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If it’s fairly nice weather outside, and you’re looking for a fun way to do Family Home Evening as well as getting rid of the leaves, consider getting everyone involved in building a few scarecrows.
Before you start gather some old clothes, long pants and long-sleeved shirts work best. You can use electrical ties, twine, or yarn to tie off the ends of the legs and arms, as well as the bottom of the shirt.
This is where you try to make work look like fun. With rakes in hand start bringing together big heaps of leaves. As you do the backbreaking part, let your kids shove the leaves into the clothes. Encourage them to stuff as many leaves in there as possible.
When the clothes are full to bursting it’s time to put your scarecrow together. You can arrange him on a yard chair, or lay him on the ground.
If you have a long stick (my boys find them like magnets to metal) loop some yarn through the belt loops and tie it to the stick. Do the same with the shirt (I recommend using a collared shirt, as you can loop the yarn or twine around the underside of the collar and tie it to the stick in back). As a finishing touch, find an old hat to put on top. You could even put a few pumpkins around him for added flavor.
If you’re not keen on keeping the clothes you can toss the whole thing after Thanksgiving. Otherwise you’ll still have some leaf cleaning to do.
Another good idea for leaves:
Take a look at your Halloween decoration aisle at the store. For pretty cheap they sell garbage bags which, when filled, will look like big Jack-o-lanterns. These work great for holiday decorating, and when you’re done you can toss them. I’ve even seen giant spiders you can stuff, as well as a scarecrow.
One more to grow on:
Before you begin tossing the leaves into bags and such, give your kids the chance to play! See how big a pile you can build and then let everyone have a chance to jump in. My own kids love to try and bury themselves in leaves, like you would sand at the beach. Take lots of pictures. Trust me. This is one experience you’ll want to remember.
