54 Social Isolation Sanity Savers

Stay home they said. Homeschool the kids they said. Work from home they said. Don’t go out unless you have to they said. Anyone else feeling just a little bit cabin feverish? Here are 54 fun things you and the kids can do to stay sane until we can all be let loose again!

54 Social Isolation Activities – Explained

1. Domino Chain Reaction
   Get ready for some knockdown fun with a line-up of dominoes to create a Chain Reaction. There’s some amazing examples to check out online (here’s a fun domino chain reaction collection). And don’t forget to film it because you’ll want to relive it over and over.
2. Do some Yoga
   It’s time to relax. No point in wasting energy stressing over things out of your control when you could be doing yoga. Whether it’s only for ten minutes or half an hour, yoga helps keep you grounded throughout the day. Just put some time aside everyday to stretch out your body and focus on your breathing. Some of our favourite videos are found on YouTube, by SarahBethYoga and MadFit.
3. Build a Fort
   Pillow forts and blanket forts are just cozy. That’s the reason behind this one.
4. Stovetop S’mores
   There are many ways to make a s’more, from the microwave to the grill I’ve seen it all. My favourite method is to use a gas stove on high heat and hold the marshmallow above the flame, allowing it to slightly “catch” on fire and then blowing it out, turning off the stove. Whichever method you choose will result in a delicious gooey marshmallow s’more.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

5. Outdoor Picnic
   Grab a picnic rug and some of your favourite treats and retreat to the backyard/ patio for a cozy home picnic. Bring along a ball or frisbee for some more fun with the family under the sun.
6. Listen to a Podcast
   A podcast is a great way to pass time with there being something for everyone (here is the top podcasts of 2020).
7. Do a Sibling’s Make-Up
   Put the mirror away and have fun turning your sister or brother into a whole new creation with a make-over. Even better, do it while you are blindfolded – yes you can’t see what you are doing … trust me, the end results will make you all laugh.
8. Facetime a long-time Friend
   With so much free time and so little face to face communication, it’s good to check in with the people you care for over a call or facetime or even a group call over zoom to make sure no one feels isolated or lonely. Add it to your daily or weekly routine to facetime a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.
   
9. Watch all the Toy Story movies
   Watch all the Toy Story movies ‘cause why not? They are so entertaining for the whole family and if Toy Story isn’t your thing you could watch all the Harry Potter movies instead.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

10. Write a Short Story
    You could write a short story individually or as a family, adding and combining ideas to make a hilarious short story that will keep the whole family engaged (here’s some stimulus pictures which could give you some inspiration).
11. New Workout Routine
    Remembering to keep active can be hard but working out with your family or to your favourite song can keep you motivated. MadFit on YouTube develops her own workouts to popular songs without equipment needed and are apartment friendly to help you stay fit and healthy.

12. Cook w/out a Recipe
    So here’s the task; find a recipe of something you wanna make and grab out the ingredients. Without looking at the recipe begin to make the dish, going off what you think is right. This can either turn out as a total (delicious) fail or a masterpiece but either way it’ll be a fun way to expand your cooking knowledge.
13. Learn a Tik Tok Dance
    As you have probably seen Tik Tok is all the rage right now and as corny as it looks, it is fun to learn a tik tok dance. Some dances are easier than others so if you have no dancing ability there are some for you (here are the most popular tik tok dances).

Photo by Anna Earl on Unsplash

14. Karaoke
    Karaoke. What is better than karaoke? Not much. A karaoke night with the family will probably end in tons of laughter regardless if you can sing or not. Just search your song of choice with karaoke after it into YouTube and be ready to wow your audience.
15. Ugly Outfit Photoshoot
    It’s fun to play dress up no matter how old you are. But it’s even better if you put on the ugliest outfit possible and model it around the house for a fashion show and photoshoot. Lots of laughs and lots of photos that’ll make great memories to look back at later on.

