1. GO CAMPING IN THE BACKYARD

Pack up the tent, sleeping bags, and s’mores! Go pitch your campsite under the stars of your own backyard. Build a campfire, make a camp dinner, tell fun stories, and top it all off by roasting marshmallows or making s’mores!

 

2. HAVE A PICNIC

If you’re not a big camper, at least go have a picnic in your own yard! Bring a blanket, music, picnic basket filled with your favorite snacks, and maybe even some lemonade or sweet tea! Make shapes out of the passing clouds and enjoy the warmth of summer. 

 

3. CREATE A RESTAURANT AT HOME

Dim the lights, play romantic music, light some candles, and share a bottle of your favorite wine. You could even cover the table in a tablecloth, wrap your silverware, and print out a little menu if you want to get super into it. You can either cook your meal or get it delivered!

 

4. HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT

Slip in a DVD or download a movie on your Smart TV, pop some popcorn, and bust out all the sugary candy!

 

5. TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR

There’s tons of options for virtual tours on the internet! Go visit a museum like The Louve or The Museum of the World. Or go visit tons of National Parks with Google Earth. You can even virtually visit the Great Wall of China or Mars!

 

6. WATCH LIVE WILDLIFE CAMS

You can watch the wildlife at zoos or aquariums through live cams. Visit the animals at the Georgia Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, or even the African Safari!

 

7. BAKE SOMETHING

Hop on Pinterest, pick a recipe that looks delicious, and bake something from scratch!

*Bonus Challenge: If you’re a pro baker and you need something more exciting, try blindfolding your partner and guiding them through each step of the recipe! See how that cake turns out!

 

8. CRAFT SOMETHING

The options are endless here! Try calligraphy, learn to knit, make a batch of slime, draw, paint, make homemade candles or soap, or be a woodworker and build something. Get creative and create something!

 

9. HAVE A VIRTUAL PAINT NIGHT WITH A FRIEND

This is one of my personal favorites… Break out the canvases, paints, paintbrushes, and (most importantly) the wine! Find an artist who does painting tutorials on YouTube (I recommend Angela Anderson for beginners or ColorbyFeliks if you like a challenge). FaceTime your bestie and paint away! You’ll feel just like you’re at Painting with a Twist, I promise! 

 

10. FACETIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

If you don’t feel like painting, then just FaceTime some friends or family and hang out!

 

11. START A BUSINESS

This is for those of you who are feeling really inspired (or bored, either one…). Get those creative juices flowing and start an Etsy shop, a YouTube channel, or a blog!

 

12. READ A BOOK

Order a book off Amazon, curl up in your favorite reading chair with your favorite blanket and a cup of coffee, light your favorite candle, and get lost in another time and place… 

 

13. WRITE A BOOK

Maybe you want to go a step further and be an author! There’s tons of resources on how to go about writing your own book, idea prompts, anything you need! Go ahead and give it a try, anyone can do it!

 

14. START A TRAVEL JOURNAL

If you don’t feel like writing a novel but you do feel like writing something, perhaps start a travel journal. Start by reminiscing on your past travels and capturing them the best you can. Then write down your Travel Bucket List of all the places you want to go after this quarantine is over. Once you travel to those places, write down a summary of your trip! Someday when you’re older, you’ll have an entire book’s worth of adventures you can read and relive. 

 

15. PRINT YOUR PHOTOS

Speaking of reminiscing and reliving moments… Go print your photos with your spare time! Order prints, canvases, or even create an album of your most recent vacation or the past year. Display them on your walls and in your home, so that you can see and feel those memories every day. 

 

16. BREAK OUT THE BOARD GAMES

There’s literally an endless sea of board games to choose from. And remember, it’s always more fun than you think it’s going to be. 

 

17. COMPLETE A PUZZLE

If you need something less competitive and more relaxing, do a jigsaw puzzle! 

 

18. ORGANIZE & CLEAN YOUR HOME

It’s time to get those closets, bathrooms, and cabinets cleaned out. Purge the things you don’t need or use and sell, donate, or chunk them. Do a deep clean while you’re at it. And then organize your space before you just throw everything back where it came from. 

 

19. DO PROJECTS / RENOVATE THE HOUSE

Have you been dying to repaint some walls, put in new flooring, redo the cabinets, replace light fixtures, or order that new piece of furniture or wall art? Now’s the time! Make your space you’re dream home! Afterall, you’re spending a lot of time in it right now… (I highly recommend Homebody by Joanna Gaines if you need some inspiration).

 

20. LEARN TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT

Teach yourself to play piano, guitar, ukulele, violin, or even the drums. There’s tons of YouTube lessons out there for free, or you could even invest in an online course. It can be frustrating at first but just keep practicing, and it will be so rewarding down the road.

 

21. LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Download the Duolingo or Rosetta Stone App and start learning that foreign language you’ve always thought about. It could come in handy once you can finally travel there. 

 

22. START AN HERB GARDEN

Head out to your backyard, or the kitchen windowsill, and start an herb garden! I highly recommend Ron Finley on Masterclass (an awesome app where the world’s leading experts teach classes on a wide variety of topics. If you haven’t heard of it, go check it out)!

 

23. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is anything that allows you to become self-aware in the present moment. Mindfulness activities could be anything such as meditation (Headspace and Calm are both great apps!), yoga, deep breathing, coloring, listening to music, taking a walk outside, making a gratitude list, watching a candle burn, taking a bath, or even drinking tea. 

 

24. MOVE YOUR BODY

Do anything to move your body every day. Go for a walk, do yoga, exercise, run, dance, whatever makes you happy! Movement has so many benefits – it improves your mood, reduces stress and anxiety, builds your self-esteem, boosts your immune system, awakens your brain, and so much more.

 

25. REST & RELAXATION

Finally, you have permission to do absolutely nothing… Today’s world just keeps moving faster and faster. Stress and anxiety are at an astronomical high, and we’re constantly being bombarded with distractions and billions of pieces of information all day, every day. As scary as this pandemic is, we have been given a rare gift. We’ve been given the gift of slowing down… Don’t take that gift for granted. Use it to find your way back to the things that matter in life. Enjoy the little things. Take it slow. Do what makes your soul happy. Rest and relax.