100 Ways to Have an Outstanding October

• Watch as more than 800 hand-carved pumpkins are electrically lit on Pumpkin Mountain at the annual Pumpkin Fest in St. Joseph, MO, the second weekend of October.
• Roast pumpkin seeds.

• Eat a delicious caramel apple made from scratch at Sweet Caroline’s (7723 W. 151st St., Overland Park, KS, 913.495-9993).
• Make old-fashioned leaf rubbings.
• Treat the kids to Lamar’s pumpkin donuts for breakfast.
• Keep a nature journal.
• Step back in time and attend the Missouri Town 1855 Fall Festival of Arts, Crafts and Music, Oct. 4 & 5. Enjoy 1850s music and dance, horse-drawn buggy rides, hot spiced cider, children’s games, period arts and crafts and fun-filled hayrides.
• Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
• Make apple prints. Cut apples in half (both directions for different results) and use them to stamp on paper.
• Go on a day trip to Weston, MO. This is especially fun during Apple Fest, the first weekend of October, when you can enjoy apples, pumpkins, fall foliage and small-town memories.
• Spend a day at your favorite KC area pumpkin patch.
• Visit a local cupcake shop and try one of their seasonal flavors.
• Make a scarecrow.
• Attend Waterfire, one of Kansas City’s most unique festivals, held Oct. 10 & 11 at the Country Club Plaza. The festival is a multi-sensory experience of music, fire and water featuring a moving art installation with beautiful floating bonfires on Brush Creek.
• Jump in a pile of leaves.
• Take a driving tour to enjoy Missouri’s most vibrant fall leaves—and don’t forget the camera! Visit MDC.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/driving-tours/fall-colors for a leaf map recommending the best places for the best views.

• Bake cinnamon rolls.
• Select your favorite scent for a seasonal candle at 5B&Co. in Brookside (6231 Brookside Plaza, Kansas City, MO, 816.361.6393).
• Visit the farmers market for fresh squash.
• Eat chili and cornbread for dinner.
• Decorate your home with pumpkins and fall decorations.
• Go on a nature scavenger hunt. 
• Host a harvest party.
• Go on a hayride.
• Watch cider making at Louisburg Cider Mill (14730 KS Hwy. 68, Louisburg, KS, 800.748.7765, LouisburgCiderMill.com) and enjoy delicious cider donuts.
• Play Monopoly.
• Ride the Pumpkin Express weekends with the Belton, Grandview & Kansas City Railroad.
• Head to the American Royal’s World Series of Barbecue Oct. 2- 5.
• Carve pumpkins. Visit PumpkinPile.com for free creative designs.
• Delight in gourmet hot chocolate at Christopher Elbow (1819 McGee St., Kansas City, MO, 816.842.1300).
• Pillow fight.
• Lunch at Potpie (904 Westport Rd., Kansas City, MO, 816.561.2702), where you’ll enjoy the best chicken potpie in town.
• Climb a tree.
• Buy a jack-o’-lantern pizza at Papa Murphy’s, available near the end of October every year.
• Collect leaves.
• Get lost in the Liberty Corn Maze (17607 NE 52nd St., Liberty, MO, 816.781.9196). This year’s theme is Sporting KC!
• Learn to knit at the Studio KC (1121 W. 47th St., Kansas City, MO, 816.531.4466).
• Make s’mores.
• Enjoy a fall float trip (MissouriCanoe.org).
• Eat barbecue.
• Enjoy a pumpkin pie concrete at Sheridan’s.
• Go camping.
• Bake an apple pie.
• Take family photos with fall props: scarecrows, pumpkins, hay bales, piles of leaves, etc.
• Spend a day at Howl-O-Fest at Worlds of Fun.
• Go on a hike and discover a new local trail using EveryTrail.com/best/hiking-kansas-city-kansas.
• Watch a football game.
• Check out fall-themed books at the local library: pumpkins, apples, scarecrows, spooky stories, mysteries and more!

• Go fishing locally.
• Pop some popcorn on the cob. You may purchase it from Kansas Originals or other local novelty and seasonal shops.
• Wear boots.
• Zipline through the trees in Bonner Springs at Adventure Zip KC.
• Collect pinecones and create a centerpiece with them.
• Stargaze and enjoy the autumn night sky at Powell Observatory, where you can look through a giant telescope.
• Visit the Kansas City Zoo, where they are hosting pumpkin events all month long.
• Make costumes.
• Visit the petting zoo at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead (13800 Switzer Rd., Overland Park, KS, 913.897.2360).
• Take a family bike ride.
• Experiment with candy. Visit CandyExperiments.com for ideas.
• Make a fall wreath.
• Picnic at the park.
• Participate in the Great Pumpkin Run 5K for charity.
• Plant mums.
• Host an apple bake-off. How many delicious things can you bake with apples?
• Volunteer at Harvesters, Kansas City’s local food bank.
• Create a thankful tree. Use a branch from the yard, place it in a large jar or vase and decorate it with fall cutouts, writing on each one something you are thankful for this year.
• Bake banana nut bread.
• Fall in love and show it! Commemorate your loved one or family with a brick for the path at Union Station, Liberty Memorial or the stadiums. Or for a one-of-a-kind something, purchase a love lock for the Old Red Bridge.
• Collect acorns.
• Stock up on warm clothes for the impending winter season at Children’s Orchard (and save a bundle!). 

• Make birdfeeders.
• Tour Watkins Woolen Mill, America’s only 19th-century textile mill with its original machinery still intact.
• Watch turkeys and other wildlife at Burr Oak Woods Nature Center (1401 NW Park Rd., Blue Springs, MO, 816.228.3766).
• Eat candy corn.
• Check your smoke detectors, review fire safety and practice fire drills for Fire Prevention Month. See NSC.org for tips.
• Sip on some of the best soup in town at Best Regards Bakery and Café (6759 W. 119th St., Overland Park, KS, 913.912.7238).
• Make applesauce in the crockpot.
• Tour beautiful homes at the Kansas City Parade of Homes.
• Paint pumpkins.
• Make a baked potato bar with tons of toppings: cheese, chili, chives, sour cream, bacon, broccoli, you name it!
• Buy a pie at the Upper Crust Pie Bakery (7943 Santa Fe, Overland Park, KS, 913.642.2999 and lower level of Pryde’s Old Westport, 115 Westport Rd., Kansas City, MO), where you’ll enjoy delicious made-from-scratch pie.
• Host a family game night and invite the neighbors.
• Attend a trunk or treat event. 
• Make a fort.
• Take a free tour of the Roasterie and learn about Kansas City’s own air-roasted coffee company.
• Have a family slumber party with favorite snacks, movies and games.
• Go on a day trip to someplace new.

• Play flag football.
• Savor soup and sandwiches at Happy Gillis (549 Gillis St., Kansas City, MO, 816.471.3663), where you’ll enjoy lunch made with healthy, all natural ingredients.
• Get crafty at Kookiedoodle Crafts. Walk in and create a masterpiece! 
• Catch a puppet show at Paul Mesner Puppets.
• Decorate your windows with window markers.
• Eat a plate of Dixon’s Chili (9105 E. US Hwy. 40, Independence, MO, 816.861.7308), serving chili since 1919 and loved by Harry S. Truman himself. This is a local landmark.
• Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
• Start a new hobby.
• Attend a book event at Rainy Day Books.
• Go horseback riding.
• Wear your favorite comfy clothes.
• Read KC Parent Magazine cover to cover.
• Schedule a date night with your spouse or child at Thirsty Palette.

Kansas City mom Kristina Light loves fall most of all.