Need ideas for fall harvest party (also called an autumn harvest party, harvest moon parties, or a fall yard party), alternatives to Thanksgiving, ideas for fall festival celebration? Whether you’re looking for fall harvest birthday party activities, autumn harvest game activities, or need classroom fall harvest party ideas, here’s how to celebrate fall equinox and fall harvest for all ages with fall equinox foods and fall equinox party ideas!

Best Ideas For Fall Harvest Party Food and Activities
Autumn and harvest make a great fall party theme! We have harvest party ideas for adults and kids for a great autumn theme gathering for a backyard party or fall festival parties!
How do you host a harvest party?
Creative Fall Party Ideas:
- Host an autumn harvest dinner or lunch (with fun autumn harvest recipes)
- Have supplies so guests can make an autumn harvest bouquet to take home as a party favor
- Decorate with cornucopia full of autumn harvest fruits and vegetables like mini pumpkins, apples, small gourds, and even sweet potatoes and leaves (get pumpkins and apples from a local fall harvest apple orchard or local farm!) for a beautiful autumn table setting or centerpiece
- Have a pumpkin ring toss with small pumpkins with stems and glow necklaces or a large pumpkin with stem attached
- Ask guests to pitch-in with their favorite fall harvest party recipes or fall harvest party snacks
- Have a mini pumpkin scavenger hunt with prizes attached to the pumpkins
- Play harvest games and autumn harvest trivia
- Use autumn harvest quotes as name place settings
- Decorate with fall mum flowers on the dinner party table and bales of hay around the party area
- Make an autumn harvest garland grain wreath as a party decoration
- Use printed poems for autumn and harvest as placemats
- Make hot apple cider
- Use hay bales or straw bales for seating around low tables
- Have an outdoor bonfire with s’mores (s’more bars are fun for fall harvest birthday party ideas, too!) for a cozy fall harvest party or after your fall harvest dinner party to honor the harvest season
- Decorate with beautiful fall harvest leaves party string lights (we use these as part of our table decorations and also in mason jars and they were a big hit! One of my favorite fall harvest decorating ideas!) or make your own waxed leaves for garland
- Search fall harvest events near me and go to a harvest community event for the fall season!
This is my favorite season and harvest theme activities are some of my favorite things to do in the cooler weather — outdoor games, roaring fire, and delicious foods are so much fun for fall parties!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Autumnal Equinox Activities for Kids (fall harvest party ideas for preschool and up!) and
MORE SOLSTICE CELEBRATIONS AND EQUINOX PARTIES:
DIY Summer Solstice Party Activities At Home
If you’re not familiar with it, you may be wondering what is a harvest party?
What is autumn harvest?
Autumn harvest is usually centered around autumn equinox or the autumn equinox harvest moon (the full moon closest to fall equinox). It is a time to celebrate the bounty of the season because it represents the end of the growing season. This is the time when the days start getting shorter and the nights get longer. The leaves start to change color and fall off the trees. And, of course, there are all sorts of delicious fall fruits and vegetables to enjoy, so you gather friends and family to enjoy the autumn bounty.
This fall themed party is a great end of summer party to celebrate the harvest or even later in autumn to celebrate harvest foods for Thanksgiving parties!
(Get full fall festival & harvest party ideas below!)
AFTER FALL HARVEST IDEAS, BE SURE TO ALSO CHECK OUT:
OK! Let’s get to our ideas for harvest party, including food ideas for a fall harvest party!
How Do You Throw A Fall Harvest Party? Best Ideas For A Fall Harvest Party
First, let’s start with ideas for harvest festival activities…
What do you do at a harvest party?
Have fun with these fall harvest party ideas games, harvest party craft ideas, and fall harvest activities for all ages!
Ideas for fall harvest party activities and harvest party games:
- Make waxed leaves that guests can take home as fall harvest party favors
- Have a pumpkin toss for an easy and fun idea for kids (or use mini pumpkins for different games)
- Want ideas for harvest festival flowers? Have a autumn flower party (learn how to have flower bar here)
- Have a bonfire. This is a great way to keep guests warm as the night gets cooler. Make sure to have plenty of plaid blankets to keep warm and offer sticks and marshmallows for roasting!
