Home » Things to do » Family Fun Days Out » Free Things to Do

Bored? Try These 15 UNIQUE Things to Do When You are Stuck at Home!

Are you looking for DIFFERENT things to do at home?

If boredom is starting to get to you,  and you’ve already counted all the grains of rice in your pantry – twice, it’s time to try something new. You can kick back with online content, get crafty, or find a new way to help in your community.

There’s no need to feel isolated if you’re self-isolating! Here are some ‘unique’ ideas to try if you have time on your hands.

1. Read an online magazine

For relaxing and ‘me time’, what could be better than chilling with a magazine? Most of your favourite magazines are available online (either free or by subscription), so you don’t even have to venture out of doors or wait for it to arrive in your online supermarket delivery.

If your favourite magazine has a website, check it out to see if you can find a link to the digital version of their latest issue, like our favourite online magazine – this one.

2. Find a podcast

Podcasts are great to listen to at any time; while cleaning, hobbying, soaking in the bath etc. If you already have a few favourite podcasts, why not explore outside your usual genre. You could find an entertaining comedy, an amateur dramatic reading of a play, something educational, or a podcast that leads you to a new pastime.

Have you listened to My Dad Wrote a Porno? (Sooo funny!)

You could find a podcast the whole family will enjoy as an alternative to television, or one for the kids to listen to while you get on with other things. A quick Google search will reveal heaps of podcast platforms to explore, and many of them are FREE!

3. Start a worm farm

It’s a fact that most kids love icky things like worms, so making them part of your recycling at home is a great way to get kids involved and excited about recycling. Many councils will provide free worm farms and courses on how to set them up and care for them. Worm farms recycle most kitchen and garden waste into nutrient rich products for your garden. You can find information on how to set up and maintain a worm farm here on the Brisbane City Council website.

BONUS – creating a worm farm is an ideal way to incorporate some home learning into your daily routine. You’ll cover recycling, biology, engineering and maybe even a little chemistry!

4. Connect with board games – online

If you are missing your social get-togethers, get together with friends with an online games night. We’re not talking Playstation or Minecraft – there are heaps of games available for non-gamers!

Gather your friends online for a round of:

Uno

Online Monopoly

Family Cards Against Humanity.

Or go to the app store or Google Play and search for your favourite game, then invite your friends to join you.

5. Online pub quizzes and trivia nights

You can join a live-streamed online trivia night to pit your wits against people around the world, but no Googling the answers! Most of these quizzes seem to be hosted overseas in different time zones, but more and more Aussie quiz-masters are taking the show online. Try QuizzaMe Australia for evening quizzes on Facebook.

6. Join – or create – an online book club

If you love to read, and love sharing what you read with others, then a book club is ideal for you. There are lots of organised book clubs online but a great way to start is to create your own!

It’s easy to create a group on Facebook, then scout your local parenting groups for members who share your passion. It can be structured, i.e. you all read the same book at the same pace and discuss, or unstructured where everyone talks about the books that they’ve loved and why. When we’re no longer social-distancing, you could find yourself with heaps of new friends to meet with in real life!

7. Trace your ancestry

Delving into your family’s past can be a fascinating experience – who knows what you might discover! The old school-way was incredibly time consuming, poring through church registers and government records etc., but nowadays many records are available online to make the task much easier. Ancestry.com has a huge database spanning the world, but the perfect starting point is with your own living family. Get the kids involved and ask them to interview their grandparents and other relatives via Skype, Facetime, or other ‘meeting’ apps. It’s a wonderful way to maintain a connection whilst apart and reinforces special bonds.

Turn what they discover into a learning experience by having your kids draw up their family tree, with photographs where available. They can also create a written project with family anecdotes, or publish their own ‘newspaper’ with stories and snippets around the lives of their ancestors. What a special surprise it would be to print the newspaper off and mail it to your ‘contributors’!

