Fun Things to Do at Home: Keep Your Family Busy, Fit, and Sane!

Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean boredom is inevitable. Finding fun things to do at home is simpler than you may think and keeps you and your family fulfilled!

Staying busy and active is the key to feeling happy and healthy without leaving the house!

Try these fun things to do at home and keep everyone busy, fit, and sane!

Fun Things to Do at Home: Indoor Activities

Staying active indoors comes in handy when you’re stuck in the house.

Examples of ways you and your family can stay active inside your home include:

1. Jump on Indoor Trampolines

Pick up a few indoor trampolines, or one larger one, to keep inside your home.

Even young children can benefit from this fun indoor activity!

Do a workout as a family, play Simon Says on the trampoline, or simply jump on it while you’re watching television to burn extra calories and get your blood pumping.

2. Do Indoor Workouts

You can find numerous at-home indoor workouts to complete from the comfort of your home, even if you don’t have workout equipment!

Try at-home Fit Mother Project workouts or create your own by combining cardiovascular exercises with resistance training workouts.

3. Climb Stairs

If you have stairs in your home, get your family together and climb stairs to get your blood pumping and stay in shape when you’re unable to leave the house.

Or, try a stair-climbing workout that includes resistance-training exercises in between sets of stair climbing to burn extra calories and increase muscle definition.

4. Play Pool, Ping-Pong, or Foosball

If you have a pool, ping-pong, or foosball table, play together as a family.

If you have a larger family, set up a tournament with multiple teams and players to prevent boredom when you’re at home and want to limit time spent sitting down.

5. Play Twister

The game of Twister has been around for ages, but you can still find it in many stores or online.

Simply spin the spinner that comes with the game to determine which dots on the floor you place your hands or feet on.

Twister is fun for the entire family and more physically challenging than you might think!

6. Lift Weights

If you have dumbbells at home, use them to lift weights regularly, increase your heart rate, and enhance muscle definition.

Consider:

• Biceps curls
• Triceps extensions
• Triceps kickbacks
• Shoulder press
• Chest press or flys
• Lateral and front raises
• Bent-over reverse flys
• Squats
• Lunges
• Deadlifts
• Calf raises

If you don’t have weights, fill gallon or half-gallon empty milk jugs with water for added resistance during your workouts.

7. Clean Your House

House cleaning burns more calories than you think!

You might expend 135-200 calories in just 30 minutes doing heavy house cleaning, such as washing your windows or vacuuming.

The more you weigh, the more calories you’ll burn doing the same activity as a small person.

Recruit your family to help you!

8. Do Yoga or Pilates

Yoga and Pilates are simple workouts you can complete from the comfort of home to boost strength and flexibility, and relieve stress or depression while you’re at it!

Try some of the best online yoga workouts or effective online Pilates exercises to get started, and encourage your entire family to join you.

9. Get Indoor Cardio Equipment

Consider purchasing new or used cardiovascular equipment, such as a treadmill, stationary bike, rowing machine, stair climber, or elliptical machine.

If you don't have cardio equipment, choose rope jumping, stair climbing, jumping jacks, jogging in place, burpees, or other cardiovascular exercises that don’t require spending money.

10. Play Active Video Games

Video games don’t have to be sedentary activities.

Many active video games, including Wii Fit and active Xbox games, make moving the body fun for you and your children.

Choosing active instead of sedentary video games is an excellent way to reduce time spent sitting down when you’re not able to or don't feel like leaving the house.

11. Dance

Try online dance workouts to have fun while staying active when you’re stuck at home.

Or, simply crank up some music and freestyle dance with your family!

Doing so is an enjoyable family activity, a stress reliever, and helps you burn extra calories while having a blast.

Some active video games for kids also include dance routines.

12. Cook

You might not think of cooking as a calorie-burning activity, but it is!

Cooking burns about 75-111 calories in just 30 minutes.

Make cooking or baking a fun activity your entire family can enjoy.

Create your own or use nutritious recipes to teach your kids the importance of healthy eating.

13. Paint Your Walls

Paining the inside of your home can burn about 135-200 calories in just 30 minutes.

If you'd like your walls or ceilings painted and desire fun things to do at home to stay active, recruit family members to help you transform your beautiful home.

Fun Things to Do at Home: Outdoor Activities

When the weather is nice outside, consider some of the following fun things to do at home to stay active outdoors and prevent boredom:

1. Try Basketball Games or Drills

Playing basketball is a high calorie-burning activity, as you can expend about 240-355 calories in just 30 minutes.

If you have a basketball hoop at your home, recruit friends or family members (especially kids) to get a basketball game going.

If you don't have a hoop, go for a walk and encourage the kids to dribble basketballs, or try some online ball-handling workouts.

2. Play Volleyball

If you have a volleyball net, get a game going with friends or family at home.

If you don’t have a net, no problem!

Simply form a circle with other people and see how long you can keep the volleyball in play!

3. Walk the Dog

Make walking the dog a fun activity your entire family can enjoy.

Doing so helps you burn 120-178 calories in 30 minutes if you walk at 3.5 miles per hour.

