20 Indoor Activities for Parents

So. You’re stuck in the house with your family for an extended period of time – be it for rainy days, a heat wave or even a global pandemic… what do you do to keep sane? Assuming the kids are napping or nicely entertained (check out our 40 indoor activities ideas for kids blog for inspiration), and that no one is ill, you might find yourself at a loose end. It’s not an ideal situation, but self-care is SO important to stay positive and make the best of this spare time, we have a list of things to do indoor activities for parents at home:

Indoor Hobbies

Being indoors for an extended period of time will allow you to do those things you’ve been too busy to do.

Reboot an old hobby – if you’re into scrapbooking, beading, sewing – dig out your old supplies and get stuck into it. It’s a great opportunity to finish a half finished project.

Try a NEW hobby. Google a You Tube tutorial on origami, knitting, painting, there’s lots of crafting fun to be had.

Get writing, write a letter, poem or even a short story. Start a diary or a daily list of things to be grateful for.

Did you get into the “Adult colouring” craze a few years ago and still have an unfinished colouring book?! NOW is the time to crack that out again and get colouring. Best enjoyed with a cuppa!

“Me” Time

Relax! The best thing to do at this time of uncertainty is to chill and take steps in self-care – this is especially important for our family’s sake. Take some time out just for yourself to escape and recharge:

Finish reading that book you’ve never finished, or the 10 novels on your bookshelf you’ve never started. Or why not re-read your favourite book? Many libraries also offer e-books and magazines to borrow too. Podcasts are also great, when you want to give your eyes a rest, and you can find them about pretty much any subject.

Pamper yourself! Light the candles, take a looong soak in the bath, put on a face mask and paint your nails. This will make you feel more relaxed, as well as energised.

Do Something Constructive

Keep in touch with friends and fam. This is SO important. While we attend less events and social gatherings, people will increasingly feel isolated. Be sure to check in with your family and friends, and not just by texting and messaging – give them a phone call or face-time too. If you have a family of friends that live alone, be sure to check on them regularly – maybe even organise a Skype wine night with your friends!

Sort your photos. If you haven’t printed out your photos since 2012, jump onto snapfish.com or a similar photo website and print photos, create albums, personalised gifts and more! It will also give your phone so much more memory space if you can delete some of your 5,000 pet, family, or food photos.

Get cooking! Bake a simple cake or cookies from ingredients found in your pantry. Your family will love you for it and the house will smell AMAZING!

Have you always wondered about your past? Look up family history on a website like ancestry.com Here you can research records from all around the world to discover relatives from generations gone by.

Declutter! Work around each room, sorting draws and cupboards using a simple throw/sell/donate method. As Marie Kondo says if it doesn’t ‘spark joy’ – get rid of it. If this period of isolation had affected your family’s income stream, it may be a good idea to use this time to sort your unused stuff and ready it to be sold when the large event ban is lifted. See our guide to swap meets in Perth here.

Another possible way to earn cash from home is to sign up for paid online surveys.

Or learn a brand new skill (like photography, web development and more) on Lynda.com or Coursera, where you can build skills with courses, certificates, and degrees from world-class universities and companies.

Binge Watching

Have a doona day on the sofa and watch a movie marathon or binge a TV series. Here’s some TV viewing picks from the Buggybuddys mums:

Me (Amanda) aka “The Chefs Wife”
FOR PARENTS: Outlander (Netflix, Foxtel, SBS), Succession (Foxtel), Bodyguard (Netflix), The Chef Show (Netflix), Peaky Blinders (Netflix), You (Netflix), The Stranger (Netflix),
WITH THE KIDS: Little Chef and I love to watch Lego Masters together, as well as Pooch Perfect.

Jacqui aka “Perth Tweens”
FOR PARENTS: Reign (Stan), The Heights (ABC iView), The Block (9Now)
WITH THE KIDS: Watch the Marvel or Harry Potter movies in order

Kellie aka “Perth Mum Adventures”
FOR PARENTS: Blue Heelers (7plus), Real Housewives (Hayu, 9now), Survivor (10play), Lucifer (Netflix)
WITH THE KIDS: Mr Bean (7plus), Pixar in Real Life (disney+), Norris Nuts (YouTube)

Holly
FOR PARENTS: The Handmaids Tale (Stan, SBS On Demand), The IT Crowd (Netflix), Kath & Kim (Netflix), Suits (Netflix), The Crown (Netflix), Broadchurch (SBS On Demand), Underbelly (Stan)
WITH THE KIDS: Hey Duggee (ABC iView), Lost in Oz (ABC Me), Crystal Maze (ABC iView), Rugrats (Stan), Fuller House (Netflix)

Games and Puzzles

Dig out the board games and your competitive sprit and have a games night. If you run out of games or end up in too many arguments over Monopoly (!!), try charades, where all you need is your hands and a good imagination.

Go old school with a jigsaw puzzle (that should kill a lot of time!), chess, dominoes or a card game. If you’re not sure how to play, there’s lots of tutorials on You Tube. Or escape with online games on pogo or king.

Keep Active at Home

If you have unused gym equipment at home – it’s time to dust off the treadmill! It’s very easy to keep moving – and so important for both our physical and mental health.

Exercise can be as easy as following a You Tube excercise tutorial. There’s so many, for all fitness levels, including yoga, Zumba, Meditation sessions and more. Here’s a few ideas:

Meditation to Start Your Day
Yoga for Beginners
Cardio
Full Body Work Out

Dance like no one is watching. Dig out your old CDs or make a Spotify playlist. If you’re into music this is great fun, and you can easily get stuck down the rabbit hole revisiting your favourite high school tunes and more.

Self Care – can be anything that makes you smile – big or small. From cuddling your dog, to indulging in a big slice of chocolate cake, catching up with your favourite pod cast or watching a trashy movie. It’s so important to give your mental health a boost right now.

Do you have a tip for entertaining yourself indoors, or a great suggestion for TV viewing? We’ll up date this Indoor Activities for Parents at Home blog, so be sure to let us know in the comments below!

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About Amanda Carlin

Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, "The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life" has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as "The Chef's Ex-wife" embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son "Little Chef" in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.

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