Working from home. Playing from home. Sleeping at home. We’re in this together, staying home as much as possible! While there are many difficulties and stresses and sorrows during our new reality with COVID-19, we can make the best of social distancing and quarantines by using this time to explore new hobbies, spend time connecting with family (whether at home or virtually), relax as possible, and take pleasure in simple at-home activities.

While we know how important staying home is, the reality is that cabin fever can set in quickly! Try these stay at home ideas to help keep you occupied, productive and even have some fun.

1. Enjoy home cooked or curbside pick-up meals: Just because restaurants are shut down, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy dining. Choose to support local restaurants by ordering and picking up food. Now is also the perfect time to work on your own home cooking skills. Try new recipes. Have themed nights, like tapas dinner, breakfast for dinner, or even dessert-first nights. Better yet, maybe just make dessert-first nights a regular thing for the next few weeks!
2. Family game nights: If you are home with a partner, roommate and/or kids, family game night is definitely in order. Get out a deck of cards or your dusty old board games. You can have game tournaments, look up new card game rules online, or even invent your own rules. You can even get distanced family and friends in on the games by playing through FaceTime, Zoom or other apps. Try charades or word games to start.
3. Virtual tours: You may not be able to actually visit a museum or attend a concert, but you can still enjoy new arts, music and more. Many museums are offering virtual tours, and artists are streaming concerts online. Zoos are showing different animals, and authors are reading books out loud for virtual story hours.
4. Virtual happy hours: Bars are closed. Big gatherings are banned. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reconnect with coworkers after a long work-from-home day or relax with a friend for a late night happy hour. Pour your beverage of choice and video call your bestie to connect, share and support each other during this difficult time. Hopefully you can indulge in some much-needed, light hearted conversation and laughter as well.
5. New hobbies: It’s the perfect time to hunker down and spend some time learning a new activity or improving your current skills. Get out your paint brushes and paper. Finally learn how to play that musical instrument you bought years back. With YouTube tutorials and plenty of time on your hands, there’s nothing stopping you from learning that new skill.
6. Family movie nights: Whether it’s binge watching your favorite show, catching up on your DVR, or watching family movies during your evenings in, now’s the perfect time to watch your favorite shows and film. While many are avoiding movie theaters, you can have all the comforts of a theater at home with cinema seating. Many new movies are even being released early for streaming! Now may be the perfect time to invest in a new media center, console, or seats with all the features—power recline, head and lumbar support. You can shop online and avoid a trip out of your house by scheduling free garage-drop delivery.
7. Read: It’s time to make a dent in the pile of books stacked up on your bookshelf. Make yourself a cozy reading nook, complete with a favorite chair, blankets and a few candles in your favorite scent, and sink in for an evening of adventure, romance or intrigue from the comfort of your favorite corner.
8. Get Outside: Just because you are avoiding public places doesn’t mean that you can’t get outside. It’s spring time, and for many of us that means transitioning into our outdoor living spaces. Go for a walk, keeping a safe distance between yourself and your neighbors, or enjoy the privacy of your own porch, patio or poolside. You can also change up the monotony of eating at home by dining al fresco. Grill something that makes you think of bright summer days ahead, and relax outdoors…even if you have to head inside to warm up right after dinner.
9. Prioritize Fitness: The gym may be temporarily closed, but there are plenty of fitness activities you can do at home (or close to home) to keep your body moving, even if you don’t own any home gym equipment. Find workout videos online or blast your favorite music and have a dance party. After all, no one else is there! You can also get outside and go for a walk or bike ride. Make it a family activity, and you can all have fun while getting fit.
10. Home Improvement: Does hours upon hours in your home leave you feeling dreary? Now more than ever, we are realizing it’s important to love your home. You can take advantage of your hours in by finally tackling some of the home improvements that you’ve been envisioning since you signed the deed! Whether it’s a simple project like installing that new light fixture or adding that new coat of paint; or something more complex like finishing your basement, now is a good time to invest in the home where you’ll be spending many of your hours.
11. Add New Décor: Maybe your home doesn’t need a complete makeover. Maybe a little refresh would do the trick. You can window shop online and consider how a new area rug, wall art or other home décor would update your space.
12. Sleep: There’s no doubt about it, we are living in a stressful time. It’s important to take care of yourselves, and one of the best ways we can do that is to prioritize sleep. So, fill your days with these activities, and then sink into your bed for a restful and comforting night of sleep.