50 joyful things to do at home - with kids!
After sharing my post last week about 50 joyful things to do at home, I received an influx of messages saying “this looks great, but what about if you have kids?!”.
And so I knew I had to put together a similar list of fun things you can do at home with kids. I feel like I should offer a disclaimer that I don’t have kids of my own, but I do have lots of cousins and a nephew, and my sister, who is a primary school teacher, helped me put this list together.
Hopefully it will give you some ideas of fun things to do together as a family during this weird old time - let me know if you try any of them, and also what else you’d add to the list!
1) Gather up all of the blankets and cushions and make a den.
2) Get your daily PE fix with Joe Wicks.
3) Make a family scrapbook of this time for you to look back at in the future.
4) Hunt for bugs in the garden.
5) Introduce them to your favourite movies from childhood.
6) Make a rainbow to stick up in your window.
7) Help them write letters or cards to relatives and friends from school.
8) Bake something together - you can’t go wrong with a classic butterfly cake.
9) Make up some family dance routines.
10) Have a go at tie dying an old t-shirt.
11) Set up an indoor treasure hunt, complete with clues.
12) Get the kids to make their own TV show and film it on your phone or iPad.
13) Put out a picnic blanket and eat dinner on the floor.
14) Find their inner zen with some Cosmic Kids yoga.
15) Do some finger painting.
16) Make your daily walk more fun by giving them a list of things to spot en route.
17) Play hide and seek.
18) Host a mini birthday party for one of their favourite toys.
19) Set up an obstacle course in the garden.
20) Make some salt dough ornaments.
21) Have a pyjama day.
22) Meditate together - this Headspace meditation is a good place to start.
23) Make a bucket list of everything you’d like to do as a family once this is all over.
24) Watch the red pandas have breakfast at Chester Zoo.
25) Relive your own childhood by making the Blue Peter Tracy Island model.
26) Blow some bubbles out of the window.
27) Make some cards and send them to the residents of your local care home.
28) Have a kitchen dance party.
29) Make your own sock puppets using whatever materials you have around the house.
30) Read the Harry Potter books together.
31) Practice some origami.
32) Start a family gratitude jar. Get an empty jar and each day add slips of paper with a list of things you’re grateful for.
33) Put together a fancy dress box using any bits you have lying around the house.
34) Play a board game.
35) Video call relatives and friends.
36) Make a family tree together.
37) Host a fashion show in the living room.
38) Download Duolingo and have a go at learning a new language.
39) Conduct some science experiments.
40) Look through old family photos.
41) Make homemade face masks and have a pamper afternoon.
42) Get the kids involved with cooking - homemade pizzas are always a hit.
43) Make a collage using old magazines and newspapers.
44) Make pancakes for breakfast.
45) Have a game of bingo.
46) Play some card games.
47) Take some family portraits.
48) Set up an ice cream sundae station.
49) Make some bird feeders to hang in the garden.
50) Make a time capsule of this time to be opened in the future.
