Is being cooped up making you go crazy? Whether from post-pandemic life, weather woes, working from home, or kids home sick, I think everyone can benefit from a few family-friendly activities you can do at home.  

Aside from having fun, there is beauty in knowing what you are grateful for, and there is beauty in the ability to have some actual family bonding time finally. So, what is a family to do when you are all cooped up inside? They get creative - you get creative. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, right?

Since we have had some time to get creative ourselves, we’ve provided a shortlist of activities for your family to do inside and outside of the home during this hunker downtime. Never underestimate the power of play.

• Build a fort - Build the biggest fort your family has ever made. Think it’s the biggest? Go even bigger!
• Talent show - Give the family a chance to show off those awesome talents that they’ve been working on behind closed doors. You can even go Dancing with the Stars style and rate the performances (tread lightly with this one). 
• Cook a meal together - Take turns to have family members plan and prepare meals or make an assembly line so everyone has a role. 
• Make a mess - Now, this one is not for the faint of heart. Cook and cool some spaghetti noodles (no sauce) and have a food fight. Spaghetti is cheap and easy to clean. Plus, it’ll be OK if you decide that it’s the dog’s turn to clean up instead. 
• Play a board game, but with your own rules - Play your go-to board game but change up the rules. Add in pieces from other board games, a soft item to toss or throw, or even requirements that get you up and out of your chair. 
• Treasure hunt - Hide a small “treasure” outside or inside the house. Create clues to find the treasure and send your family off to hunt. This may be a good time to grab a cup of coffee, sit back and relax. 
• Workout - Yes. We are serious. What better way to get out all that pent-up energy than to work it all out? The key is to make it fun. Have each family member pick a move or two and then have them lead the exercise(s) to the music of their choice. You’ll probably burn more calories in laughter, but that’s just fine. 

See, it’s easy to incorporate the “structured” family fun time you have been waiting for. We are sure you can come up with a few fun at-home, out-of-the-box activities for your family as well. Just remember to soak it all in, take lots of pictures and laugh!