Pumpkin Patch Family Fun

I think that one of the reasons I love all the family fun in the fall is that it is usually a great time of year to be outside. It also isn’t as hectic as the holiday season can get so it is a bit easier to carve out some time together as a family {pun intended ;-)}.

If you’ve never gone to a pumpkin patch, or even if you have, I have some ideas and tips to make your trip as a family successful and fun. 

Some patches have scary haunted houses, which would not be right for my family. Some charge a fee just to come on the property…yucky in my opinion, but they have their reasons. You can also find out payment options because you don’t want to show up with a debit/credit card and they only take cash. If you find that out after the kids have become attached to their pumpkin, well we all know what kind of fun that can be!  

The farm we go to is locally owned by a family. They keep their farm very family friendly. They offer these wagons and wheelbarrows that you can take into the field to carry your pumpkins. Not all farms do this, so be prepared to carry your own pumpkins. Also be prepared for the fact that lots of the smaller farms can’t keep up with how many visitors they have. So they do what our farm does, they scatter pumpkins in the field even though they didn’t grow there. I love it when I can find a pumpkin that actually grew in the field. This year there were none to be had…and we still had fun.

Take water bottles with you. Most farms won’t have a place for you to get a drink.  It can get hot out there in the sun in the field. Most will have some type of bathroom or port-a-potty (but check that out if possible before you go). If you live is a warmer climate you may want sunscreen as well. Don’t forget good shoes for walking in a field.

Above all, take your camera! The pumpkin patch is such a perfect place to get great pictures of your kids and the whole family.

We went in the late afternoon this year…the lighting was perfect for some great pictures.

Within reason, let your kids pick their own pumpkin. If size or money is a concern, let them know you have final say as to if the pumpkin is the correct size for them (and your budget).

You may find some different varieties of pumpkins…we think that is lots of fun!

You may even find some pumpkins you could turn into Cinderella’s coach they are so big!

The farm we go to has both u-pick and ready picked pumpkins. I always want to go to the field and feel like I picked my own (even if it was just randomly plopped there by the farm). However, if you have a family member in a stroller or who has a hard time getting around, you can still head out to the pumpkin patch and have fun  if the farm offers ready picked pumpkins.

Look for other amenities to make your trip fun. Hay rides are a common offering. Some farms charge for the hayride, others don’t. Our farm offers a free hayride that goes through one spooky house. The house isn’t very spooky, but Pumpkin didn’t want to go through it this year. The man operating the hayride was kind enough to offer to skip the house for us so she could go on a ride. Thank you!

Hayrides and later afternoon sun make for some great photos! Lots of u-pick farms, whether apples, strawberries, pumpkins, etc will have a board with heights marked on it or some other type of graphic that your child can stand by. Each year you go back, you can take a new picture in the same location. It is fun to see the changes in the kids and in the family, if you do a family picture.

The pumpkin patch may offer additional items for sale as well. Our farm grows lots of fresh produce which is also for sale. They have honey from the beehives that are on the property as well as all these gorgeous mums. I recommend you go with a budget in mind, because usually all the additional items for sale and the cost of the pumpkins can add up quickly. You don’t want to ruin the fun with the stress of over spending.

All in all, going to a pumpkin patch has become a favorite fall family fun activity and now that we have done it for so many years, it has become a tradition. It is a tradition to which we all look forward! I know one year we didn’t go to a pumpkin patch and we all thought it wasn’t nearly as much fun to pick out a pumpkin at a local stand or Trader Joe’s as it was to go to the pumpkin patch.