20 Fall Side Quests to Add a Bit of Whimsy to Your Autumn
If your routine is starting to look a little too “routine-ish”, (if that’s even a word), consider this your sign to add a few fall side quests to your calendar.
And when I say side quests, I mean those random little adventures that have absolutely nothing to do with your regular responsibilities; but somehow make life feel a little more interesting.
From making pizza from scratch to going on a solo trip, here’s 20 fall side quests to add a little spice, whimsy, and adventure to your autumn.
What Are Fall Side Quests?
Fall side quests are basically little activities, adventures, challenges, or random things you decide to do simply because they sound fun.
Think of your regular life as the main storyline. You may have work, school, errands, appointments, laundry, grocery shopping, and all of the other things that keep life moving.
A side quest is what happens when you temporarily wander away from all of that.
Maybe you decide you want to learn how to make bread. Maybe you drive somewhere just to watch the sunset. Or maybe you spend Saturday morning at a farmers market.
Overall, it’s really about exploring, being curious, trying new things, and giving yourself experiences outside of your normal routine.
Fall Side Quests
1. Make Pizza From Scratch
If you like to cook, or you simply want to challenge yourself to make something you usually order, attempt to make pizza completely from scratch.
And when I say from scratch, I mean from scratch.
Get the yeast. Let it bloom. Make the dough. Let the dough rise. Knead it. Roll it out. Add all of your toppings. Basically, turn your kitchen into your own little pizza shop for the evening.
2. Dedicate an Entire Week to Random Acts of Kindness
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and fall being a season centered around gratitude and thankfulness; lean into it by creating your own random acts of kindness challenge.
You could dedicate a day, one week, or even an entire month to doing at least one kind thing every day.
And these don’t have to be huge gestures. For example, you could:
- Pay for someone’s coffee
- Send an encouraging text to someone you haven’t talked to in a while
- Leave a thoughtful review for a small business
- Pick up groceries for someone
- Babysit for a friend or family member
- Help someone clean or organize their home.
3. Get a New Hairstyle
If you’ve been itching to switch up your look, fall is a great time to finally do it.
Get the haircut you’ve been saving on Pinterest. Try highlights. Experiment with a different hair color. Get braids in a style you’ve never tried before. Try bangs. Or simply switch up the way you normally style your hair.
4. Revamp Your Wardrobe
Speaking of switching things up, use this season as an excuse to give your wardrobe a little refresh.
Come up with some new outfits with pieces you already own. And use this time to also clean and organize your closet and shop for some new clothes.
5. Go Somewhere Just to Watch the Sunset
Since the sun sets earlier in the fall; turn an ordinary evening into a little side quest by finding somewhere scenic to watch it.
Just sit there.
No big itinerary. No rushing to the next activity.
Simply watching the sky turn into a gradient of pink, orange, and blues.
6. Take Yourself on a Solo Date
This is one of my favorite side quests, especially when I’m craving some alone time and looking to reset.
If doing things alone makes you nervous, start small.
Go to the movies by yourself. Grab coffee and sit inside instead of taking it to go. Visit a bookstore. Walk around a museum. Get lunch somewhere casual.
Then gradually work your way up to things that feel slightly more intimidating, like going to dinner alone or attending an event by yourself.
And since the word *date* is literally in the name, treat it like one.
Pick an outfit. Get dressed up. Put on your favorite perfume. And simply look forward to it.
7. Give Yourself a Budget and Create an Outfit With It
Turn shopping into a challenge by giving yourself a ridiculously specific budget and seeing what you can create.
For example, give yourself $20 and head to a store with the goal of putting together a cute outfit.
You can also do this with home decor to find fall decorations. Or even with groceries, and turn this into a food budget challenge.
8. Take the Train Somewhere New
Look into Amtrak routes and take the train to a new destination.
9. Rearrange Your Furniture
If you’re looking around your bedroom or living room thinking, Hmmmm…something’s missing, try rearranging what you already have before immediately buying something new.
Move your bed to another wall. Change where your dresser sits. Rearrange your living room furniture. Or even move your desk closer to a window.
10. Start a New Hobby
Hobbies are one of my favorite types of side quests because I have a tendency to start something and suddenly become deeply invested in it.
