Don’t let the boredom lead to anxiety, stress, and arguments. Whether your family is home for the weekend or quarantined during a pandemic, you’re going to need something to do together.
yourfootpalace.com gathered information about simple indoor games and activities to keep your family and friends positively engaged with one another.
Activities in The Kitchen
One of the most efficient ways to keep your family engaged is to feed them. You can use the following activities to get everyone participating and working together.
Colorful Cupcakes – For this activity, it is best to use a vanilla cake mix. Here’s how you do it:
• Following the instructions on the packaging to prepare a batch or two of vanilla cake mix
• Give everyone a bowl and a spoon
• Evenly divide the cake batter between all participants
• Each person should use food coloring to create a uniquely colored batter
• Pour the batter into a cupcake pan, keeping everyone’s color separate.
• If there is any batter left over, layer it into one of the cupcake forms for a multi-colored cupcake
• Bake the cupcakes according to the directions
• Let them cool and add frosting for a fun treat
For a fun twist, layer all of the cupcakes randomly, alternating the order of the colors. You can also use vanilla frosting and food coloring to make the matching frosting.
Smoothie Creations – Everyone loves a tasty smoothie. With this activity, you may discover some new flavor combinations:
• Cut up several types of fresh fruit and vegetables (the more options, the better)
• Give everyone a cup to fill
• Each person puts the mixture for their smoothie in the cup
• Make the smoothies one by one, adding the cup of fruit / vegetables to water / juice and ice
• Blend and serve (rinse the blender after each use)
Take note of the combinations that taste the best and add them to your recipes. For 50 different smoothie recipes, visit foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-smoothies
Tip: Make it a tasting contest by distributing sample-sized servings of each mix to everyone (without disclosing whose mix it is). Reveal the winner when the “best” smoothie is chosen.
Family Puzzle Games
Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to get everyone engaged using their problem-solving skills. You’re going to need a lot of table or floor space for this one:
• Divide everyone into teams of two (if you have enough people)
• Give each team a 100 or 200-piece puzzle
• Start a timer and let the race begin
• The first team to finish their puzzle wins
• Put the puzzle back in its box and swap them, so everyone gets a different puzzle
• Repeat the game
Use a 1,000 or 2,000-piece puzzle and include the entire family in its completion.
Indoor Balloon Games
Balloons have an almost mystical way of making people smile. With these games, there is sure to be a lot of laughter:
Pass It On – This game will show you who is naughty and who is nice.
• Gather the family in a circle (a big circle)
• Give an inflated balloon to one player
• He/She calls someone’s name and taps the balloon to that person
• No matter where the balloon is tapped, the person has to keep it from hitting the floor
• If the person catches the balloon, he/she gets to call the next person
• If the balloon falls to the floor, the person is out until the next game
• A winner is declared when everyone else has been eliminated
It’s always fun to see who the family gangs up on.
Juggle Up – This one takes some skill and can get hilarious very quickly.
• Choose someone to go first and give them 3 inflated balloons
• Start a timer and give the go signal
• They have to keep all three balloons in the air for as long as they can
• Stop the clock when one of the balloons hits the floor
• The winner is the player with the longest time
Tip: If you live with a bunch of jugglers, add a fourth balloon to increase the difficulty level.
Variation: Use a single balloon and only use your head to keep it in the air.
Blow It Up – This is a fast and easy game.
• Everyone gets a deflated balloon
• Someone gives the “go” signal
• And everyone starts blowing up their balloon
• The winner is the person whose balloon pops first
You can add a level of difficulty by having everyone blow up and pop two consecutive balloons instead of one.
Giving Balloon Birth – This is a popular game at baby showers.
• Everyone gets one inflated balloon
• The balloon is shoved under their shirts
• The objective is to “push” the balloon from under the shirt without popping it or using your arms or hands
• The winner is the first person to get their balloon from under their shirt
Tip: This game can get hilarious. Have someone record it for future laughs.
Straw Games
Straws are great for drinking water or juice, but they can be used as a great entertainment piece as well. Give the following games a try:
Suck Up The Paper – You will need some straws, small sheets of colored paper, and a large bowl.
• Give a straw to each player
• Give a small stack of paper to each player (different color for each player)
• Place a bowl in the center of the table
• Each player moves his/her sheets to the bowl using only the straw
• The first player to move all of his/her paper to the bowl wins
Tip: You can divide players into teams. If you don’t have enough colored paper, write the player’s name or team’s name on the slips.
Blowing Bubbles – For this game, you will need some straws, a small bowl half full of water, and some liquid dish soap. It goes like this:
• Give a straw to each player
• Put the bowl in the center of the table
• Slowly add the soap to the water, so a layer of it covers the water
• Each player dips the end of his/her straw in the bowl, pulls it out, and blows a bubble
• The winner is determined by the player who blows the biggest bubble or whose bubble lasts the longest
Tip: When everyone gets good at blowing the bubbles, have players connect their bubbles to make one giant bubble.
Card Games
From Go Fish and War to Uno and other themed card games, there are limitless games and variations to those games. Frankly, a deck of cards can provide endless entertainment, including bluffing games like Poker, magic tricks using sleight of hand, and highly competitive games like Spades.
You can find dozens of card game rules and variations of those games at playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/40-great-card-games-for-all-occasions
Games for Indoors
Along with all of the games mentioned above, there are hundreds of board games that can be played as well. Some of them may include:
• Monopoly
• Candy Land
• Chutes and Ladders
You can also run mini tournaments like:
• Chess
• Speed Chess
• Checkers
Whatever games and activities you use to keep everyone occupied, don’t forget to take care of your own health and wellness. Once your family returns to their homes or quarantine restrictions are lifted, take some time to:
• Go for a walk
• Go for a swim
• Go to a spa
• Go on a date with your partner or a friend
• Prioritize your sleep time
• Get a couples massage
Uncover the benefits of getting a couples massage by reading yourfootpalace.com/benefits-couples-massage/
Indoor Games and Activities
In this article, you discovered several indoor games and activities intended to keep everyone engaged with one another while staying at home.
By creating an atmosphere full of fun and challenging activities, you are helping everyone avoid arguments, anxiety, and stressful moments.
Allowing the continuation of a monotonous or boring setting can become volatile as people’s frustrations build and collide with others.
Sources:
theactivefamily.org/indoor-games/
todaysparent.com/toddler/20-fun-indoor-games/
loganhealth.org/prod/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/What-to-do-at-home-with-your-kids-during-COVID-2019.pdf
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