10 lockdown activities to inspire creativity

After months of repetitive lockdown activities, suddenly it’s March already! Along with the warmer weather, it really does feel like we are in the home straight of lockdown – here’s hoping anyway.

However, with strict lockdown restrictions in place for a number of weeks, the final stretch is likely to feel like it’s dragging! If your lockdown routine is in a bit of a rut, here’s 10 lockdown activities to inspire creativity in the whole family.

Get Gardening

Spring is just around the corner so now is the perfect time to grow seedlings. Even if you don’t have a garden, at this time of the year, indoors is the ideal place for seeds to germinate. Get the kids involved in researching and choosing what they would like to grow, then plant in seed trays on a windowsill. Children will love watching their plants germinate just in time to plant out in the warmer weather.

Sunflowers are an easy choice for fast growing plants. You could even have a competition to see who can grow the tallest!

Make a personalised family gallery wall

These days, there are a wealth of apps and websites to help with creativity and design projects. Designing a personalised poster, greeting card or customised stickers has never been easier! 

You could make your own personalised family gallery wall by each designing a poster before printing and framing. Whether a family in-joke, inspirational quote, or a memory of lockdown, the list is endless! Your designs can get the extra personal touch with a range of font freebies online that can be downloaded and used in your designs. This is a fantastic cost effective way to create a unique family memento.

Stargazing

The nights might be getting lighter, but it’s still dark early enough to look to the skies in the evening. Wrap up under a blanket and get in the garden with a flask of hot chocolate and see what you can spot!  Get more ideas for stargazing here.

Make a board game

By now you might have played more games of Monopoly or Snakes & Ladders than you care to remember, so how about mixing it up with a unique home made game? Decide on the rules then task the kids with designing the board, while the adults sort features such as question cards.

The possibilities are endless and the end result could be a game to treasure forever!

Hold a virtual (or household) competition 

By now we’re all bit sick of Zoom quizzes, so here’s another idea to mix things up! Whether just within your own household, or virtually with friends, family or neighbours, a competition is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. The theme could be whatever you wish – baking, crafting or even setting a lap time for a run or cycle – whatever it might be, adding a competitive element to a hobby helps to keep everyone on their toes!

Create a treasure hunt

Set up clues around the house and outdoor space to keep the whole family entertained. You could even expand the idea and set up a trail around the local area to make a day of it! If you wanted to get really creative, you could use a free QR code creator so the clues need to be scanned on a phone to be revealed!

Hold a fancy dress party for your household

If guests can’t come to the party, bring the party home! Children have missed out on a whole year of birthday parties, so whether it’s someone’s birthday or not, hold a fancy dress party complete with balloons, games and party food. This is one of the simplest lockdown activities if you already have costumes at home!

Hold a spa at home

Craving a spa day and some me time? Set up your very own home spa and enjoy a bit of pampering. Run a relaxing bubble bath, get a facemask and paint your nails. It doesn’t have to cost much, but if you’re in the mood for indulgence, splash out on some luxury pamper products online or click & collect and give yourself a well earned treat.

Get creative with your living space

DIY is hardly an original suggestion for lockdown activities, but it’s surprising how much a room overhaul can benefit your mental health. It doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune on repainting, wallpapering or new furniture either. Sometimes just rearranging the layout of a room and swapping a few accessories can be enough to give it a whole new look!

Learn a new skill

Again, after almost a year of restrictions, this isn’t exactly a suggestion you won’t have heard before. But for many of us, taking a bit of downtime where we were completely UNproductive for a couple of months was just what we needed. 

If you’re now thinking about coming out of hibernation as the spring approaches, the last few weeks of lockdown activities could be the perfect chance to try out something new. Learn a new language, take up sewing, start to play an instrument…something that becomes a habit now could develop into a whole new skill over the next few months!

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