20 Fall Coloring Pages (Download Free Printable PDF)

7 Crafts for Kids Using Fall Coloring Pages

There is something magical about fall. The colorful leaves, cool mornings, and cozy afternoons make it one of my favorite seasons for family crafts. It’s also the perfect time to bring out fall coloring pages and turn them into creative projects that children will remember long after the season ends.

As a former private school teacher, I’ve learned that seasonal crafts help children notice the world around them while practicing creativity and fine motor skills. Spending time outdoors also helps children observe seasonal changes firsthand. The National Park Service’s guide to autumn leaves is a wonderful resource for learning why leaves change color during fall.

Last autumn, Emily suggested we spend one Saturday afternoon away from screens. Lisa immediately started planning colorful decorations, while Mike ran outside collecting leaves for our projects. By sunset, our dining table was covered with smiling pumpkins, colorful trees, and lots of happy memories.

In this guide, I’ll share seven easy fall crafts that are perfect for families, classrooms, homeschool activities, or a quiet weekend at home. Most of them use everyday materials, making them simple enough for almost anyone to enjoy.

1. Fall Nature Discovery Book

Turn Fall Coloring Pages into a Keepsake Full of Autumn Adventures

This has become one of our favorite autumn traditions. Instead of putting finished coloring pages in a drawer, we turn them into a little book filled with treasures we find outside. Every page reminds us of a different family walk.

Mike found the tiniest red leaf I’d ever seen. He insisted it deserved its own page, and Lisa carefully helped him glue it into our book.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Child-safe scissors
• Hole punch
• String or binder rings
• Glue stick
• Real fall leaves, small flowers, or seeds
• Blank paper

Steps:

1. Print your favorite fall coloring pages. Trees, pumpkins, squirrels, and woodland animals are great choices for this craft.
2. Let your kids color each page before heading outside for a short nature walk.
3. Look for little treasures, such as colorful leaves, tiny twigs, or interesting seeds. Remember to leave living plants and flowers where they are.
4. Glue one or two nature finds onto a blank page beside each finished coloring page.
5. Ask your child to write a short sentence about where they found each item. Younger children can tell their story while an adult writes it down.
6. Punch holes along one side and tie the pages together with string or binder rings.
7. Read through the finished book together at the end of the season. It’s a wonderful way to remember your family’s autumn adventures.

When we looked back at ours last year, Mike laughed because he had completely forgotten about the “super tiny leaf” he was so excited to save. Those little memories are what make this craft special.

Outdoor Tip: Choose dry leaves instead of wet ones. They glue more easily and are less likely to wrinkle after they dry.

Make It Even More Personal: Write the date and the place where each leaf or seed was collected. After a few years, your child will have a collection of fall memories that tells the story of growing up, one autumn at a time.

2. Fall Gratitude Tree

Grow Kindness with Fall Coloring Pages

Fall is a great time to calm down and appreciate the simple things. This craft is a fun way for kids to practice thankfulness while making a colorful tree they can add to throughout the season.

One chilly afternoon, Emily asked everyone to write something that made them smile that day. Mike wrote, “Playing outside with Dad,” while Lisa thanked her teacher for helping with a class project. It quickly became one of our favorite family traditions.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Brown construction paper
• Colored paper in red, orange, and yellow
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick
• Markers or crayons
• Poster board

Steps:

1. Print out your best fall coloring pages with leaves, trees, or scenes from the woods.
2. Color the pages and cut out the tree or leaf designs.
3. Glue a large brown paper tree trunk onto the poster board.
4. Add your colored tree pieces to create a bright autumn tree.
5. Cut extra paper leaves and ask each family member to write one thing they are thankful for.
6. Glue a new gratitude leaf onto the tree every few days until it’s full.
7. Hang the finished tree somewhere everyone can enjoy reading the messages.

Mike loved to read every leaf out loud when our tree was full. Some made us laugh, some made us smile, but they all made us realize how many amazing times we had together.

Family Tradition: After fall ends, save the gratitude leaves in a small envelope. Reading them next year is a wonderful way to remember happy family moments.

Extra Smile: Let children decorate one “surprise leaf” without showing anyone. At dinner, everyone can guess who wrote it before revealing the answer.

3. Autumn Window Scene

Build a Colorful Fall View for Your Windows

One thing Lisa enjoys every autumn is decorating the windows before the leaves outside begin to change. Instead of buying decorations, we make our own using fall coloring pages, and every window tells a different little story.

Mike always insists there has to be at least one squirrel hiding somewhere in the picture.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Clear contact paper
• Child-safe scissors
• Crayons or markers
• Tissue paper in fall colors
• Tape

Steps:

1. Print pumpkin, tree, bird, and wild animal coloring pages for fall.
2. Let your kids color each picture before carefully cutting them out.
3. Tear small pieces of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper.
4. To make it look like stained glass, put the coloring page on clear contact paper and use tissue paper to fill in the blanks.
5. Cover with another sheet of contact paper to seal everything inside.
6. Trim the edges and tape the finished artwork onto a sunny window.
7. Watch how the sunlight shines through the colorful tissue paper during the day.

One bright morning, sunlight filled our kitchen window with warm autumn colors. Mike stood there quietly for a moment before saying, “It looks like the trees came inside our house.” Simple creative activities like this encourage children to explore color, light, and design through play. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) describes how hands-on art experiences support early learning and creativity.

Helpful Hint: Large, simple coloring pages work best because they leave more space for colorful tissue paper to catch the light.

