and beautiful. I love those little polka dot sticks and your tulle Pom poms. Incredible!
Sanghamitra says
Beautiful idea! Love the gorgeous fall colors.
Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see you on my blog:)
Sue {munchkin munchies} says
What a great reason to throw a fun party! I love the theme, and every detail is so cute! You have a flair for setting up all the goodies just right! I'm glad you liked the leaf cookies....they turned out great! Thanks for letting me know:) Your girls look pretty happy in those leaves:)