We adore autumn here at FFHQ, and everything the season brings. The crisp mornings bursting with colour and crunchy leaves gives us all the feels. As for kids, it's nose-diving into leaves season, forest walks, collecting conkers, finding acorns, and getting creative around the kitchen table and doing autumn-inspired crafts. Childhood really is a joy.
As for getting crafty, inspiration sometimes fails us, so if you’re looking for some autumn-themed craft ideas guaranteed to keep the kids quiet, look no further. Here are some of our favourites activities for kids of all ages and abilities:
Leaf wreath
Create a beautiful and easy leaf wreath with orange, yellow and brown leaves from around your neighbourhood. Alternatively, you cut coloured paper to shape. You will also need a wreath frame which could be a cardboard box trimmed in a circle or a paper plate cut to size, glue and string. Tie the string around the frame then glue each leaf onto the frame, overlapping each one as you go and hang; it couldn’t be easier.
Leaf garland
Another autumn-themed craft guaranteed to keep them engaged (and a firm favourite with my little rascals), is making a leaf garland. Using red, yellow, orange and brown cards, let them trace and cut out various leaf shapes until they have at least twenty. Then with the help of an adult punch two holes down the centre to allow you to sting up the leaves to make a stunning fall-inspired garland that will brighten up your home.
Leaf rubbing
Supplies needed for this mini-masterpiece for all ages include real leaves in various shapes and sizes (dry or fresh, it doesn’t matter), thin white paper, and crayons. Position a leaf with its bottom side facing up, place a sheet of paper over the leaf and rub a crayon gently over the area of the leaf and continue until you have covered the entire leaf. Let them get wacky and wild by overlapping leaves and colours until they eventually fill the whole sheet.
Thankful tree
Thanksgiving isn’t a typical celebration here in Ireland, but it’s no reason not to celebrate. For this craft, you will need brown paper, scissors, yellow, orange and red leaves cut to size, a marker, and glue. First up, you will need to cut a and create a tree trunk with lots of bare branches pointing out from the trunk. Next, ask your children what they are thankful for and write them on the leaves before sticking them to your thankful tree for all to see.
Leaf-stained glass
If you have any transparent contact paper (sticky back paper) leftover from covering the school books, this activity is perfect for an autumn-themed craft. Alternatively, you could use double-sided sellotape. To make this stunning leaf-stained glass, stick the contact paper directly to a window and let the little ones press leaves they have collected from the garden directly onto the sticky paper. Watch as the sun catches the colourful leaves and brightens up your home.