Creative Twist: Make one window scene at the beginning of fall and another near Thanksgiving. It’s fun to compare how your child’s coloring style changes in just a few weeks.

4. Fall Harvest Basket

Fill a Basket with Colorful Fall Coloring Sheets

Kids love this craft because they get to “harvest” their own brightly made things. They don’t pick fruits or vegetables; instead, they color their own pumpkins, apples, leaves, and other fall treasures and put them in a small basket.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Small paper basket or brown paper bag
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick
• Crayons or markers
• Colored paper (optional)

Steps:

1. Print your favorite pumpkin, apple, acorn, leaf, or woodland animal coloring pages for fall.
2. Color each picture using bright fall colors.
3. Carefully cut out the finished pictures.
4. Fold a sheet of brown paper into a simple basket or use a small paper bag.
5. Fill the basket with the colorful cut-outs until it looks like a little autumn harvest.
6. Decorate the outside of the basket with extra leaves or small drawings.
7. Place the basket on a table, bookshelf, or entryway to brighten your home.

Mike liked pretending he was delivering fresh pumpkins to everyone in the family. By the end of the afternoon, each of us had received at least three “special deliveries.”

Decorating Idea: Add a small name tag to the basket so each child has their own fall collection. They can keep adding new colored pieces throughout the season.

5. Fall Story Path

Create an Autumn Adventure

Some coloring pages tell wonderful stories without using any words. This craft lets children build their own adventure by connecting different pictures into one long path.

Lisa enjoys planning the beginning and ending, while Mike usually comes up with the funniest surprises in the middle of the story.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Long strip of paper or several sheets taped together
• Glue stick
• Child-safe scissors
• Crayons or markers
• Pencil

Steps:

1. Print several fall coloring pages with different autumn scenes.
2. After coloring each page, cut out the main pictures.
3. Glue the pictures on the long paper, leaving a space between each.
4. Draw a winding path that connects every picture together.
5. Ask your child to tell what happens at each stop along the path.
6. Add little details like footprints, birds, falling leaves, or hidden acorns between the scenes.
7. Roll up the finished story path and read it together whenever your child wants to share their adventure.

One evening, Mike decided his squirrel needed to rescue a lost pumpkin before the first windy day arrived. Lisa quickly added a friendly owl to help, and together they created a story none of us could have imagined alone.

Keep the Fun Going: Leave a blank space at the end of the path. Every few days, your child can draw one more scene to continue the story until fall comes to an end.

6. Fall Leaf Matching Game

Learn While Playing with Fall Coloring Pages

Kids really enjoy making their own games. This activity turns fall coloring pages into a simple matching game that keeps kids busy and helps them learn how to notice things.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Cardstock or thick paper
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick
• Crayons or markers
• Small storage bag or envelope

Steps:

1. Print out two copies of your favorite fall coloring pages that have pumpkins, leaves, acorns, or animals from the woods.
2. Let your kids color both copies before cutting out the pictures.
3. Glue each picture onto cardstock to make sturdy game cards.
4. Cut the cards into matching pairs.
5. Mix them up and place them face down on a table.
6. Take turns flipping over two cards to find a match.
7. Store the finished cards in a small envelope so they’re ready for another family game night.

Mike liked adding silly names to each leaf before we started. Suddenly, we weren’t looking for a maple leaf anymore—we were searching for “Captain Crunchy Leaf!”

Learning Tip: As the children find each match, encourage them to name the object and describe its color or shape. It is a fun and easy way to learn new vocab.

Family Challenge: After the game, have everyone pick their favorite card and give reasons why. You might be surprised what your children come up with creatively.

7. Autumn Family Recipe Book Cover

Decorate Favorite Recipes with Coloring Pages

Fall always reminds me of warm homemade treats. Apple muffins, pumpkin soup, and Emily’s cinnamon cookies seem to appear more often this time of year. This craft gives children a chance to decorate a special recipe book the whole family can enjoy.

Lisa carefully drew little leaves around every page, while Mike insisted that every recipe needed a smiling pumpkin on the cover.

Materials Needed:

• Fall coloring pages
• Binder or folder
• Clear plastic cover (optional)
• Glue stick
• Child-safe scissors
• Crayons or markers
• Blank paper for recipes

Steps:

1. Print and color one or two fall coloring pages with pumpkins, leaves, apples, or harvest scenes.
2. When you get finished with the coloring, cut out your favorite pictures.
3. Glue them onto the front of a binder or folder to create a custom cover.
4. Add the title, such as “Our Family Fall Recipes,” using colorful letters.
5. Fill the inside with favorite family recipes or simple snacks kids can help prepare.
6. Leave a few blank pages for new recipes you’ll discover together.
7. Bring out the recipe book each autumn and keep adding new family favorites.

One weekend, Mike proudly showed visitors the recipe book before they even saw the cookies. He kept saying, “I made the cover!” and you could tell how proud he felt.

Make It a Tradition: Write the year beside every new recipe you add. Looking back after a few autumn seasons becomes just as enjoyable as making the recipes themselves.

Fall has a way of slowing life down, and that’s what makes it the perfect season for creating together. I hope these fall coloring pages become more than a fun afternoon activity. Maybe they’ll inspire a new family tradition, decorate your home with handmade memories, or encourage your child to look a little closer at the colorful world outside. Grab our free fall coloring pages PDF to print your favorite designs and enjoy every cozy, leaf-crunching, creative moment that autumn has to offer. Sometimes the smallest crafts become the memories children keep the longest.