Fall Spirit Week Ideas

Dress-up days for October, November and Thanksgiving week, in harvest colors and cozy layers.

Fall Spirit Week Ideas

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  1. First Frost DayWhite or silver over fall colors, like frost on the leaves: a white scarf, a silver jacket, a pale hat.
  2. Vest Weather DayA vest over long sleeves: quilted, fleece, denim or knitted.
  3. Tree in Four Grades DayThe youngest grade wears green, the next yellow, the next orange and the oldest red, so the hallways turn like a tree.
  4. Pumpkin Patch DayCome as part of the patch: orange for a pumpkin, green for a vine, a straw hat for the farmer.
  5. Puddle Boots DayRain boots with ordinary clothes. The brightest pair leads the line to lunch.

Next step Games for Thanksgiving weekA fall scavenger hunt

How it works

These fall spirit week ideas follow the season: orchard and pumpkin-patch days for October, the clock change and Thanksgiving week for November. None is a Halloween costume, so the week can run before October 31 or after it.

Read the full guide

October spirit week ideas, before the costumes

October days dress as the season: Candy Corn Day in three stacked colors, Corn Maze Day with a hand-drawn map, Walking Leaf Pile Day in paper leaves. Fire Drill Red Day belongs to the week of October 9, Fire Prevention Week in the United States and Canada.

November and Thanksgiving spirit week ideas

Fall Back Day is for the Monday after the first Sunday of November, when most of the United States turns its clocks back. The Thanksgiving days dress as the meal and the thanks, never as a people: Side Dish Day, Favorite Pie Day, Thankful Chain Day, and Leftovers Day to close the week.

  • Name a color day after a thing. Maple red and pumpkin orange are easier to find in a closet than burgundy and rust.

Questions and answers

What are good spirit week ideas for fall?

An example week: Sweater Weather Day on Monday, Apple Orchard Day on Tuesday, Maple Red Day on Wednesday, Puddle Boots Day on Thursday and Leftovers Day on Friday, when everyone wears one piece from each earlier day.

What are spirit week ideas for October?

Pumpkin Patch Day, Scarecrow Day, Leaf Peeper Day, Busy Squirrel Day and Flying South Day. Each dresses as something seen outdoors in October, from closet clothes and a little paper or yarn.

What are Thanksgiving spirit week ideas?

Thankful Chain Day, Hand Turkey Day, Family Recipe Day, Stretchy Pants Day and Turkey Trot Day. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, so plan them for the days that lead up to it.

What are November spirit week ideas for work?

Leftover Candy Bowl Day in the first week, then Desk Blanket Day, Soup Swap Lunch, Thankful Tree Day and Pie Table Day before the holiday. Each asks people to bring or do one small thing, and joining is a choice.

What do you wear for fall spirit days?

Layers that are already in the closet: a flannel tied at the waist, the first heavy sweater of the year, rain boots, a vest, thick socks that show over the boot. The cozy-weather days need nothing new.

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All 65 days

October days 13

  • Apple Orchard Day Red, green or yellow for the apple you like best, with a lunch bag as the picking basket.
  • Busy Squirrel Day Gray or brown, a scarf tucked into the belt as a tail and pockets full of paper acorns.
  • Candy Corn Day White on top, orange in the middle, yellow at the bottom: a white hat, an orange shirt and yellow pants or socks.
  • Corn Maze Day Yellow and green, plus a hand-drawn map of the school pinned to one sleeve.
  • Farm Stand Day Come as something from the fall farm stand: a green pear, a purple beet, a yellow ear of corn, a white gourd.
  • Fire Drill Red Day Red from collar to socks in the week of October 9, which the United States and Canada keep as Fire Prevention Week.
  • Flying South Day Dress as a bird on its way south: paper feathers on the sleeves, sunglasses and a very small suitcase.
  • Hayride Day Jeans, boots and a rolled blanket under one arm, ready for a seat on the wagon.
  • Leaf Peeper Day Dress as a visitor who came to see the leaves: a camera strap, a folded map and binoculars made from two cardboard tubes.
  • Odd Gourd Day Clashing greens and yellows, stripes with spots, the bumpier the better, like the gourds nobody can name.
  • Pumpkin Patch Day Come as part of the patch: orange for a pumpkin, green for a vine, a straw hat for the farmer.
  • Scarecrow Day A plaid shirt, patched jeans and a floppy hat, with yellow yarn peeking out of the cuffs as straw.
  • Walking Leaf Pile Day Paper leaves in red, orange and yellow taped all over a brown or green outfit.