If you’re planning on spending more time indoors this fall, I highly recommend starting a new hobby.
From crocheting to baking and photography, there’s so many options to choose from.
Do a little research, buy a small amount of beginner supplies, and give yourself permission to be terrible at it for a while.
You don’t need to monetize it.
You don’t need to become an expert.
Simply enjoy the process of working at it.
Best Fall Side Quests
11. Create a Fall Bucket List
Of course, you can make a regular fall bucket list.
But we’re talking about side quests, so let’s make it slightly more interesting…
Write every activity from your fall bucket list onto separate little pieces of paper. Fold them up and put them inside a jar or bowl.
Then throughout the season, randomly pull one out.
Whatever you pick becomes your side quest for the day or week.
I loveee this concept because it adds a bit of mystery to your bucket list. Since you have no idea what activity you’re going to pull out.
12. Go Apple Picking
If you have apple farms nearby, take advantage during early fall and spend an afternoon picking your own.
Walk around the orchard. Fill up your bag. Take some pictures. And then bring everything home and figure out what exactly you’re going to do with the slightly unreasonable amount of apples you’ve collected.
You can eat them as they are. Make apple crisp. Bake an apple pie. Make apple butter. Or add them to salads.
Personally, once fall rolls around, I’m constantly making apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast. So that’s probably where half of mine would end up.
13. Recreate a Fall Recipe
From breakfast to dinner look up some yummy fall recipes and recreate them.
14. Go on a Trip
Whenever I think about side quests, taking a trip is one of the first things that comes to mind.
And it doesn’t have to be a huge vacation.
Take a solo trip. Plan a day trip. Spend a weekend somewhere nearby. Visit a neighboring city you keep driving past but have never actually explored.
Or, if you have the time and budget, plan a full week somewhere completely new.
15. Do Something That Feels Nostalgic From Your Childhood
Here’s your excuse to temporarily become 7 years old again.
Think about the things that made you ridiculously happy as a kid and recreate a few of them.
Order a Happy Meal. Go to a trampoline park. Spend an evening coloring. Watch Saturday morning cartoons with a giant bowl of cereal. Play an old video game. Make friendship bracelets. Visit an arcade.
Basically, choose something that would make your inner child extremely happy; and do it without worrying about whether you’re technically “too old.”
16. Pick a Random Topic and Deep Dive Into It
Use the fall season to grow your knowledge.
Think of a topic that you want to learn more about and spend a few weeks or months actually researching it.
It could be learning how credit works, understanding the home buying process, learning about investing, studying fitness, understanding macros and nutrients, learning about interior design, researching a period in history, or diving into a completely random subject you’ve always found interesting.
And with this, I highly recommend getting a notebook, where you can take notes.
17. Buy a Disposable Camera and Document the Season
Buy a disposable camera and keep it with you throughout the fall.
Take pictures of completely ordinary things.
- Your coffee order
- Your friend laughing
- A random afternoon
- Dinner
- A bookstore
- A pretty sunset
- Your outfit
And don’t overthink whether the pictures are aesthetic enough or Instagram worthy.
That’s actually the fun part!!
You won’t know exactly how everything turned out until you develop the photos.
Of course, you can also do this with your phone. Create a fall photo album and intentionally take little snapshots of things that bring you joy throughout the season.
By the end of fall, you’ll have created your own visual diary.
18. Attend a Local Event
With fall, there’s often a lot of community events happening. So take advantage and attend one.
19. Create a Fall Movie List
Make a fall movie watchlist filled with cozy movies that you want to watch this season. And dedicate a few nights to watching them.
Also, take this opportunity to spice up the way you’re watching the movie.
For example, you could light a candle in the background, make a snack tray, and of course, wear some fuzzy socks and cozy pajamas.
20. Write a Novel
If you’re looking for something creative that you can start, stop, and come back to throughout the fall season, consider writing a novel.
Whether you want to write drama, fantasy, mystery, or something completely made up in your own little world, there are so many different directions you can take it.
And if you have no idea where to start, look up a few writing prompts and use them to get your creative juices flowing.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite activities on this list. Because it almost feels like a little rebellion against all of the AI slop we’ve been seeing lately.
There’s something refreshing about going back to the “good old fashioned” way of using our brains, getting creative, and making something that excites us.
