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November is a beautiful and cold month for us who live in the Midwest in North America. Even as we prepare for winter, there are still many marvelous and exciting things we can look forward to during this month.
In recent years, we have become accustomed to seeing Christmas decorations out in stores before Halloween has even occurred yet. I am certainly a holly jolly person, but I also love to give each season its rightful celebration.
To help my family and I enjoy this season of gratitude and thankfulness, we have composed a bucket list of activities. This fun, family oriented and budget-friendly bucket list for the month of November can be enjoyed by anyone. We invite you and your family to enjoy completing these November activities. At the end of the month, we would love to hear about the activities you and your family participated in!
November Bucket List
- Attend/Host A Friendsgiving – The Holiday season always feels like a time to “gather”. Consider attending or hosting a Friendsgiving with all your favorite people. This is a great low-cost option especially if make it a potluck style event in which everyone brings a dish to pass.
- Sit around a bonfire – If your state is approaching winter this may be the last month until spring to truly enjoy those evening bonfires. Bonus if you enjoy the next bucket list item and know two activities out at the same time!
- Enjoy a cup of hot apple cider – Make your own or buy it from the store. It will surely warm you up on those chilly mornings, days or nights.
- Participate in a 30-day Gratitude Challenge – Try to think of one thing you are grateful every day. Keep it private, share it on Social Media or use a sticky note pad at work. Already a week into the month? No worries you can still write down something you’re thankful for, for each day that has passed. This challenge has always changed my perspective going into the Holiday season of giving.
- Donate to a local Food Drive – Even with on a budget, you can help out those who are struggling during this season. There are many local non-profits, schools, and businesses who hold food drives during November.
- Black Friday Shopping – Take advantage of savings and get a head start on gifts for the season! Your December budget may just Thank You!
- Make a Thanksgiving Day Craft – Pinterest has so many great ideas on Thanksgiving-themed crafts to do with the whole family. Our favorites are the following:
- Participate in a local Turkey Trot or Thanksgiving Day 5k – There is nothing quite like getting together with friends and family to run or walk a race before gathering for a delicious meal. There are many cities across the United States that host 5k/10k races on Thanksgiving Day.
- Learn and prepare a new Thanksgiving Dish to pass – The season of gathering definitely presents the opportunity to brush up on cooking skills. Trying out a new dish to take to a Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving dinner can be fun especially if it turns out to be a new favorite amongst the group!
- Go on a Nature Walk/Hike – Whether you have fall foliage or a light dusting of winter snow, consuming fresh air during a nature walk or hike with the family can do good things for the mind, body, and spirit.
- Watch Thanksgiving Themed movies – Cozy up on the couch and enjoy a family movie night. Some of our favorite Thanksgiving-themed movies are below.
- Free Birds
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
- A Winnie The Pooh Thanksgiving
- Rake Leaves and then play in them – Take the chore out of raking the leaves and think about how much fun it is to jump into that colorful pile. Make Fall Angels with your littles and then let them help you rake it all up again!
- Create Art with the Nature of Fall – The colorful and falling leaves, seeds, and acorns provide a great opportunity to take your creative skills outside. Learn more about Nature while creating masterpieces. Here are a couple of our favorite art activities that incorporates getting fresh air outside too!
- Decorate for Thanksgiving – There are so many ways to decorate for the November holiday while living on a budget. You can choose the DIY options or you can raid the Dollar Stores. Pinterest offers so many great ideas and tips on how to stretch your dollar and decorate for Thanksgiving. Some of our favorites are:
- Cornucopia Centerpieces
- Blessed Porch Signs
- Be Thankful Mason Jar Vases
- Get Family Holiday Pictures Taken – If you haven’t already, November is a great time to get those updated family pictures. Many photographers offer mini-sessions that are great for your budget and time management. If you are considering using these pictures as part of your Holiday card, now is the time to get those pictures scheduled.
- Read Thanksgiving Themed Books – We love reading books that are geared towards the current season or holiday. A few of our favorite Thanksgiving-themed books to read to our girls are:
- Visit A Christmas Tree Farm – Every year our family has made the tradition of spending half a day going to pick a live Christmas Tree and then bringing it home to decorate. We typically will do this the weekend after Thanksgiving. It has been a great bonding experience for the whole family. We highly recommend going to a local tree farm this month!
- Plan and Prep For The Christmas Holiday Season – Embrace the next Holiday season with getting a head start in planning and prepping for the season. Start making those gift wish lists, holiday card mailing list, decor ideas, Holiday party invites and so much more. Tis the season!
Have you already completed any of these activities? Do you have bucket list items for November that you didn’t find on this list? Do not forget to come and share with us your favorite activity in November or if you tried out something new!
What a great list! I love that most items are not expensive, which often happens with “bucket lists.” Definitely going to try to show more gratitude for the rest of the month.
Thank you Ann. I can completely understand thr expensive bucket list. However there are so many ways to have fun and make memories that do not involve a high budget!