Home Alone & Having Fun - A How To Guide
No matter who you are, in one way or another, your life has been upended by the Coronavirus. Whether you're quarantining, self-isolating or social distancing, nearly everyone is likely spending a lot more time alone and at home.
So we thought it might be fun to come up with a few ideas on how to keep yourself stimulated, sharp, and entertained whether you're living with a spouse or home alone. Feel free to suggest any additional ideas you've been having fun with!
1. Watch or re-watch classic shows and movies.
- Top 100 Movies of All Time - Hollywood Reporter
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - American Film Institute
- The 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time - BBC
- Top 100 Comedy Movies - Rotten Tomatoes
- 50 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century - Rolling Stone Magazine
- Top 100 Greatest Action Movies of All Time - Rotten Tomatoes
- Best Netflix Movies of All Time - Metacritic
2. Read the books or authors you've always wanted to read, or re-read your favorites! Need ideas?
- All time Pulitzer Prize winners
- All time Booker Prize winners
- All time New York Times Fiction Bestseller
- All time New York Times Non-Fiction Bestseller List
- All time Nobel Prize Winners for Literature
- Bill Gates favorite books from 2012-2019
- Most popular required reading At America's Top 10 Colleges
3. Mind teezers
- Crossword (NY Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic)
- Soduko (NY Times Easy, Washington Post)
- Word search (LA Times)
- Brain games and teasers (Sharp Brains)
4. Learn some new recipes and make some new dishes
- Top rated and reviewed recipes (Food Network)
- 20 Favorite Recipes of All Time (Epicurious)
- All-Time Top 20 Recipes (BBC Good Food)
- 40 Best-Ever Recipes from Food & Wine (Food & Wine Magazine)
5. Start a new hobby from home (order supplies online or have someone pick them up for you)
- Knitting
- Gardening
- Bird watching / feeding
- Bee Keeping
- Writing / poetry
- Model making (trains, planes, automobiles, war figurines, etc...)
- Astronomy (the skies are clearer than ever!)
6. Stay fit!
- Daily walks
- Daily stretch
- Tai Chi
- Tai Chi 9 Minute a Day Practice (instructional video)
- Seated Tai Chi for Seniors (instructional video)
- Gentle Yoga
- Gentle Yoga for Seniors (instructional video)
- Chair Yoga for Seniors (instructional video)
- Learn some new dances alone or with your partner from home with youtube videos. Fun & uplifting!
- Line dances (instructional video)
- Can't Stop the Feeling (follow along)
- Uptown Funk (follow along)
- Temptations Cha Cha (instructional video)
7. Board games (2 or more players)
- Chess (can play with others online)
- Backgammon (can play with others online)
- Checkers (can play with others online)
- Chinese Checkers
- Mahjong (can play with others online)
- Cribbage
- Scrabble (can play with others online)
- Boggle
- Jenga
- Blokus
- Yahtzee
- Trivial Pursuit
- 5 Second Rule
8. Card Games
- Gin Rummy
- Hearts
- Solitaire
- Poker
- Blackjack
- Bridge
9. Try online dating. You may not be able to meet in person, but who's to say you can't meet someone interesting that makes you're heart skip a beat from a distance?
10. Learn a new language
11. Learn a new instrument, or take up on old one
12. Spark up some new romantic moves with your spouse!