It’s the weekend, and you’re desperately searching for any way to avoid raking up the thick carpet of leaves that Mother Nature & Sons recently laid in your backyard. We share your dread. Here are some creative ideas for delaying the inevitable (or at least having some fun with the cleanup process).
Start a science experiment. Road-trip with the kids to the hardware store for a roll of chicken wire and a few stakes. Then fence off an area toward the back of your property that’s at least 3-foot square. Dump in plenty of damp leaves. Periodically throughout the winter show the little sprouts how everyone else’s “garbage” has magically turned into your rich, garden-nourishing humus. It’s a life lesson.
Stuff a scarecrow. Pull some old clothes out of the Goodwill bag, sew up the ankles and cuffs, and pack in lots of leaves. Use a plastic pumpkin, painted ball, or mask for the head. Create an entire porch-sitting family.
Send some to “underprivileged” kids. If you have friends in a part of the country where they’re not as blessed as you are, pack a bunch of leaves into a big box and mail it to them. (It won’t cost much because it’s so light.) Label it “Autumn in a Box.”
Create a fall centerpiece or wreath. Get an attractive clear-glass bowl or vase and fill it with the most colorful leaves you can find. Or buy a plain wreath base at the craft store and hot-glue interesting leaves around it. Make sure to stand back afterward and ooh and aah.
Build a campfire. Pick a chilly, starlit night and build a small campfire in the backyard or firepot. Invite the whole family, or just the two of you. Roast marshmallows or hot dogs. Tell ghost stories. The smell of burning leaves makes it extra cozy. (Just make sure to check for any burn restrictions in your area first.)
Comments from Members
My mom used to have us pick out a leaf each year and we would press it with an iron between wax paper. it makes a great book mark. I am planning on trying it with my kids and starting a traditon. I think I will mark the year and something they are thankful for on it too!
heh. We have leaves in abundance and two leaf blowers here. 
Guess what we do? argh. Even I get in on the fun. Leaf Wars.
Many years ago, my 5yr-old helped me unpack our many (paper) bags of groceries. To speed up the process, we tossed all the bags on the kitchen floor as we emptied them & we'd fold them all at once after everything was put away. He took one look at the pile & jumped into it - it sounded just like a huge pile of leaves & kept him laughing & jumping for a long while that afternoon.
We have TONS of trees on our long city block, which still have their leaves but soon they will start shedding. We have a blast making a huge pile of leaves and jumping and/or falling into the pile!After the leaf raking and clean up is done, a nice cup of hot apple cider hits the spot!
since my folks moved to Florida, my dad always says how much he misses the changing of the leaves. I like the idea of "Autumn in a box" for him.
I iron a few pretty branches with leaves and arrange a centerpiece for Thanksgiving
I love the book mark idea. Traditions are so important to me. Now that I have a little one I'm always looking for ways to make fun and meaningful memories.
I like that bookmark idea! We were also looking at letting the kids do leaf rubbings this year. DH and I do most of the raking here since kids are still little but they rake their own piles to jump into. The neighbor kids get into it too. Any leaves that kids rake up can be used for jumping into or burying each other in. They have fun.
When I was growing up we use to makes leaf houses out of the whole front yard. We would divide each room with a row of leaves and then play house. =) Of course when we we're done we would pile them up and jump in =0 Gotta love Indiana!
lots of great ideas
since its to cold in the winter sometimes to enjoy sledding try leaf sledding with the kids find a good hill dump some leaves down the hill bring out the snow sleds or card board and have fun my girls love it with out freezing!
When I was little we would get the colored leaves and put them between wax paper and press them with a iron. They were very pretty. Once they were ironed you could cut out around the and put them on coloered paper and make cards or other decorations. There was something special about being able to share with my children and now my grandaughter . We used this for my sons project at school in the 3rd grade. The teacher loved it.
We love our fallen leaves! We use the most of them for compost, because we have so many, but I also like to decorate with found ornamentals from the outdoors. Great ideas! More reasons to love leaves.
Well I liked reading everyones advice especially because I just moved to Kansas City MO from Florida, I was raised in Florida so this whole Fall/Winter thing is new to me, heck I've never even seen snow. I am excited, but now that the leaves are falling it is really nice to read up on some fun ideas! Thanks to everyone!
In our family we always save all the vegtable, coffee grounds, egg shells and such to put in the compost bin along with leaves in the fall. We later use the rich compost for the vegtable and flower garden.
Leaves make the BEST garden compost. We add some to the regular compost bin and pile tons on the garden since the worst thing you can do is leave the soil bare. We rake away what hasn't decayed and are amazed by how many worms have taken up residence, which is great for aerating and fertilizing the soil.
We always raked the leaves in huge piles and jumped in them when we were young. Now it is something my 4 year old enjoys!!
I found a small, fall-themed picture frame when getting out the fall/Halloween decor. I set it on the table for a couple of days, thinking about what I wanted to do. It occurred to me that it was the perfect size to showcase a leaf, rather than a photo. My daughter and I went outside and found a brilliantly-colored red-orange leaf. We dried it and put it in the frame. It is beautiful and simplistic. I have it displayed on an end table, surrounded by pumpkins, gourds and candles. I love using what you have and getting inspiration from nature.
There are two ten-story oak trees next to our house. They drop leave every day from now until mid-December. It's my physical and mental health break to rake them almost daily. My son likes to practice his hockey shots so it's "parallel play" for my teenager and me, and good outdoor time. We both have impressive calluses! Raking the leaves gives you immediate results (like vacuuming!)
We use ours as mulch around the fruit trees.Turns into great compose for them,also helps protect through winter.
It's just great to know folks are having fun with leaves rather than complaining about having to rake them. My dog loves to go through the pile to find his ball, which I've thrown into it. While I'm mulching, he's playing. Fun comes so easily.
I aklways loved to "trace" different leaves...you put a leaf under a plain piece of paper, and scratch your pencil back and forth over it. the end result is a perfect paper leaf, including all the veins and stem!!!
Great Tips! Sounds like family fun!
