It happens every September: you're driving down the road and you see the big yellow school buses full of frowning faces. After providing your nieces and nephews with amazing summer fun, they're probably very sad to return back to school. But you're a Savvy Auntie, so you know that this list of fall things to do is the perfect way to help your nieces and nephews to beat their back-to-school blues!

1. Make leaf-rubbings, or leaf book-marks.
Ask their parents if they have contact paper for their kids' workbooks. Cut up some cardboard to bookmark size, lay some construction paper on top, top with a leaf collected from outside,  then cover with the contact paper that was already bought! Cheap and easy fun that encourages reading.

2. Visit a corn maze.

3.Volunteer together.
Animal sanctuaries of all kinds are generally looking for helping hands. Kids love working with the animals, and it is an educational experience to boot!

4. Visit a craft festival.

5. Go horseback riding.

6. Go apple picking together

7. Bake a fresh apple pie with the apples you picked.

8. Attend a football game and have your own mini tailgating party.

9. Bake pumpkin bread.
This is an amazing pumpkin bread recipe from allrecipes.com

10. Go on a hayride together.

11. Drink hot apple cider.

12. Hang a homemade fall wreath.
For a really fun craft to work on with your nieces and nephews, buy plastic fall-colored table cloths and cut out 1”x5” strips. Bend a wire hanger to make it round. Then let the kids tie the strips around the wire hanger until it is covered. You’d be surprised how beautiful this wreath actually is!

13. Make a pot of soup.

14. Play touch football.

15. Go to a pumpkin patch and select the biggest pumpkin you can find.

16. Make a scarecrow for their yard.
Here is a link to clear, simple directions on how to assemble a scarecrow:

17. Make their Halloween costumes.

18. Plant bulbs that will bloom in the spring.

19. Jump in a big pile of leaves.
This is great, because you can also get your nieces and nephews to rake them up in the first place!

20. Make a camp-fire and roast marshmallows
Fire pits, barbecues, and a gas stove-top are perfectly suitable alternatives to the camp-fire! This is also a great way to remind your nieces and nephews about fire safety.

21. Have a pumpkin carving contest.
Use stencils to create an awesome Jack-o-Lantern.
Here is a link to some amazing printable patterns for the kids in your life to follow:

22. Go Trick-or-Treating together.
This experience is even more fun if you, too, wear a costume!

23. Have a Halloween Party!

24. Read fall books together.

25. Go on a walk to look for beautiful fall leaves.