November and Thanksgiving week 15

  • Dress as Your Can Day Bring a can for the food drive and dress in the color of its label: green for beans, red for tomato soup, yellow for corn.
  • Fall Back Day Pajamas or a robe on the Monday after the first Sunday of November, when most of the United States sets its clocks back an hour.
  • Family Recipe Day An apron, with a card pinned on that names the dish your family makes every year.
  • Favorite Pie Day Orange for pumpkin, red for cherry, tan for apple with brown tape in a lattice, and a white hat as the whipped cream.
  • First Frost Day White or silver over fall colors, like frost on the leaves: a white scarf, a silver jacket, a pale hat.
  • Hand Turkey Day Trace your hand on paper, color the fingers as tail feathers and wear the turkey as a badge.
  • Holiday Traveler Day A neck pillow, a backpack and a hand-drawn ticket to wherever your family gathers.
  • Leftovers Day The last day of the week: wear one piece from each earlier day, all at once.
  • Set the Table Day Friends come as one place setting: a plate in white, a fork and a knife in gray, a napkin in checks.
  • Side Dish Day Everyone remembers the turkey, so come as a side: green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn bread.
  • Stretchy Pants Day Sweatpants, leggings or anything with an elastic waist, in honor of the big dinner.
  • Thankful Chain Day Wear a paper link on your wrist that names one thing you are thankful for. At the last bell the links join into one chain.
  • Thanksgiving Parade Day Come as someone in a parade: a drum major, a float rider, a baton twirler, the person holding a balloon string.
  • Turkey Trot Day Running shoes and workout clothes in fall colors, for a lap of the field. Turkey trots are the fun runs held around Thanksgiving.
  • Veterans Day Red, White and Blue The three colors on November 11, Veterans Day in the United States, or on the school day nearest it.

Harvest color days 13

  • Bonfire Colors Day Red, orange and yellow in layers, with dark shoes as the logs.
  • Butternut and Sage Day Pale orange or tan with one gray-green piece: the squash and the herb that is cooked with it.
  • Chestnut Brown Day Brown on brown: a tan top, darker pants and anything in leather or corduroy.
  • Cranberry Bog Day Deep red on top and blue or gray below, like berries floating on water.
  • Goldenrod Day Every yellow in the closet at once, from pale butter to deep gold.
  • Harvest Moon Day Gold or pale yellow on top and dark blue below, for the full moon of the harvest, which usually comes in September.
  • Horn of Plenty Day As many fall colors as you can wear at once, the way a horn of plenty spills over.
  • Last Green Leaf Day Fall colors everywhere and exactly one green thing, the leaf that has not turned yet.
  • Maple Red Day Red from hat to shoes, the brighter the better, like a maple at its peak.
  • Plum Purple Day Purple from lilac socks to a plum sweater, with one green thing as the leaf.
  • Pumpkin Orange Day Orange from collar to socks. Darker stripes down the shirt make the ribs.
  • Tree in Four Grades Day The youngest grade wears green, the next yellow, the next orange and the oldest red, so the hallways turn like a tree.
  • Wheat Field Day Tan, cream and pale gold from head to toe.

Cozy-weather days 13

  • Acorn Cap Day A brown beanie pulled low as the cap, and tan or light brown below it as the acorn.
  • Boot Sock Day Thick socks pulled up so that they show above the boot or over the cuff of your jeans.
  • Cider Mug Day Carry a travel mug and dress in the color of what is in it: amber for apple cider, brown for cocoa, green for tea.
  • Corduroy Swish Day Corduroy pants, a corduroy jacket or both. The hallway should be able to hear you coming.
  • Flannel Around the Waist Day A flannel shirt tied at the waist over a plain tee.
  • Gray Sky Day Gray from head to toe, with one yellow thing as the sun trying to come out.
  • Morning Chill Layers Day A tee, a shirt and a jacket, for the day that starts cold and ends warm. One layer comes off before lunch and one after.
  • Puddle Boots Day Rain boots with ordinary clothes. The brightest pair leads the line to lunch.
  • Reading Blanket Day Bring a throw blanket and a book, and wear the blanket over your shoulders at reading time.
  • Sweater Weather Day The first heavy sweater of the year, sleeves pulled down over your hands.
  • Vest Weather Day A vest over long sleeves: quilted, fleece, denim or knitted.
  • Wrapped to the Nose Day The longest, widest scarf in the house, wrapped as many times as it will go.
  • Yard Work Day Old jeans, a sweatshirt and work gloves in the back pocket, dressed to rake the whole yard.

For a workplace 11

  • Apple Tasting Day Someone brings a few kinds of apple, sliced, and everyone wears the color of the one they vote for.
  • Best Leaf Contest Day Pick up one leaf on the way in and tape it to the window. Sticky dots are the votes.
  • Boots With the Dress Code Day Boots under the usual work clothes, for offices that normally ask for dress shoes.
  • Cider Break Day Warm apple cider in the break room in the middle of the afternoon, and something amber or brown to wear with it.
  • Desk Blanket Day Bring a throw blanket for your chair, for the weeks before the heating in the building catches up.
  • Desk Gourd Day A small pumpkin or gourd on every desk, each with a paper name tag.
  • Leftover Candy Bowl Day In the first week of November, the candy left over from Halloween goes into one shared bowl, and orange is the color to wear.
  • Office Supply Pumpkin Day Each team decorates one pumpkin with sticky notes, paper clips and markers. No carving and no knives.
  • Pie Table Day A table of pies before the Thanksgiving break, each with a label that names its baker. Store-bought counts.
  • Soup Swap Lunch Everyone who wants to brings a pot or a jar of soup with a label, and lunch is a ladle of each.
  • Thankful Tree Day A paper tree goes up on the wall, and each person adds a leaf that names something about the team they are glad of.