To repeat a phrase that’s been said about 8 million times now, we are living in unprecedented times. 2020 has been a year for the books and not in a good way. The entire world is feeling the effects of COVID-19. We’ve all been affected in one way or another, and we’re all just trying to make it through this.
Obviously, the travel industry has been very negatively impacted and, like many of you, we have had to reevaluate our upcoming travel plans. Having been at home for going on two full weeks, we understand that quarantining can be tough. We also know it’s important to break up the monotony of sitting on your couch and watching Netflix all day.
A little over 10 years ago, during the summer before our final year of college, we decided, with the help of the internet, to make a list of 100 things to do. It was our last summer of freedom before entering the real world and we wanted to make the most of it. Taking a look back over this list, we realized a lot of these activities can be done at home.
We chose 50 we thought would make for good at-home activities for adults and kids alike. You may not be able to do all of these, but maybe you”ll find a few fun ideas to take your mind off of the dire state of the world (and get your butt off the couch). After all, we all need a little stress relief right now.
Food/Drink
- Open a cookbook and cook recipe 35
- Open a coconut- This may seem like a weird one but, trust us, this is a process. And you will feel very accomplished when you finally get it open.
- Peel a banana with your feet
- Decorate a Happy Tuesday cake or cupcakes
- Eat a fruit you’ve never tried
- Have a picnic
- Make gingerbread men and decorate them- Make pirates, make princesses, make sharks, just make it fun and interesting.
- Make homemade ice cream
- Make traditional food the wrong color- Think about how the color of food impacts how you feel about it before you eat it.
- Make beer or wine- This does take some time but, if we’ve got anything right now, it’s time.
Getting Crafty
- Make a sculpture
- Paint a canvas
- Make paper chains
- Paint your hands and feet and draw a picture
- Decorate a t-shirt
Science
- Make edible glass
- Make oobleck- You’ve probably heard of oobleck, or some form of the same stuff. This is a fun one for kids and it’s super easy to make. Just mix one part water to two parts cornstarch, along with a few splashes of food coloring. It’s solid, it’s liquid, it’s a messy good time.
- Separate colors
- Burn paper with a magnifying glass
Photography
- Add captions to funny photos of friends
- Take pictures of things that make you smile
- Take action shots
- Take reflection shots
- Discover your own backyard through photos
- Take sunrise and sunset photos
- Take black and white photos
Audio/Video
- Make an audio tape and send it to a friend
- Make a lip sync video
- Make a short film
- Make a day in the life video
- Turn the TV on mute and make up dialogue
- Watch a sport you’ve never seen
- Sing karaoke
- Dress in 70’s wear and disco dance
Games
- Create your own Bingo
- Play a board game backwards
- Scavenger hunt
- Throw things at a balloon until it pops
Writing
- Write a story using the last lines of songs
- Write a story using the first lines from books
- Do a study on something you’re interested in- We decided to do a vampire study. We compared the rules of vampires between various supernatural worlds. This might be a good one if you’re a parent looking for something for your kids to do at home in place of school. If kids get to pick their research topic, it makes it more fun for them. And once they’ve done their research, they can put together a presentation and present it to the family.
- Write a rant letter
- Write a letter to a famous person
Other
- Bust a myth
- Experiment with makeup
- Color your hair a wild color- Your hair stylist may hate us, but it’s not like you’re going anywhere so why not try something new.
- Put on a puppet show
- Bury a time capsule
- Learn to tie different kinds of knots
- Learn to juggle
Hopefully, you found at least a few activities to try. Though we don’t know how long this isolation and social distancing will last, we do know that eventually it will end. But until then, let’s keep trying to help each other get through this. Stay safe everyone!
Our McTravels 