8. Join the Care Army

Queenslanders are great at helping each other out when times are hard, and the government is calling on Queenslanders to help their community now. The Care Army is about bringing the community together to lend a hand to seniors and people at risk during this pandemic. If you can help the vulnerable in your community, Queensland Government would love to hear from you. You can register as a volunteer here.

9. Take a virtual tour

virtual tours

Venues might be closed to visitors in the real world, but you can still visit in other ways. Virtual tours and field trips are THE thing to do right now, and the best part is you can visit ANYWHERE in the world in seconds! Try these:

  • 17 Museum Virtual Tours; including the British Museum, The Louvre, and even our home favourite Queensland Museum.
  • Virtual Disney Rides – ever wanted to visit Disney and ride all the awesome rides? You can – from your own lounge room. Kick these onto the big screen, sit back and enjoy these rides, without the queues!
  • Virtual Field Trips – there are so many wonderful places to explore from the comfort of your own home, from the Great Barrier Reef to Taronga Zoo, and from The Great Wall of China to Mars! You can visit farms, national parks and even Scott’s Hut in Antarctica!

10. Create a thank you note for your letterbox

Thank you postie

#TheKindnessPandemic is spreading positivity throughout the community. Many people are working in front-line and essential services and thanking them is a wonderful way to show your appreciation. You could put a note on your letter box to thank your postie, or on the side of your wheelie bin to thank your binmen, but you can also spread a little positivity on your essential trips – trolley collectors provide a valuable service and are often overlooked, and I’m sure they would love a thank you note too!

11. Write actual letters and post them

The art of letter-writing is being lost to SMS and informal email. Do you remember the thrill of receiving a proper hand-written letter in the mail? A hand-written letter shows that you are truly thinking of someone, and that you care enough to take the time to compose a missive. Show your kids how to layout a letter and let them write all about what they have been doing and how they are feeling. Show them that a hand-written letter can be a two-way conversation by asking questions of the recipient to encourage them to write back. Then add a stamp and post it!

Tip: Many care home residents would love to receive a letter to brighten their day. Consider writing to residents, who will pass the letters around – one letter can bring joy to many!

12. Create a video diary of your experience

We’re living through a major historical moment that will one day be taught in schools. So much is changing so fast that it will be hard to recall it all accurately. By creating a video diary detailing news, your feelings, and the things that you did, you will have something to share with future generations.

You can also compare your diary with that of friends and family living overseas or in different parts of Australia to see how much your experiences were the same or differed. Don’t forget to get the whole family involved – even your pets!

13. Create an exercise regime based on your name

alphabet exercise regime

This is a fun activity the whole family can try when looking for things to do at home! You can use the chart suggestions above, or create your own tailored to your family. This one is ideal for pre-schoolers, but you can find alphabet exercise charts to all age and fitness levels online. Make them part of your daily workout!

14. Make a hug and post it to your mum/grandma/loved one

finished mail a hugs

Get on this one for Mother’s Day! You can create a life-sized hug to send to a loved one anywhere in the world. Click here to see how.

15. Buy a new puzzle

Sometimes you just need to sit down and focus on a new puzzle. Maybe it’s years since you last completed a jigsaw, or puzzled over Sudoku. Give your brain a work-out dig out those old puzzles and puzzle books. This tricky jigsaw will keep you busy for years (who knew they were made in that many pieces!), or you might prefer to attempt to finally solve the good old retro Rubiks Cube (if you manage it, tell me how!).

Things to do at home

Did we pique your interest? Did we miss something truly unique and suitable for this time?? Let us know in comments!

Photo of author

Joanne Crane

Joanne loves speaking directly to people of all ages through the medium of writing, sharing tips and knowledge for families and kids to help everyone get the most out of life. Her focus is on the development of resilience, confidence and independence in children, and on helping families engage and create lasting memories. Self-esteem, self-respect and self-worth are vital skills that Joanne believes children need to learn early to help them grow as adults.

Leave a comment