Finding new ways to have fun as a family while isolated at home

As the days go by and social distancing continues, families are finding themselves stuck within the confines of their own homes and sometimes it can be hard to come up with something to do. There are only so many times one can handle playing the same games or watching the same things. With no end yet in sight, we decided to give you some ideas to use with your family. Hopefully, something here will be new for you to try and give you a break from boredom.

One super fun and easy activity to do is to have an indoor scavenger hunt. All it requires is a list of things in your home and a couple of copies of the list. You can choose to give specific things to find like a certain book, toy, or colour, or you can get trickier, especially for older kids, and use clues instead. Then, you can have your kids create their own list for you to take part in. An activity like this can keep everyone entertained.

Isolation is the perfect time to try out a new game, but have you ever tried adding in a new rule to an old favourite? If you happen to have UNO in your games pile, try adding this in it. Play the game as usual but when someone plays his or her last card, instead of that person winning the game and ending it, switch it up so that the person who enabled a player to go out is eliminated instead. So, if someone beside you has one card left and you play a card that enables them to play their last card, you lose! Then the person who played their last card takes over the eliminated player’s cards. The point would be to last until the very end rather than get rid of your cards. A total reversal!

Most old favourites can be tweaked. Just use your imagination to create something new and exciting. Have Monopoly? Add in new fees. If someone must leave the table, or if they roll the dice off the board or even say a certain word, they pay a fee. It’s as easy as looking at your own collection of games and working together to come up with new rules to change things up. No new purchases required.

There are also lots of options to have fun without a board or cards. Memory games are easy to create and can be as simple as a tray and a select few items from around the house. Have everyone sit close and designate one person as the “remover” for each round. To start, place 10 or more items on a tray and spend a few minutes looking at them. Once everyone has had a chance to look, the players close their eyes while the “remover” takes one or more items away from the tray. Each person then writes down what they think was removed. Those who are right get a point and the winner is the person with the most points at the end of the game.

Puzzles are another fantastic time consumer to do as a family. They come in all levels and can be enjoyed together or separately with just the kids doing it on their own. Art challenges are also popular and can be incorporated easily. Everyone gets a paper and something to draw with and they all draw the same thing, in their own way. It’s fun to see what Mom or Dad can draw and see how the kids draw it, too.

The most important thing to remember is to enjoy this time together. Whatever the stresses are that come over the next few weeks or months, this time together is important. Watch movies in your pyjamas with popcorn, read books, do art projects, learn something new together like sewing or a new language, cook and bake together, drink afternoon tea and talk, organize things, reminisce with baby books or old pictures, exercise, play video games or you could even join your children for a silly Tik Tok video, if that’s something they do. Each day doesn’t have to feature something elaborate but it’s nice to break the repetition with something new. We hope these ideas help!