THE BEST WAYS TO KEEP YOURSELF BUSY INDOORS

I wanted to create a list of things you can do inside to keep yourself busy and also have some fun too. I don’t think staying in has to be boring, and in fact most of the time I choose staying in on an evening over going out anyway. I have already written a list of things to declutter in your house, which I’ll link here, and also a list of the best series and documentaries which I’ll link here. So, the below is a load more stuff you can get up to whilst staying home!

I also just want to quickly add to this - please do stay home if you can. The longer that people still go out and socialise, the longer this will all last. So please please please stay home. Don’t invite your friends over and don’t go to theirs. Only go out if you really need to.

GAMES:

If you live with others, a games night is the best thing to keep you all entertained. Grab a load of snacks, get in your comfy clothes, light some candles, put some music on, and settle down for a games night!

My favourite games to play with more than one person:

Charades
Heads Up (Similar to charades, it’s an app you download on your phone, the person guessing puts the phone on their forehead and the rest of you have to act out what’s on the phone.
Psych - made by the same people who made Heads Up. A trivia game where each player makes up a fake answer to a question, and you have to choose the real answer out of the fakes.
Pub Quiz - get some questions online and host your own pub quiz!
Get a load of sticky notes and play the ‘Who Am I’ game. Write a famous person or someone you know on the sticky note and stick it on the other persons head. They can only ask questions with yes or no answers.
Cards Against Humanity - card game that gets very savage but loads of fun. Particularly fun when drinking.
Monopoly
Cluedo
UNO
Scrabble
Checkers
Chess
Exploding Kittens
Articulate
You can also download games on your ipad, my boyfriend and I love playing Parchis which is essentially like Ludo but you can download it on your ipad. I’m sure you can download UNO etc on iPad too!
CARD GAMES:
My favourite is Cheat (also known as bullshit) (you can play this with 2 people, just leave deal for 3 and ignore one deck - have a google of the rules but the aim of the game is to get rid of your cards even if you have to cheat. Don’t let anyone see your cards, but you can look at them. You start the game with the 2 of clubs. Put the cards face down. So the person with the 2 of clubs starts, and says 1 2 as they put it down. Then from there the next person can either put down a 2, a 3 or an ace. So the same card, or the number either side. You can put down as many cards as you have or pretend you have more. So, for example I could put down two three’s. So I’d say Two Three’s as I put it down. I could have just cheated and not actually put down two three’s but that’s up to the rest of you to decide. You can’t confer with others. If you think someone is cheating then call cheat. They then have to show the cards they put down. If they cheated they take the pack. If you called it and they didn’t cheat then you have to take the pack. Whoever takes the pack starts that round with whatever cards they like.
Other card games include: Beat Jack Out of Doors, Rummy Cub, Irish Snap (love this one)

Games you can play on your own:

Solitaire - teach yourself to play this with cards. You can also download the app if you don’t have any cards!

Download the House Party app, it’s an app where you can do video calls with friends and play quiz games.
Game Pigeon - similar to the above but you play games via iMessage
Sims 4 - currently only £11! Go on to the Origin Website and create an EA username and you can buy it on there. The digital deluxe pack is £11. Enjoy! (Warning: you will lose a lot of your life to this game haha!)
You can play a lot of the games from the app store as one person and just play against robots or others online, like Parchis I mentioned above.
Design Home - a home design game where you can design rooms and houses.
Puzzles

Other things you can get up to inside:

