Ideas to keep entertained.

[HeatherC]

Just thought I would share an idea for those of us at home now. My daughters (23 and 19) have been doing a couple adult paint by numbers to keep busy. They come out awesome but are now backoredered on Amazon.

So yesterday, they went on YouTube and did a painting with an online tutorial. They turned out fabulous and didn’t cost a penny.

One daughter has also been practicing learning to play the guitar with the help of YouTube (and her dad).

Anyone else have ideas to share to keep busy besides Netflix?

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've been cooking more, and DS is learning to as well.

Yesterday, I set up a YouTube channel - which sounds like a small thing, but I am far, far from "techy," so I was quite proud of myself.

Later, I think I'm going to get out the new puzzle I got for Christmas and haven't done yet.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I was online looking for simple ways to make an Easter basket with construction paper with my 5 year old grandson. I found quite a few to try.

For those with more patience and skill set, there are many, many intricate and detailed baskets to make.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I have taken up cross-stitch again for the first time in 30 years. My eyes aren't quite what they used to be, so my work takes a lot longer to progress, but if this quarantining keeps getting extended, I might get my project done before it is over.

Last night, my daughter who is in her 20's, was looking for something for us to do together. I pulled a couple of coloring books off of the shelf that I had collected a few years ago for just such a time as this. One was called Color With Mom (supposedly a book for kids to color with their parents, but the images were perfect for us as two adults...not childish at all) and the other was Color with Me, which was by the same author (illustrator???) and was designed for friends to color together. The books are large and open up so that you can easily work across a table from one another. Amazon has great sample pages you can view online. My daughter and I had a nice visit while we worked and my youngest son even brought his own book (the Pusheen Coloring Book) over to colour with us.

We try to find one activity like that to do together each weekend. Last weekend was board games (we have a large collection of modern board games). Colouring was this past weekend. I think the upcoming weekend will be a 1,000 piece puzzle that I picked up at our last library book sale. (I'm sure going to miss not going to the book sale this spring!)

Of course we also have video games to play, an ongoing Marvel movie marathon, and lots of other books and activities to keep us busy.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

We just got a surprise Amazon delivery from my adult son to his little brother (11 years old) and the rest of our household. It was a game called Don’t Get Got, A Party Game About Completing Secret Missions & Not Getting Caught.

This is a game that is constantly "running in the background." You can play it while you go about the rest of your daily activities. Each person gets a wallet with six randomly chosen missions like, "Get a player to tie a knot in a balloon," or "Hide this card on a player without them knowing," or "Make a player yawn." As you go about your day at home, you try to accomplish your missions, while the other players are trying to accomplish theirs. If you succeed in pulling off three of the six missions, you win.

Don't Get Got! is rated for ages 10+, which I feel is accurate. You want players who can keep a secret, be patient in cultivating their "attacks," and have some maturity to not get upset if they "get got." It would be perfect for a household with teens or young adults and plays up to 10, if you happen to have that many people sheltering in place with you.

A word of caution from my eldest, who has been playing this with his wife while they are stuck at home...this is a once in awhile kind of game. Playing it too many rounds in a row causes you to lose trust in people, where you begin to think that everything people say or do is some kind of trick. It is good to give players some downtime, where they feel "safe" and don't always have their guard up. For us, because we have a child playing, we will also be instituting a rule about the game being "off" at least an hour before bedtime, so our son doesn't get worked up too much before going to sleep.

 

[AndreaDM]

We started a new 1000 piece puzzle, the last one we did was during Christmas break.

We've all been cleaning out our dressers/closets too, I have a feeling when this is over, all the thrift shops are going to see a surge in donations!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Learn French - about 50 sessions, about 30 minutes each: French in Action - Leçon 1

 

[violina]

I have a lot of crafting hobbies but I can't really get into them but I'll mention them so others have ideas:

• Knitting and/or crocheting hats to donate. Or if you have the yarn, now might be a good time to start a big project like a blanket. I used YouTube tutorials to learn to do the hats (you can speed them up or slow them down to really get the parts that might be difficult) as well as a granny square blankets for baby and husband.
• Painting. My husband and I did portraits of our pets and we have two more to go. Otherwise, you can follow tutorials as well.
• Drawing, sketching, etc.
• Diamond paintings
• Cross-stitch
• Sewing, especially if you're near a place that accepts masks. That might be a good option.
• Gaming. I recently picked up Animal Crossing and that's been great to keep entertained when I have the chance. Aside from that game, there's so many out there that fits a variety of moods/needs.
• Reading, whether that is with books or audiobooks. I've been getting into audiobooks and it's so helpful especially when I need to be hands free.

