10 Simple Autumn Things to Do With Your Kids in Hampshire (Before the Season Disappears!)

I have three-year-old triplets, and lately I've been having one of those slightly horrible parenting realisations...

Everything is going SO fast.

I know everyone tells you that when they're babies. It goes so quickly. Soak it all in. You'll miss this. And when you're in the thick of three babies, nappies, feeds, no sleep and just generally trying to keep everyone alive, you're thinking... okay great, but could it maybe go a tiny bit faster right now?

But now they're three. They're proper little people. They have opinions (SO many opinions), favourite things, little friendships, things they find hilarious, things they absolutely will not wear/eat/do under any circumstances. And suddenly I understand what everyone meant. So I'm really trying this year to slow down a little bit. Not necessarily do more with them — because honestly, life with three three-year-olds is already enough of an activity — but actually notice more.

Make memories. Start little traditions. Take the photos. Get IN some of the photos. And really appreciate this particular age and stage of their lives, and mine, before we're onto the next one.

Seasons changing feels almost like NYE - a chance to try again, to make a plan, a list, a goal. So as we all get ready to welcome autumn it feels like the perfect time to do that. So I've put together some of the things I want to do with my own kids this autumn, along with some simple ideas for autumn family days out in Hampshire. Nothing wildly expensive. Nothing requiring you to be a Pinterest mum.

Just little things that might make this autumn one we actually remember.

Here's My List

1. Go Pumpkin Picking

Obviously this had to be number one. There's just something about taking little kids to a pumpkin patch that feels like peak autumn. Let them run around. Let them choose the weird pumpkin. Let them attempt to carry one approximately the same size as their entire body. Take the photos. And if they're anything like mine, accept now that someone is probably going to end up muddy (pack extra clothes and bin bags/towels to protect your car - trust me).

We're lucky to have some lovely pumpkin patches around Hampshire, and Rogate Pumpkin Patch near Petersfield is one of my favourites.

My biggest tips? Go in the morning if you can and wear sensible shoes. It's generally quieter earlier in the day, and you can actually enjoy wandering around before it gets really busy. And don't rush straight home afterwards. Pick your pumpkins, get something warm to drink and make a morning of it.

2. Go for a Walk... But Let Them Lead

This is something I'm trying to get better at. I have three kids the same age, so leaving the house can sometimes feel like a military operation.

"We're going THIS way. Come on. Shoes on. No, your other shoe. Where's your coat? Why are you crying? WE ARE JUST GOING FOR A WALK."

Very relaxing...But every now and then, I want to go somewhere with absolutely no agenda and let them decide what we're doing.

Stop to look at the stick.

Pick up 47 leaves.

Jump in the puddle.

Go down the path that takes twice as long.

Find conkers.

Look under logs.

Because I think sometimes we're so focused on getting somewhere that we forget the wandering around is the thing they'll remember.

3. Have Hot Chocolate Somewhere You're Not Supposed to Have Hot Chocolate

This one is incredibly simple. Make hot chocolate at home. Put it in a flask. Pack some snacks and take it on your walk. Find a log, a picnic bench or somewhere with a nice view and stop. That's it. For some reason, giving children something they have at home all the time but serving it outside suddenly makes it the most exciting thing that's ever happened to them.

Bonus points for marshmallows.

4. Start an Annual Autumn Photo

This one obviously appeals to the photographer in me. Pick somewhere you visit every autumn and take the same photograph every year.

It could be:

The kids holding their pumpkins.

Sitting on the same log.

Standing underneath the same tree.

Walking down the same path.

It doesn't have to be a professional photograph. Your phone is absolutely fine.

Because imagine having that collection in ten years.

The same three little faces, getting bigger every autumn.

Actually, I take it back. Don't do this. I'll cry. But seriously — get yourself in one too.

I'm guilty of this as well. I have thousands of photographs of my children and considerably fewer that show that I was actually there experiencing their childhood with them. Use the timer. Hand your phone to someone. Ask a stranger. It doesn't need to be flattering or perfectly composed. One day you're just going to be glad it exists.

