Fun & Useful Activities for When You are Stuck Inside

toddler with cake batter

Whether it’s due to the weather, illness, or other reasons, it’s not always fun to be stuck at home and inside the house. However, those are the best times to think outside the box and get a little creative. It’s can also be the perfect time to catch up on all those things you wished you had time to do!

Here are a few online options that allow you to keep your social distancing and stay warm inside while getting those pushed-off life tasks completed!

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Have Adventures at Home!

Since you are at home with your loved ones for an unknown amount of time, you might as well have some fun and make some great family memories!

Young child with cinnamon homemade Christmas tree ornaments

Fun with Younger Kids

  • Color
  • Draw
  • Read books together
  • Have a tea party (with real treats)
  • Have an indoor picnic
  • Build a fort together
  • Make slime
  • Play dress-up
  • Practice with flashcards
  • Make a sensory table or bin and play in it
  • Have a practice Easter Egg hunt (and let the kids hide them for you too)
  • Have fun with chores (our favorite was having the kids put on swimsuits, clear the kitchen of all furniture, and let the kids slide around on the floor with some soapy water and clean the floor!)

Fun with Older Kids and Teens

  • Make a scavenger hunt for the kids
  • Have the kids make a scavenger hunt for you
  • Art projects
  • Teach them to make their favorite food(s)
  • Play board or card games together
  • Plan activities for younger siblings or younger neighborhood children to help keep them entertained during this time of quarantine
  • Plant a garden outside or inside the house
  • Do creative activities…projects, make your own game, etc….
  • Make a vision board!
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Fun with Any Age

  • Bake something together
  • Prepare a themed meal (Hawaiian, Mexican, BBQ, pirate, princess, etc…)
  • Have an in-home popcorn and movie festival
  • Check out Scholastic Learn at Home
  • Plan your next family vacation…for when you can finally leave your home again!
  • Do a puzzle together
  • Explore BrainPop
  • Play basketball, four-square, or another active outdoor game in your driveway or back yard
  • Paint
  • Scrapbook or make a picture collage
  • Do science experiments with Bill Nye The Science Guy
  • Bake a treat for someone
  • Make a gift for someone
  • Take funny pictures of yourself and family members and make a quarantine scrapbook

Order craft kits online, have them delivered to your home, and do them together as a family!

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Keep Up with Regular Activities

  • Chores
  • Reading time (if this is not already a daily activity, this is a GREAT time to start!)
  • Have downtime
  • Have family time
  • Do educational activities
  • Exercise, go for a walk, get some fresh air, etc…
  • Keep regular sleep schedules
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Tasks to Accomplish With Your New Free Time

  • Spring Cleaning
  • Find items to donate to a local charitable organization once the quarantine is lifted
  • Call, email, or FaceTime family and friends you cannot spend time with regularly right now
  • Learn about a new animal or insect every day!
  • Prep those Easter Baskets for your little ones and for the Disney Fans in your life! So many goodies can be found online and delivered directly to your home!

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Check out Online Adventures!

So many zoos and museums are hosting online programs and virtual tours. This is a great way for you (and your family) can have fun at home with some of that free time! You can check out:

Nephew and uncle wearing Christmas necklaces and holding Stitch stuffed toys outside of Rainforest Cafe

Visit Zoos and Aquariums online!

Easter Island statue at the British Museum in London, England

Visit Museums online!

Boy with moutain range behind him

Visit Other Amazing Locations online!

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Plan Your Next Family Vacation

Personally, I’m good with any excuse to vacation plan!

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Plan some Disney Fun

Minnie's Hollywood and Vine
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Consider Disney World tours! Check out the fantastic time we had doing the Keys to the Kingdom Tour!

Keys to the Kingdom tour advertisement
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Check out other amusement parks and more

There are fun things to do at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, as well as Aquatica and SeaLife! Plus, don’t forget to check out Discovery Cove!

Mom and daughter by Sea Life in Mall of America

There are also many fun and unique Ripley’s locations, such as Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Ripley’s Aquariums, and Ripley’s Haunted Houses! These are definitely can’t-miss attractions!

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See what Atlanta has to offer

Here is what Atlanta has to offer

Personally, I’m a huge fan of The Georgia Aquarium!!

However, when you go to Atlanta, you can’t miss the panda bears at Zoo Atlanta!

BONUS: Do all of these activities and more for less money with City Pass!

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And a few more ideas…


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For more ideas, tips, tricks, checklists, print-outs, and more, check out our keeping busy while at home mini-course!

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32 thoughts on “Fun & Useful Activities for When You are Stuck Inside”

  1. I love this – thank you for sharing!!! My boys were getting a bunch of crafts in their Easter basket and I keep wondering if I should be breaking them out early!!

  2. I love this! We want to get to the Georgia Aquarium so bad! We didn’t know there was a webcam! Great information for the kids too!

  3. Great ideas! I love that so many exhibits have made online viewing possible. My grandson loves viewing the animals!

  4. Your blog is a never-ending source of information and ideas for those of us with children. I love this blog and each post you make! Thank you for providing it!

  5. these are great !I just dropped an article on virtually traveling through American history with everything from virtual museums to interactive games. there are some great opportunities here we have with our kids to teach meaningful things!

  6. Thanks for this list! I enjoy watching the aquarium shows and visiting virtual museums. It is definitely tough trying to get teens to do anything that is educational!

    1. Me too! I have not done it yet, but I plan on sitting down with my kids and doing it one day this week! I have enjoyed some of the zoos and aquariums online so far!

  7. Great Tips! There is a lot you can do with your family if you get creative. We baked bread, played on the slip and side out side, and had a suduko competition. We have also been on a lot of hikes in the desert.

    1. Great ideas!! I’m hoping this will be a fun time at home and not just a very long Spring Break at home!!

  8. Loving exploring the online museums – and have been following the Shedd Aquarium as the penguins explore the museum! Who would have ever thought we’d see that!

  9. Definitely thinking warm and sunny thoughts while watching my little plants grow by the window! 🙂 Great suggestions, thanks!

  10. What a great and comprehensive list! I will definitely be looking into some of these activities with my 9-year-old and my 4-year-old. Thanks for the suggestions – us mamas have to stick together! 😉

  11. Great ideas I have three little ones and So I need lots of inspiration on how to keep busy with them if this happens!

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