 

[RamblingMad]

Just thought I would share an idea for those of us at home now. My daughters (23 and 19) have been doing a couple adult paint by numbers to keep busy. They come out awesome but are now backoredered on Amazon.

So yesterday, they went on YouTube and did a painting with an online tutorial. They turned out fabulous and didn’t cost a penny.

One daughter has also been practicing learning to play the guitar with the help of YouTube (and her dad).

Anyone else have ideas to share to keep busy besides Netflix?

Check out the Justin Guitar app and channel.

Try bbq and cooking different stuff. Experiment since what you usually eat might not be available.

I’m going to start brewing coffee. I figure after this is all over I can bring my coffee to work.

 

[tcufrog]

• If you have printer paper you can cut it to make origami paper. There are tons of tutorials online. There are also instructions for towel and paper money origami.
• DS13 is learning Japanese from Duolingo.
• My friends and I are having a Netflix watch club on Zoom. They chose Tiger King for our first meeting.
• There are lots of crafts kids can do with stuff around the house such as collages, making paper beads,etc.
• This weekend the kids pitched our tent in the backyard for a backyard camp out.
• Tour a national park or museum online.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My two have been doing Just Dance for fun and exercise, just like they used to when they were younger. It’s a riot! They used to do it on the Wii but they can do it online now through an App and compete with other players all over the world.

I have encouraged DD to get into her guitar again and she wants to but is still in the midst of a lot of schoolwork - taking a midterm online as we speak.

I have a class I’m working on for a certification, but not really into it right now.

 

[Imzadi]

So yesterday, they went on YouTube and did a painting with an online tutorial. They turned out fabulous and didn’t cost a penny.

If you like online painting tutorials, I highly recommend these online painting teachers below. Many people do painting parties to their tutorials:

Angela Anderson: (she even has easy beginner paintings)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XDBvQQ6bh_myqOgThGK7Q

The Art Sherpa:
https://www.youtube.com/user/HoneyBmama

Painting with Jane:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4Afe-CtYM5kp6FJEUPTFA

And there's these painting videos. They are really mesmerizing. All they need is paint and Elmer's glue. The technique is called: String pull, acrylic pour. Also chain pull, if you have a light bulb that uses a ball chain to turn on & off.

 

[HeatherC]

OP here. Well today we blasted some old 70 and 80’s music and danced like crazy. We listened to all great music from Billy Joel, Elton John, Bob Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Eagles, Boston, Styx.etc... It was an awesome mood booster and we all got some good exercise.

 

[HeatherC]

If you like online painting tutorials, I highly recommend these online painting teachers below. Many people do painting parties to their tutorials:

Angela Anderson: (she even has easy beginner paintings)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XDBvQQ6bh_myqOgThGK7Q

The Art Sherpa:
https://www.youtube.com/user/HoneyBmama

Painting with Jane:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4Afe-CtYM5kp6FJEUPTFA

And there's these painting videos. They are really mesmerizing. All they need is paint and Elmer's glue. The technique is called: String pull, acrylic pour. Also chain pull, if you have a light bulb that uses a ball chain to turn on & off.

These sound great! Thank you. Will check them out!

 

[Imzadi]

There are all these adult level coloring pages one can print out and color:

https://www.google.ca/search?q=adult+coloring+pages

And try these Caran D'Ache Neocolor II (make sure the II or 2 is there at the end of the name. The one without is a different product.) They are watersoluble crayons, you can color with them like regular crayons and/or add water to the colors and they turn into watercolors. They are available at Amazon or Michaels Arts & Crafts now has curbside pickup or order online.