Have fun at home with a variety of activities
Whether it’s due to extreme weather or higher levels of Covid-19 in the community, sometimes it’s necessary to spend more time at home.
Entertaining ourselves through engaging our minds and bodies while staying safe at home is now more important than ever.
To keep from getting bored, restless, or agitated, we share 9 ways to have fun while staying indoors.
You’ll find dozens of suggestions for games and puzzles, books, radio shows, and podcasts, music, cooking shows, crafts, documenting life stories, senior-friendly exercise, and free online learning.
1. Have fun with crafts and hobbies
Coloring Coloring is an activity that can be adapted for any level. Plus, there are hundreds of free printables available online.
We share some top free printables in this article – Free Coloring Pages for Seniors: Our Top 5 Picks.
We also love these fine art coloring books. Or, you can explore a wide variety of coloring books for adults available for purchase here on Amazon.
Origami This art form is fun and adaptable to any skill level. Learn to fold origami flowers, boxes, airplanes, ninja stars, and other projects in these free tutorials from The Spruce Crafts.
Indoor gardening Bringing a bit of nature inside is a fun project. A simple way to try your hand at indoor gardening is to save your veggie scraps and regrow them.
This guide from Rural Sprout shares tips for regrowing 20 types of vegetables and herbs.
It’s fun to watch new leaves sprout and a nice way to ensure that you have some fresh greens and herbs on hand.
2. Play fun games and puzzles
DIY bean bag toss The bean bag toss game is so simple, yet so entertaining!
Make your own with this quick DIY version that cleverly uses a cardboard box for the targets.
Use anything that’s small and non-bouncy for the bean bag (so it will stay put after it’s thrown).
Create multiple holes to increase the challenge. And if keeping score would make things more exciting, mark the holes with numbers.
Jigsaw puzzles Find jigsaw puzzles that are right for your older adult’s cognitive or physical ability level – Jigsaw Puzzles for Seniors at All Ability Levels
Crossword puzzles These large print crossword puzzles are fun and easy on the eyes – Free Crosswords for Seniors: Large Print Puzzles
Or, buy a book of crosswords so you can choose the level of difficulty or theme – browse these options.
Sudoku These puzzles that use numbers as placeholders are surprisingly addictive – Free Printable Sudoku Puzzles for Seniors
Classic games These nostalgic games haven’t gone out of style:
Checkers – try this large size soft board with easy-grip pieces and tic-tac-toe on the back or this 3 in 1 game set that includes checkers, chess, and backgammon.
Bingo – try this 9-inch metal cage home bingo set or this smaller 6-inch metal cage set. You could also play right away for free with a free online bingo caller and printing your own bingo cards (choose “one numeric bingo card per page” for the largest size).
Connect Four – this is a vertical tic-tac-toe game that’s fun for all ages.
Yahtzee – a fun dice game that keeps the brain sharp. You could also play for free if you have dice at home, print your own score sheets (PDF), and follow the official game rules (PDF).
Card games – all you need is a deck of cards! Here are instructions for a variety of card games, in order from easiest to most challenging:
War (2 min video explanation)
3. Listen to or document life stories
Hearing or recording someone’s life stories is a meaningful and rewarding activity to enjoy together.
Ask open-ended questions about their life and simply listen, record the answers with your smartphone, or write down their responses. Or, they could even write some memoirs of their own.
StoryCorps is an organization that collects and shares stories. They share a list of great questions to ask.
The Legacy Project also shares a huge list of life interview questions to keep the conversation flowing.
4. Listen to books, radio shows, and podcasts
Read aloud Hearing the newspaper, books, magazines, or even old letters read aloud is an enjoyable pastime for many older adults.
Find things that capture their interest, but aren’t too complex to follow.
Listen to audiobooks Audiobooks (books on tape) allow your older adult to listen to almost any book they like.
Borrow them from the local library, buy them from a retailer, use the free National Library Service home delivery, or find them online for free with Libby or Librivox.
Listen to sports Sports fans may enjoy listening to re-broadcasted sports games on the radio.
Listen to radio shows Some older adults may enjoy listening to radio talk shows, spiritual broadcasts, science talks, and other such programs.
Many radio stations even make these programs available online for free.
Listen to podcasts Explore the world of podcasts with this slideshow of Top 15 podcasts of 2020 from Oprah Magazine.
Podcasts are like radio shows that cover almost any topic you could imagine and are available for free online.
5. Enjoy music
Play their favorite songs or albums, especially music from their youth. You can even use their favorite songs as a fun way to help them reminisce over fond memories.
Encourage them to sing along to songs they know.
Tune the radio to a station that plays the type of music they like.
Listen with a streaming music service like Spotify, iHeartRadio, or Pandora. They’re free, if you listen to ads.
6. Watch cooking shows
Even if you don’t plan on doing a lot of cooking, there’s something so fun and relaxing about watching someone else cook.
Along with the many cooking shows you’ll find on network and cable TV, we love these excellent free YouTube channels:
Food Network – top TV chefs like Ina Garten, Guy Fieri, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, and more.
Epicurious – amazing videos aimed towards the home chef.
Bon Appetit – expert chefs and delicious recipes from a leader in the food industry.
America’s Test Kitchen – highly qualified cooks perform thousands of cooking tests every year to develop the best recipes and cooking techniques.
Food Wishes – Chef John shares his fun-to-make and easy-to-follow recipes.
Everyday Food – the Martha Stewart Living food editors share videos with easy recipes and time-saving cooking techniques.
7. Stay active with senior-friendly exercise
Exercise is a great way to help seniors maintain strength and balance as well as stay active and boost mood and the immune system.
Our top senior-friendly exercise routines:
3 Easy Tai Chi Videos for Seniors Prevent Falls, Improve Balance and Strength
Head to Toe Gentle Seated Chair Exercises for Seniors Improve Range of Motion
12 Easy and Gentle Seated Stretching Exercises for Seniors in 4 Minutes
Seated Tai Chi for Seniors: 3 Simple Routines Improve Flexibility and Well-being
Home Dementia Exercise Program Increases Abilities and Improves Symptoms
We’ve also got dozens more senior-friendly exercise suggestions here.
8. Learn something fun and interesting
For those who love to learn, there are many free, high-quality courses available online.
Our top picks:
The Science of Well-Being – from Yale University on Coursera, popularly known as the “Yale Happiness Course”
A wide range of courses in culture from Harvard University
Explore a large selection of courses from Khan Academy – it’s all free, just create an account
Watch Bob Ross’ soothing painting lessons free on Twitch
9. Try relaxation techniques
We could all use a little more relaxation in our lives.
Try these free techniques to relax body and mind:
Do Nothing for 2 Minutes – just listen to the relaxing waves
3 brief meditations – scroll down to see 3 meditation options (3 and 10 minutes)
Recommended for you:
By DailyCaring Editorial Team
This article wasn’t sponsored, but does contain affiliate links. We never link to products or services for the sole purpose of making a commission. Recommendations are based on our honest opinions. For more information, see How We Make Money.
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