- Make fall leaf dancers with real autumn leaves! (Get the free leaf party printables here.)
- Set up a fall craft table with crafts for autumn like: pumpkin leaf wreaths, leaf sun catchers, fall popsicle stick crafts, and more!
- Have a fall sensory table, including this fun autumn sensory activity (get the free fall sensory printables here)
- Go on a hayride. This is a fun activity for all ages and is a great way to take in the autumn scenery.
- Have a pumpkin carving contest. This is always a hit with kids activities and adults alike. Have contest with different categories — most creative, funniest, etc. (Or, if you don’t want to carve, do pumpkin painting! Get some pumpkins and paint them or color them with markers with autumn designs.)
- Play cornhole and have a fun game corn hole competition.
- Have a fall-themed scavenger hunt with fall themed items like leaves, acorns, pinecones, apples, etc.
- Go on a nature hike before dinner. Explore the changing leaves and look for animals preparing for winter.
- Bob for apples (learn how here) – give each person their own bobbing bucket and apples for sanitary purposes.
- Have sack race competitions.
- Make paper plate scarecrows and other fall crafts for kids.
- Offer a fall theme dessert table with fall-themed desserts like pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and even candy corn.
This is the perfect time of year for gatherings! There are so many fun things to do at a harvest party for kids and adults! Let us know if you have more ideas for autumn harvest activities! We’ll add them to our activity ideas and games list!
What do you serve at a harvest dinner?
Your fall equinox dinner menu and fall equinox recipes should be centered around foods to celebrate fall equinox and the bounty of fall.
Think comfort food for fall equinox meals and vegetables and fruits you see at the end of the season — great ideas for fall parties!
DIY Fall Harvest Party Food Ideas / Fall Harvest Party Menu Ideas:
- Autumn harvest salad recipe
- Roasted vegetables for autumn harvest
- Autumn harvest pumpkin soup
- Fall harvest party mix (try this party mix recipe for something different!)
- Autumn harvest quiche
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Autumn harvest apple cider with cinnamon sticks
- Autumn harvest kale salad
- Southwest Sweet Potato Soup with a cornbread crust
- Autumn harvest wild rice soup
- Pumpkin cornbread (try this instead of pumpkin bread!)
- Autumn harvest vegetable soup (made from the final garden harvest of the season!)
- Apple Pear Cranberry Salad
- Autumn salad with roasted squash and cranberries
- Corn pudding (a favorite food fall harvest idea in our house!)
- Pumpkin spice autumn harvest latte
- Charcuterie graze board / cheese board
- Autumn harvest lentil soup
- Green Beans and Potatoes in Slow Cooker
- Autumn harvest dips
- Roasted pumpkin seeds
- Autumn harvest bread with pumpkin seeds
- Grilled ears of corn
- Pumpkin and squash autumn harvest quinoa bowl
- S’mores over the bonfire
- Sun tea served in a mason jar
- Apple cider
- Popcorn balls
- Homemade kettle corn
- Hot chocolate bar with toppings
- Pumpkin pie
- Pumpkin spice coffee
- Pumpkin donuts / apple cider donuts
- Caramel Apple Bar or Caramel Apples Snack Board
- Apple pie
When wondering what should be served at a harvest party, think of any traditional fall foods or foods harvested at the end of summer!
Fun Fall Harvest Party Names
- Harvest Wishes Party
- Harvest Bounty Celebration
- Autumn Winds Fall Festival
- Celebrate the Season
- A Harvest of Fun
- Leaves of Change Celebration
- Thankful Gathering
- Fall into Fun
- Cornucopia Of Fall Fun
- Apple Cider Social
More Fun Fall Themed Parties: How To Throw The Best Football Parties Ever!
Happy fall and Happy Harvest!
We hope these tips for how to host the best fall harvest party were helpful and you have a good time!
We hope you enjoy the spirit of the season with these helpful tips and ideas for fall harvest party / ideas for fall party festivals!