Definitely don’t try to travel abroad. We did that and almost got stuck in Costa Rica. :-p So, I highly advise against it. Maybe I’ll write about it some day but it’s still too raw in my memory bank. I think next time we try to vacation we will go camping or something simple. This whole pandemic thing has really made me want to go back to basics and I’m probably not alone on that.
These are a couple of things that have kept us busy during the pandemic.
1.) Pandemic Pokemon bracelets. One of my daughters loves Pokemon so we decided to make some Pokemon themed charm bracelets. You can check out how to do that with this blog post:
Here’s a picture of one of them:
2.) Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition. They are giving away the beta version of this game online and you can print it and play it for free! Nothing better than that. Aren’t we all trying to save some coins during this time? You can get that here: https://www.cardsagainsthumanityfamilyedition.com/
It’s handy if you have some card stock lying around which we happened to for some other project. I also had to write in a few of my own cards to get some extra laughs from inside jokes our family shares. That went over pretty well! The game is appropriate for kids (the kids said it was until I wrote in my own cards :-p). What can I say – I’ll do anything for a laugh – most people don’t know that about me.
3.) Movies – lots of movies. One of my daughters had her birthday recently and so we let her have an Amazon movie shopping spree for her birthday – she bought alot of super hero movies (Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Black Panther). Turns out it was the perfect gift b/c she’s our movie lover. A few of the movies we recommend:
Big
Abominable
Evan Almighty
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Leap
Adventures in BabySitting
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Kid Who Would Be King
Groundhog Day
Captain Marvel
Black Panther
Wonder Woman
Cheaper By The Dozen
4.) Taking a walk most nights around the neighborhood. My husband would love to go when the sun is still out but I don’t like to run into too many people. It gets to be like the game Frogger crossing the street everytime someone is walking toward us. So I like to go when it gets dark. We compromise and go at dusk – it’s usually dark by the time we get home.
5.) Cooking – I’ve never cooked so much in my life. I guess I’m trying to make up for not getting to go out to eat. I thought I would lose weight during the pandemic but turns out, it’s quite the opposite. I can’t stay out of the kitchen. One of my favorite things is Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. I will post the recipe I use for that soon. I basically make it again as soon as we run out. As long as I have that cake in the fridge, I feel like everything is going to be ok.
6.) Learn to make masks. The kids made their own out of some scrap cloth we had laying around and used rubber bands and staples. They are probably not going to be the most comfortable masks but so far they haven’t had to use them so we’ll see. I learned how to make some out of socks and t-shirts but still have yet to make one. I haven’t gone anywhere so no need yet, but I guess I should prepare. :-p
7.) Have a stick person dance party using glow sticks:
What not to do (And I know this from experience :-p):
1.) Watch news 24/7. (I’m about to lose my ever loving mind with this!)
2.) Watch Planet of the Apes with the kids. We thought they could handle it – 1 and 2 were fine but War of the Planet of the Apes was a step too far. All kids were fine but my sensitive kid (and it’s not the youngest) – she was not happy and might’ve had to sleep with her siblings for a couple of days to recover. Now, she no longer trusts my movie picks and I don’t blame her.
3.) Don’t feel like you have to do it all. Take some time to relax.