LEARN TIK TOK DANCES: Even if you have absolutely no intention of posting them anywhere, it’s a bit of fun and you’ll end up having such a laugh. Download the TIK TOK app and find your favourite dances and get learning. Maybe make a challenge between friends! Or if TIKTOK isn’t your thing, you can do online dance classes on youtube and also lots of people are doing them live on insta. Such a good way to keep fit too.
THROW AN INDOOR PICNIC: There’s something fun about eating on the floor… even if you are inside. Put down a blanket, a load of cushions, light candles, put some music on, and get a load of good snacks and picky bits, or order a takeaway and enjoy. You can also do this outside in your garden if it’s sunny enough!
MOVIE NIGHT: Same as above, but bring your duvet down from your bed and get cosy and stick on your favourite film!
COOK SOMETHING NEW: Find some recipes online that you wouldn’t normally do because they are too time consuming and learn to cook some new things!
BAKING: It’s the best time to do things that you would never normally have time for, and baking is definitely one of them for me! And the plus side is you get to eat it all too whilst you’re having your picnic or movie night!
SPA EVENING: This is one of my favourite things to do. Light some candles, put a nice relaxing playlist on, run a bath, do a face mask, do a hair mask, do a full long skincare routine, do a full body scrub and moisturise, fake tan, f you live with your other half then you could both give each other massages, just have a super relaxing pamper night that you never normally have time for!
SCRAPBOOK/PHOTO ALBUM - This is something I always say I want to do but definitely never ever have the time for. Order a load of your favourite photos online, I use the app Free Prints, and order a photo album or a scrapbook and get sticking! This is such a relaxing thing to do and also so satisfying at the end when you have all your memories in one place. If your phone ever dies and you lose your photos, at least you will have physical copies in your photo album! Do it for holidays you’ve been on, periods in your life, your wedding, etc, just anything you want to remember!
MAKE A VISION BOARD: I do this at the start of every year, but if you’ve not done it yet, create a vision board. A vision board is essentially whatever you want it to be. I put everything on it that I want to happen, broken down into short term and long term goals. You can make it into more of a collage and cut things out of old magazines or you can just draw it or write it out yourself. Make it pretty and nice to look at, then stick it up somewhere you see every day to remind you of your goals! Mine are stuck on the inside of my wardrobe.
PRACTICE YOGA OR PILATES: There are so many good youtube videos out there, Yoga with Adrienne is a favourite. Even if its just 10 minutes a day, having a good old stretch and taking time to focus your mind and body will set you up so well for the day. Again, its something I always want to do more of but never have enough time so now is definitely my chance!
JOIN AN ONLINE BOOK CLUB: The two I know of are Beth’s Book Club and the Zoella Book Club. Have a look on instagram and get reading! Another thing I absolutely love but never have time for, you can order the books on Amazon as they are still delivering, or if you have a kindle this is the perfect time to use it!
LEARN A LANGUAGE: This is the perfect time to learn a skill you wouldn’t otherwise have done! A language is a great thing to learn, even if it’s just the basics so next time you go away you can get directions or order your meal, there loads of good apps out there to help you learn, such as Memrise, Duolingo, LinguaLift.
EXERCISE: There are so many amazing home work outs on youtube and on instagram. Find something you love and get moving! You will feel so so much better for it after both physically and mentally! There’s lots of apps too, for example Freeletics. Another great one to get if you want to start running is the Couch to 5k app.
LEARN CALLIGRAPHY: Another productive thing you can do to learn a new skill! This has always been something I’d love to try! You can order what you need online and just get going, there lots of tutorials on youtube!
COLOURING: This is another great thing to do, particularly if you need something to relax you and calm your mind this is super soothing and soo satisfying! Put some nice music on, some candles and get colouring.
DRAWING/PAINTING/KNITTING/ARTS AND CRAFTS: Such a good time to unleash your inner child and get messy! Do some painting, draw something, make things, learn to knit, paint by numbers, whatever it is just have some fun with it, make it into a competition with those you live with! Who knows you might end up with some amazing art to put up!
PETS: If you have a pet, teach them some new tricks, or make an Instagram Account for them! It’s the best place to keep a record of all their photos and upload the funny things your pet does - and bonus, this will definitely help cheer people up too! If you wanna follow my pup’s insta page, he’s @raffiethedog on there!
REDECORATE: Now is the perfect time to paint that room you’ve been wanting to, or do some DIY. Upcycle an old piece of furniture or reorganise your furniture. Super satisfying when you’re done.