Retirement

5 Fall Activities for You and Your Grandchildren

By Chris Duderstadt

September 14, 2023

5 Fall Activities for You and Your Grandchildren


Key Points – 5 Fall Activities for You and Your Grandchildren

  • Sharing Some Favorite Fall Activities from Our Modern Wealth Team Members
  • What Are Your Favorite Fall Activities?
  • Thinking of Some Fall Activities That You Can Do with Your Grandkids
  • Building a Financial Plan That’s Centered Around Doing the Things That Are Most Important to You
  • 5 Minutes to Read

What Are Your Favorite Fall Activities?

The scorching summer heat waves that much of the country experienced this summer seem to be behind us for the most part. So, we decided to go around our offices this week and ask people their favorite fall activities.

If you couldn’t tell, we have quite a few football fans in our offices (myself included). Let us know of some of the fall activities you’re looking forward to this fall. Our staff seems to know their priorities for fall—football and other outdoor activities. If you’ll notice, none of them were financial. We know that finances aren’t most people’s number one priority. It’s usually family, experiences, and fulfilling philanthropy.

We want to learn what’s important to you so we can effectively build a financial plan that’s designed around your goals. We like to do that by taking couples through a prioritization exercise where you and your spouse make a list of things that are important to you. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about your spouse, you might learn something new about them during this exercise.

After you and your spouse compile your respective lists, we’ll have you decide what’s important to you as a couple and then we’ll begin building a plan accordingly. Oftentimes, the No. 1 goal for most couples in retirement is spending more with family, specifically grandchildren. So, we decided to compile a list of five fall activities to do with your grandkids to help you have a fulfilling start to fall. We’ll list some generic fun idea as well as some specific fall activities for those nearby our Kansas City, Detroit, and Glidden area offices.

5 Fall Activities to Do with Your Grandkids

1. Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes, Sunflower Fields Oh My!

Yes, that’s actually three different activities for the first fall activity on our list. The point is to get outside and enjoy some of the great fall scenery that’s around you.

For people around our Kansas City area offices, take a trip to Lawrence sooner rather than later to see the sunflowers in full bloom at Grinter Farms. It’s a great fall activity for all ages and the admission is free. If you’re in the Detroit area, Debuck’s Family Farm has a ton of fun fall activities for all to enjoy.

2. Apple Picking/Drinking Apple Cider and Donuts

Few things hit the spot quite like hot apple cider and donuts on a brisk fall day. The Louisburg Cider Mill just south of Kansas City is always a hit for those in the Kansas City area. You can even bring in the fall season with Cider Fest!

For those close to our Detroit area offices, check out Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill in Armada. You can always make the most of your trip by doing some apple picking as well and taking a few apples back home with you.

3. Attend a Fall Festival

Does your hometown have a fall festival? If not, try to find one nearby and take your grandchildren along. If you live in the Glidden, Iowa area, did you know that the Second Annual Glidden Downtown Fall Fest is set for September 30?

As a Baker University graduate, I love going back to Baldwin City, Kansas (about 40 minutes southwest of Kansas City) and attending the Maple Leaf Festival. If you’re an arts and crafts person, there are several options to choose from at the Maple Leaf Festival. There’s a good chance the same can be said about a fall festival near you.

I’m not a big arts and crafts guy, but just thinking about caramel apples and turkey legs is making me hungry. And, if you’re lucky, the fall festival near you will be in an area with a lot of trees that have leaves changing colors like in Baldwin City.

4. Visiting the Zoo

The zoo might not be the first thing that comes to mind with fall activities, but it can be a blast for you and your grandkids. In addition to seeing a wide variety of animals, many zoos tend to have some Halloween-themed events. If you’re in KC and can’t make it to the Kansas City Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo, check out GloWild. At the Detroit Zoo, don’t miss out on Zoo Boo during the first, second, or third weekends of October.

5. Attending a Football Game

Whether it’s a high school, college, or NFL team, there’s likely a local football team to cheer on near you. Along with serving as Modern Wealth Management’s content manager, I cover Kansas City-area high school football games on Friday nights for PrepsKC. If you and/or your grandkids aren’t interested in football, there’s still a lot of fun to be had at high school football games.

A lot of high schools have youth dance team or cheerleader nights where your grandkids can dance/cheerlead with the cheer and dance teams. If your grandkids want to play an instrument, having them watch and listen to the band could give them a good idea of what instrument they want to play. And, of course, there’s the game itself where you can cheer on your hometown team.

Let Us Know What Fun Fall Activities You Have Planned

Hopefully, this article at least got you thinking of some fun fall activities to enjoy with your grandchildren. The time spent with your grandchildren is so precious, and we want you to make the most of it. Maybe you have something bigger fall activities planned with your grandchildren in mind, like a trip over Thanksgiving break.

Is the cost of the trip the only thing that’s holding you back from planning the trip? Well, if you have a comprehensive financial plan, remember that we can incorporate the trip into your plan via stress testing to see how, if it all, it will impact your probability of success. At Modern Wealth, we already stress test your plan for the possibility of things like a severe market downturn, high inflation, death of a spouse, long-term care stay, your goals, etc.

Making Sure Your Plan Is Up to Date This Fall

Things like your goals, health, and the markets will change over time. That’s a big reason why it’s important that your plan stays up to date. So, if your goal is do something special with your grandchildren, let’s put that in your plan. If you’re still uncomfortable with how it could impact your plan, let’s look at some trade-offs to see if we can make that trip happen.

If you’re a Modern Wealth client and want to discuss how to incorporate fall activities with your grandkids into your plan, contact your advisor. Heck, we’d love for you to bring your grandkids into the office with you. It could be a great way to introduce them to the framework of a financial plan. Nevertheless, we’d love to see them no matter how young or old they are).

If you’re not a Modern Wealth client, we want you have a plan that gives you clarity, confidence, and control. That applies to doing fun fall activities with your grandkids and so many other things in your life, whether you’re approaching or going through retirement.

If you’re ready to build a goals-based plan or have questions about how to go about it, let us know. You can schedule a 20-minute “ask anything” session or complimentary consultation with one of our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals by clicking here. We can meet with you in person, virtually, or by phone depending on what works best for you. We hope that you have a wonderful start to fall that’s filled with fun activities and forward-looking financial planning.


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The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.