16. Family Games Night
    Board games are always the way to go. But electronic games like the Wii fall into a close second. Gather the family together and decide on a game for that night whether it be a tense game of monopoly or a sloppy game of charades, it’ll be fun for the whole family.
17. Self-care Day
    Take some time for yourself. Wash your hair, paint your nails and do a face mask. Just take care of yourself for a day. Don’t do any work, just relax and take a day off.
18. Build a Lego Castle
    The whole family can be involved in this. Build a lego castle. You could turn this into an engineering challenge, everyone trying to make the most technical castle in a set time limit or just work together and build a massive lego tower.
19. Do Colourful Eyeshadow Look
    Eyeshadow is a hard thing to master but is so fun to play with as well. Give yourself some practice by doing a bold and colourful eyeshadow look on yourself or a family member.

Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash

20. Five in Five
    Set the timer for 5 seconds and come up with 5 answers to a question in 5 seconds … 5 sports you play with a ball? 5 fruits you eat in summer? 5 places you have never been? 5 Christmas carols? 5 dogs you have played with? You get the idea.
21. Write a Letter to Someone Special
    We have lightning fast alternatives to connect with another person or to send a message instead of a letter but a letter is as heartfelt as it gets. Like colouring in creates calmness and relieves anxiety, letter writing does too. The letter doesn’t have to be formal, just check in on a friend and tell them how grateful you are to have them.

22. Deep/ Spring Clean a Room or Space
    Deep cleaning a room can help declutter your mind and the space. Marie Kondo the place; go through your wardrobe and decide whether each item sparks joy or whether it is time to pass the item on to someone else who would benefit from it.
23. Learn a Song on Piano
    Learning an instrument strengthens memory as both sides of your brain are active whilst learning and playing. Music is a great tool to aid the ageing process, keeping your brain engaged, giving it a full brain workout.
24. Make a Harry Potter Wand
    It is so simple to make a Harry Potter but the end result is always amazing. For the base length of the wand you can either use a chopstick or collect sticks from around the yard or neighbourhood. Every wand should turn out different and will be personalised by the wizard that it belongs to (here is a website to kickstart your wand making journey).

Photo by Dids ddd on Unsplash

25. Colour in a Mandala
    Colouring in is so relaxing and peaceful and mandalas can have such intricate designs for you to colour in with every pencil you own (here are some free mandalas for you to print off and colour).
26. Learn Sign Language
    To boost your communication skills you should learn sign language. This introduces you to new communities and cultures and helps you to meet new people and make new friends.

27. Make a Throwback Playlist
    Sometimes a nostalgic playlist is all you need. To be able to jam out all day in your pj’s just dancing around the house, reliving every memory that is attached to every song. You can make a playlist on Apple Music or Spotify or whatever music outlet you use.
28. Make Whipped Coffee
    Like Tik Tok, whipped coffee has also taken the internet by storm, being made all around the world. I can see why too; being such a simple drink to make but also looking so amazing and foamy. All you need is instant coffee, water, sugar and a whisk or beater (depending on the amount of effort you wanna put in).
    
29. Write a List of Things you’re Grateful For
    Even in times like this it is important to stay grateful. To remind yourself of everything you’re grateful for you can write a list and keep it either on the fridge or a place you can easily see it.
30. Make a Friendship Bracelet
    There are so many different sorts of friendship bracelets. You can make them as thick or thin as you would like and in less than an hour you can have made a friendship bracelet, getting faster the more you make.
31. Write a Poem
    To stem some creativity, you can write any type of poem you please. My favourites being a haiku, free verse and sonnet. Get creative and get writing.
32. Learn how to Dutch Braid
    A dutch braid looks so pretty in any sort of hair but it isn’t as easy as you would think. You can practice on a family member or yourself to get the rhythm going. The more you practice the better it looks.

Photo by Carolina Garcia Tavizon on Unsplash

33. Make an Origami Crane
    What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘origami’. I always think of the origami crane as it is one of the most popular paper constructions. Follow the instructions carefully to obtain the most delicate looking crane.
34. Make an Easter Hat
    With Easter fast approaching, it is time to get festive. Grab yourself a party hat and get decorating with whatever you can get your hands on from the newsagent. If you want to take it a step up, you could bedazzle a headband to make an award winning head piece (to spark inspiration, here’s an adorable easter hat website).

