The days are long and the weeks are longer…is that not how the phrase goes? The coronavirus has flipped daily lives upside down and the age-old words of “I’m bored” echo through every home. To add some joy to your day, below is a list of things to do at home for fun with your family and friends.
Things to do at home for fun with young children
- Pull out the playdough.
- Make your own stress balls. Directions as follows:
- Using a funnel (or paper shaped like a funnel), pour just under a cup of flour into an empty, dry water bottle.
- Blow up a balloon a little and pull over the water bottle.
- Flip bottle over and fill up the balloon. Squeeze the balloon neck gently to push all the flour down.
- Once the neck of the balloon is empty of flour, remove from the bottle and squeeze out any remaining air.
- Tie balloon in a knot
- Draw on a face with a sharpie, glue on “hair” or decorate however you see fit!
- Make an obstacle course.
- Go on a letter scavenger hunt. Pick one letter each day and have your child write said letter on multiple post-it notes. Search around your home and stick a post-it on anything beginning with that letter.
- Watch a book reading online. A favorite website: https://www.storylineonline.net
- Paint the nails of a cardboard hand. Trace and cut out a hand in cardboard. Bring out the fingernail polish and let your child paint away (bonus: it’s not your hands!)
- Teach them to tie a shoe.
- Play Bingo.
- Turn a box into a fort and color it with markers.
- Make a sensory bin. Start with a storage container and use a base of whatever you have around (uncooked beans, rice, sand, corn meal, etc). Throw in disposable spoons, measuring cups, funnels – anything from your kitchen. Use trucks to dig or sand toys to bury. There is no wrong way to create a sensory bin!
Things to do at home for fun with older children
- Let them plan and cook a meal. The range of meals that pop up when searching “Recipes for Kids to Make” is extensive. Hand over the kitchen, go read a book, and pop back in an hour or two. Maybe they will surprise you;)
- Film TikToks. No explanation needed.
- Start a daily bootcamp. Sit down and draft a WOD (workout of the day) with your kids and hup to!
- Create a video blog. Have them create a cooking video, take a virtual tour of your home, or record one minute each day of quarantine to reflect on this unique historical time.
- Teach them to play chess.
- Learn coding. The internet has a plethora of free coding resources – including how to videos on YouTube.
- Have a paper airplane flying contest. If you need pointers, The Office, season 9, episode 20 is a great place to start;)
- Create a comic book. Bonus points for a coronavirus themed hero.
- Learn to draw. A favorite: www.Artforkidshub.com.
- Build a mini golf course.
Read more: Fun indoor activities for kids.
Things to do at home for fun with your significant other
- Learn a foreign language. Doing a quick search online will unearth multiple free resources to help the two of you get up to speed on the language of your choice.
- Take an online cooking class. Whether you’re a fan of Antoni Porowski from Queer Eye or Gordon Ramsay from MasterChef, chefs around the globe are providing lessons via YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Play “Would You Rather”.
- Daydream about your next trip together.
- Take a walk. Try visiting a neighborhood you haven’t seen before.
- Take turns planning and serving a meal. Become the meal planner, chef, host, and waitstaff for a night to pamper your loved one.
- Do a blind taste test. First pick a product (maybe wines, or cheeses) and then go to town!
- Play video games…sans children. Dominate at tetris.
- Create a bucket list. What do you most want to do once you are no longer stuck at home?
- Have a tech-free night.
Read more: The Busy Parents Guide to Dating Your Significant Other
Things to do at home for fun with other adults
- Start a bookclub. Schedule a monthly Zoom call to chat about a book.
- Virtual game night. Cards Against Humanity anyone? Or if you are willing to fork over a few dollars, many popular board games like Monopoly or UNO! are offered online.
- Group bootcamp. Take turns creating a workout and hold one another accountable.
- Find old pictures. Scan or take a picture of old photos and upload to a shared site with your friends.
- Have a baking competition. Bake the same cake creation from Pinterest and see whose pictures turn out the best.
- Connect with questions. Interview an elder via Facetime to learn something new about his/her life.
- Send a card. Greeting cards were created for any and every occasion imaginable. No word yet on whether a card is available with the sentiment “I miss your face during quarantine”, but surely it’s coming.
- Watch a movie or show together. Netflix has made this easy with Netflix Party, a free extension for the Google Chrome Browser that lets you start, stop, and pause a show at the same time as a group of family members or friends.
- Walk at a social distance. If you live in the suburbs, meet a friend to take a walk…one of you on the street and the other on the sidewalk. A great way to safely see and catch up with a friend at a distance.
Things to do at home for fun by yourself
- Teach yourself calligraphy. Taking a quick look online opens up a plethora of free courses, YouTube tutorials, and blogs walking through the “how tos” of calligraphy.
- Set a fitness goal. Have you always wanted to do 100 push ups in a day? Or plank for five minutes? Now’s the time. Start slowly and build up your endurance each day to emerge from hibernation able to physically do something you always wanted to do.
- Listen to a podcast. Are you interested in true crime? There’s a podcast for that. What about the Bachelor franchise? There’s a podcast for that. There is literally a podcast for any and every passion imaginable. Search through a podcast hosting site and try sampling a few!
- Create a vision board. Where do you see yourself in five years? In 10? Carve out time to visualize where you see your life going and what it will look like in the future.
- Organize your closet.
- Have a spa day/evening at home. Treat yourself to a long bath and a mani/pedi.
- Give yourself a makeover or try a new hairstyle.
- Make that scrapbook
- Do yoga
- Journal
- And if all else fails and your kids are safely in front of a screen…take a nap.
Read more: Skip the Spa and Give Yourself a Facial at Home
You control your own fun meter. Your family may remember this as a time of stress or as a time of family togetherness and joy. Try and pick one of these things to do at home for fun each day and you may find yourself enjoying the change in pace more than you thought possible.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Need more ideas for your kids? Check out these journal prompts for kids stuck at home.
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