Walk the dog in addition to daily workout routines to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.

4. Jump on Outdoor Trampolines

If you have an outdoor trampoline, utilize it when seeking fun things to do at home.

You can work up a sweat, have fun with your family, and get some extra vitamin D while you’re at it!

Try squat jumps, high knee jumps, tuck jumps, and various other jumping exercises to work different muscle groups and tone up.

5. Go Biking or Jogging Outside

Choose a bike path, or bike or jog around your neighborhood with the family to stay active, in shape, and sane when you’re stuck at home.

Getting outdoors is an excellent way to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression too!

6. Play Racket Games

You don’t need a tennis court or racquetball net to play these fun outdoor sports.

If you have a net use it but if not, form a circle with friends and family members.

Using rackets, see how long you can keep a tennis ball or shuttlecock in the air!

Doing so is a fun thing to do at home to get your body moving!

7. Go Swimming

If you have a pool or lake near your home, swim with your family or swim laps to burn extra calories, stay active outdoors, relieve stress or depression, and have a blast with loved ones.

Treading water in deep water is also an excellent calorie-burning exercise that helps you get or stay in shape.

8. Complete Outdoor Yard Work

Doing yard work together as a family makes it more fun!

Working in the yard helps burn more calories than you may think.

For example, raking helps you expend 120-178 calories in 30 minutes, while gardening helps you burn about 139-205 calories in the same amount of time.

9. Build a Treehouse

If you have young children interested in a treehouse, what better way to stay active outdoors than building one from scratch!

Find a tree in your yard, grab treehouse building instructions, and get started.

Simply shop for materials and tools you need or use what you already have at home.

Once their new treehouse is built, your kids have one more reason to stay active and enjoy their time outdoors!

10. Paint the Outside of Your Home

As with indoor painting, outdoor painting is a calorie-burning activity you can enjoy with friends or family.

It gets you outside and is an excellent way to improve your home's curb appeal and overall market value.

Fun Things to Do at Home: Brain-Stimulating Activities

If you and your family are at home and bored, consider these brain-stimulating activities to exercise your brain in addition to staying physically active.

1. Complete Jigsaw Puzzles

Completing a jigsaw puzzle is a fun thing you can do at home with friends and family.

It stimulates your brain and cognitive skills, offers enjoyment and feelings of accomplishment, and gives you and your family a chance to chat and spend time together.

2. Do Crossword Puzzles or Word Finds

Find age-appropriate crossword puzzles or word finds for you, your spouse, and your children.

Complete these brain-stimulating activities together as a family to spend quality time together when you’re seeking fun things to do at home to reduce screen time.

3. Create Scavenger Hunts

Whether you choose indoor or outdoor scavenger hunts, create a fun hunt with about 10-20 clues for your spouse or children.

Make each clue challenging, giving hints about where they can find the next clue.

Offer a prize at the end of each hunt to make it exciting for the kids and keep them coming back for more.

4. Play Board Games

Board games to consider when you’re looking for fun things to at home include:

• Monopoly
• Scrabble or Dominos
• Clue
• Trouble
• Operation
• Labyrinth
• Chutes and Ladders
• Checkers or Chess
• Taboo
• Yahtzee
• Pictionary
• Apples to Apples
• Trivial Pursuit or Cranium
• Uno or other card games
• Jenga
• Candy Land
• Connect 4
• Battle Ship
• Family Feud

Make at least one night each week family game night to enjoy time together, prevent boredom, and limit screen time.

5. Play an Instrument

If you already have an instrument, spend time playing it or learning a new song.

Buy, rent, or borrow a guitar, keyboard, recorder, ukulele, or another instrument to stimulate your mind and prevent boredom if you’re looking for fun things to do at home.

Encourage your children to learn and play with you!

6. Read

Reading books is one of the best ways to stimulate your mind and learn new information.

Purchase or borrow books, or read online books and news stories.

Set time aside daily for you and your children to read together.

If your children are young, read to them out loud.

7. Consider Crafting

Get creative while crafting at home with your family.

Choose knitting, crocheting, sewing, painting, drawing, creating ornaments, making bracelets or earrings, or completing other craft projects you find online or in books.

Use materials you might otherwise throw away, things you find outside, or items you have lying around the house.

8. Keep a Journal

Keep a journal to record new or exciting things that happen in your life!

Doing so helps you collect your thoughts, stay organized, and track important memories you'd like to remember details about.

9. Make a Scrapbook

If you're looking for fun things to do at home, what better time to take or print pictures and create a scrapbook with memories that can last a lifetime.

Recruit your family to help you and get creative!

Being Stuck at Home Can Be Fun!

Creating a fun home environment can save you time and money, and strengthen the bond you have with your spouse, children, and extended family.

From active outdoor and indoor activities to brain-stimulating exercises, you can enjoy life to its fullest without leaving the house.

In addition to finding active fun things to do at home with your family, consider joining the Fit Mother Project for more ideas about healthy eating, custom meal plans and workouts, motivational support, private social media group access, and more.

Sign up for the free Fit Mom 3-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart to get started today!

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on fun things to do at home.