35. Scavenger Hunt
    Scavenger hunts are a great indoor activity to burn off energy while hunting around the house for items on the list, adding the element of competition into the household.
36. Bake Off
    Just like ‘The Great Australian Bake Off’ (great show if you haven’t seen it), people in the family go head to head baking or cooking a dish or category chosen by the judge (such as pastry, pasta or slices). The competitors will have a time limit and access to everything in the house. The judge will decide the winner of the bake off based on three criteria; presentation, taste and creativity. This is always fun for the whole family.
37. Trivia Night
    Whether your family specialises in dutch food or UK football teams, a trivia can bring everyone together in a friendly competition. Extended family can also be included via zoom or video call, everyone competing for the title of the family trivia champion.
38. Blind Taste Test
    Careful. This game can turn into torture with lots of laughs. Everyone in the family takes turns to be blind folded and fed a food chosen by the family without their knowledge. This can be anything like pickles, sriracha or cold sausage. The blind folded person then has to guess what they have been fed and if correct they score a point. The person in the end with the most points wins.
39. Make a Nature Journal
    A nature journal is used to record your observations of, and thoughts on, nature. This can have simple sketches of what you’re seeing in your backyard or sentences describing the feel, smell and look of the plant.

Photo by Rad Pozniakov on Unsplash

40. Stargazing
    Some clear nights, just roll out a picnic rug on the lawn and look up at the stars. You can see if you can connect any stars to make a picture or grab out the telescope and look for constellations. In general stargazing is very peaceful.
41. Draw with Chalk on the Sidewalk
    Chalk art is some of the coolest art around. To spread creativity and happy vibes around the neighbourhood, you can write messages and draw artworks on the sidewalks.

42. Go on a Bushwalk
    Going on a bushwalk as a family is a great way to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Get some exercise and talk about the coming week or just play ‘I Spy’ if that’s more your vibe. Careful where you choose to walk as some national parks are closed.
43. Home Manicure
    Your nails need some love during social isolation even if you can’t get to your nail tech. Have an at home manicure by giving your nails a scrub and a fresh coat of nail polish and you’ll be feeling good to carry on. (Side note: if you can get someone to give you a hand massage, life will be even better I promise.)
44. Do a Crossword
    Do the crossword in the newspaper and see how many answers you know. Maybe you will discover your love of crosswords.
45. Make a Travel Bucket List
    Even though we can’t travel right now doesn’t mean we won’t be able to ever again. Design a travel bucket list of all the places in the world you would like to go and the things you would like to see in that city.
46. Call a Grandparent
    Grandparents could be feeling pretty isolated and lonely without as many visitors so it is important to pick up the phone and have a good chat with them. Remember to ask if there is anything they need and lend a hand with their groceries.
47. Do a Jigsaw Puzzle
    Just to pass some time, do a jigsaw puzzle. If there are pieces missing, it is your job to make those pieces out of whatever you can find and put the full puzzle together.
48. Donate to a Food Bank
    Only buy what you need from the supermarkets, being mindful of others. Keep in mind the homeless or struggling and if possible donate to a food bank to help support them.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

49. Read a New Book
    Read that book you have put off for months because you just didn’t have time. You’ve got some time now so why not indulge? It could turn out to be your new favourite book.
    
50. Attempt Calligraphy
    Calligraphy is so aesthetic looking. Give it a go by following some YouTube tutorials and who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy when writing birthday cards.

51. DIY a Skincare Product
    To get hands on, DIY a skincare product. There are so many simple recipes for skincare products that you can make in your own home. Try making a lip scrub to exfoliate your lips.
52. Ice Cream Party
    Throw yourself or the family an ice cream party. Buy whatever ice cream you want, topping it with everything you could have ever imagined and dig in.
53. Minute to Win It Competition
    Minute to win it games are just like party games. The family can be split into teams or it can be everyone for themselves. One minute to win it game is called Face the Cookie. A cookie is placed on someone’s forehead. They have to only use their face muscles (no hands) to get the cookie into their mouth.
54. Paper Airplane Competition
    This one is simple. Everyone designs their own paper plane. The family throws the planes all at the same time and whoevers plane goes the farthest wins. You can play multiple rounds, adjusting the planes as you go to see who claims the title of ‘Paper Throwing Champion’.

Elle Velthuizen-Smith
Director of Fun