Free and low-cost autumn activities for children can be easily split into outdoor adventures, indoor crafts, and sensory play using everyday items or nature.

Outdoor & Nature Activities (Free)

• Autumnal Park Scavenger Hunt: Search local woods or parks for fallen conkers, pine cones, smooth pebbles, and colourful leaves.
• Leaf Sorting and Counting: Collect leaves of different shapes and shades, then sort them by colour, size, or tree type.
• Puddle Splashing and Den Building: Build outdoor dens using fallen branches and twigs, or head out in wellies to splash in puddles.
• Nature Wands & Stick Frames: Tie sturdy sticks together with string or wool to make square picture frames or magic fairy wands.

Indoor Crafts & Art (At Home)

• Crayon Leaf Rubbings: Place fallen leaves under a piece of paper and rub the side of a wax crayon over the top to reveal the veins.
• Pine cone or Apple Bird Feeders: Roll a pine cone or apple core in peanut butter (or lard) and birdseed, then hang it outside from a twig.
• Leaf Animals: Glue collected leaves onto paper to form shapes like hedgehogs, foxes, or butterflies.
• Window Leaf Printing: Press painted leaves onto paper or stick pressed leaves directly to a sunny windowpane.
• Printed Wall Charts: Download free seasonal checklists like the CBeebies Autumn Activity Sheet to track outdoor discoveries.

Sensory & Kitchen Fun

• Conker Shake Painting: Drop paper and paint-dabbed conkers inside a shallow cardboard box, then shake it to create abstract patterns.
• Stuffed Apple Crumbles: Core local or spare apples, fill them with a simple mix of oats, butter, and cinnamon, and bake them together.
• Blanket Dens: Build a cosy indoor fort using chairs, clothes pegs, and spare bedsheets to read autumn stories inside.

• 10 Free Nature Activities 
• CBeebies Activity Sheets