5. Make an Autumn Bucket List — But Let the Kids Choose

Sit down and ask everyone: What's ONE thing you want to do this autumn?

Obviously with three-year-olds I could get absolutely anything back from this question.

Pumpkin picking? Jumping in leaves? Eating cake? Going to Tesco? Who knows. But that's kind of the point.

My kids answers were:

"be Buzz lightyear in a rocket ship" Guess i'm collecting cardboard boxes..

"go grocery shopping and have a picnic" Easy - a big favourite in our house.

"go on a girls date" My daughter loves having girl time without her brothers.

Write everyone's choice down and stick it on the fridge. It doesn't have to be ten elaborate family days out. You're just giving everyone one thing to look forward to doing together before autumn is over.

6. Bake Something Together

I use the word together loosely here. Depending on the age of your children, this may actually mean you bake something while repeatedly preventing someone from eating raw flour.

But let them pour. Let them mix. Let them crack the egg horrifically.

Make apple crumble, pumpkin muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies — whatever your family actually likes.

Take a few photographs while you're doing it too. Not because your kitchen looks beautiful. Because flour-covered faces and tiny hands stirring cake mixture are exactly the ordinary things we're going to miss.

7. Have a Proper Cosy Night

One night, make staying home the actual plan.

Baths early.

Pyjamas on.

Blankets downstairs.

Popcorn.

Hot chocolate.

Everyone chooses a snack.

Put phones away and watch a film together.

I think sometimes we're so busy trying to give our kids experiences that we forget being home together can be the experience. And as they get older, I imagine those evenings where everyone voluntarily piles onto one sofa are going to become a lot harder to come by.

8. Collect Autumn Treasures

Give them a bag on your next woodland walk and let them fill it.

Leaves.

Conkers.

Acorns.

Pinecones.

Interesting sticks.

Whatever treasures they decide are VERY IMPORTANT and absolutely must come home with us.

Then actually do something with them. Make leaf pictures. Paint the pinecones. Make an autumn crown. Press some leaves. Or, realistically, put them in a bowl on the kitchen table and call it autumn decor. I'm counting that too.

9. Go Out After Dark

This is such an easy one, particularly once the evenings start getting darker earlier. Grab some torches and go for a walk somewhere familiar. That's literally it. To us, it's the same walk we've done a hundred times. To a three-year-old who would normally be getting ready for bed? ADVENTURE.

Look at the moon. Listen for animals. Find Halloween decorations. Let them use the torches. It doesn't have to cost anything or involve driving anywhere. It's just making an ordinary evening feel slightly different.

10. Make an Autumn Time Capsule

This is one I really want to start with mine. At the end of autumn, write down a few things about each child.

Their favourite food. Favourite song. Favourite toy. Something funny they keep saying. What they want to be when they grow up. Their current obsession. A word they pronounce funny. Add a drawing, their handprint and a photograph from something you've done together this autumn.

Then put it away. And do it again next year. Because I know what I'm like. Right now I think there's absolutely no way I'll ever forget the funny little things they say or the way they pronounce certain words. But I will. There are already things from when they were babies that I thought I'd remember forever and don't. And I think that's why I'm feeling so strongly about slowing things down this year.

I don't actually want to do more.

That's the thing I've realised while writing this. I don't want to cram our calendar full of activities. I don't want every weekend booked. I don't want to feel like I'm failing if we don't tick everything off some perfect autumn bucket list. I just want to be there for more of it.

My triplets are three. This is the only autumn I'll ever have with them at three. Next year they'll be four. Then five. Then somehow they'll be teenagers and I'll presumably be begging them to come pumpkin picking with me while they roll their eyes.

So this year I'm trying to notice it. The muddy wellies by the door. The ridiculous things they say. The little hands inside mine. The excitement over finding a conker. The three of them somehow managing to argue over a completely identical pile of leaves.

All of it.

Because these are the ordinary days we're going to look back on.

And I want to remember that I was there too.