Fun Ideas for Families Sheltering in Place

Posted by Ben Thompson on 03.21.20

As we face this challenging time together and shelter at home with our families, we thought it might be helpful if we shared a few ideas to inject a little fun into your evenings or weekends.

We know that staying home for extended periods of time can be challenging, especially with children (and adults) who have lots of energy.  Here are five activities that can be repeated or completed over several days.

  1. Host your own Chopped cooking competition. If you’re not familiar with the cooking show Chopped, the premise is to see which competitor can create the best dish by using a specific set of ingredients. Competitors are allowed to also utilize staple pantry items such as like sugar, flour, milk, butter, etc. Try this at home by selecting four ingredients that you have on hand and have each family member make a dish.  

 

  1. Film festival. Take a different approach to movie night and dedicate several evenings to hosting your own film festival. Select a genre such as comedies or animated films, and have each member of the family select their favorite movie.

 

  1. Draw portraits or caricatures. Have each family member draw a name out of a hat, then draw that person’s portrait with whatever art supplies you have on hand. It’s okay if you aren’t the best artist, have fun with this one!

 

  1. Dance party. Have a little fun and get some exercise too by having a dance party. Take this idea a bit further by giving it a theme and dressing up in costume. Here are a just a few theme ideas: disco, 80’s, Disney, rock and roll.

 

  1. Family fitness class. Select a fitness video online and get some exercise. There’s yoga, Zumba, Thai Chi, or look for an old Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons workout!

 

Topics: Featured, family fun