Back in March of 2020 we created a blog post to help with things to do when stuck at home in quarantine. This list turned into a list of the movies and shows we were watching, along with all of the creative ideas we had along the way. Today is one of the rainiest days we have had in Napa in a LONG time, which made us want to re-invent our big list of things to do when stuck at home!

And as mentioned in that post, if you come along this list in 10 years and it’s crazy dated, well, that will be a weird little time capsule of 2020 😂

Whether you are at home sick, inside due to weather, or something else, enjoy our big list of things to do when stuck at home!

TV Shows

We are avid tv watchers, and since quarantine last year, we have watched way more tv than ever. Thank goodness for all of the incredible content every station and app has had lined up for us!

COMPETITION/REALITY SHOWS
Making It, Hulu
Instant Hotel, Netflix
Blown Away, Netflix
The Masked Singer, Hulu
Masterchef + Masterchef Jr., Hulu
Great British Baking Show, Netflix
Zumbo’s Just Desserts, Netflix (like GBBS but more colorful!)
Sugar Rush, Netflix
Queer Eye, Netflix
American Ninja Warrior, Hulu/Netflix
So You Think You Can Dance, Hulu
Nailed It, Netflix 
Encore!, Disney +
The Big Flower Fight, Netflix
Crazy Delicious, Netflix
Best Leftovers Ever, Netflix

DRAMA/ACTION
Good Girls, Netflix/Hulu
Big Little Lies, HBO
Ballers, HBO
Dead to Me, Netflix
This is Us, Hulu
Parenthood, Hulu
Gilmore Girls, Netflix
Sons of Anarchy, Netflix
Santa Clarita Diet, Netflix
(it’s gross which is why I put it in action cause it’s zombies, but the writing is HILARIOUS)
Breaking Bad, Netflix
Tiger King, Netflix (+ weird AF)
The Morning Show, Apple TV+
McMillion$, Hulu/HBO (it’s on the “HBO Unlocked” tab on Hulu)
Outer Banks, Netflix
The Flight Attendant, HBO Max
The Undoing, HBO Max
Living With Yourself, Netflix
House of Lies, Amazon Prime
Imposters, Netflix
Weeds, Netflix
Enlightened, HBO Max
Your Honor, Showtime

MEDICAL DRAMAS & CRIME SHOWS
(We’re ALL about a good medical drama and/or crime show…)
The Resident, Hulu
9-1-1, Hulu
9-1-1 Lone Star, Hulu
The Good Doctor, Hulu
New Amsterdam, Hulu
Grey’s Anatomy, Netflix/Hulu 
Nurse Jackie, Netflix (it’s a wild ride… be prepared if you start this show)
Criminal Minds, Netflix
Law and Order SVU, Hulu/Netflix
Unbelievable, Netflix – incredible! 
Dirty John, Netflix
You, Netflix
Lupin, Netflix

COMEDY/SITCOM
Bless This Mess, Hulu/Netflix
The Good Place, Hulu/Netflix
Brooklyn 99, Hulu
The Office, obviously, Peacock
Parks and Rec, Peacock
New Girl, Netflix
Single Parents, Hulu
Grace & Frankie, Netflix
Ellen DeGeneres’ “Relatable”, Netflix
Amy Schumer’s “Growing”, Netflix
Space Force, Netflix
Ted Lasso, Apple Tv+ – the best show!

Movies

There are way too many movies we could put on this list, but here are the ones that we have watched recently, re-watched again, or are tried and true favorites.

FEEL GOOD
When Harry Met Sally
Chef
The Intern
Perks of Being A Wallflower
The High Note
Big Miracle
Wonder
Julie & Julia

COMEDY
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
21 Jump Street & 22 Jump Street
Bridesmaids
Step Brothers
I Love You, Man 
Role Models
Superbad
Bad Words (Jason Bateman)
Long Shot (with Seth Rogan + Charlize Theron)
Why Him (absolutely ridiculous, but quite hilarious) 
Hot Tub Time Machine
50 First Dates
Valentine’s Day
Sleepover (on Netflix now and one of the all-time best cheesy girls movie ever)
Fever Pitch
Late Night
Game Night
Horrible Bosses 1 & 2
Tag
Accepted (on Amazon Prime now)
Like a Boss
Late Night
Stuber

DRAMA/ACTION
Hit and Run (One of our FAV movies!)
Peppermint
Ocean’s 8
Crazy Rich Asians
Baby Driver
Straight Outta Compton
The Hunger Games Series
The Social Network
Bombshell
The Bling Ring
Catch Me If You Can
Patriot Day
The Town
Mile 22
The King of Staten Island
Molly’s Game

DISNEY+
Princess Diaries 1
Princess Diaries 2
Big Fat Liar
Brother Bear
Freaky Friday (the Lindsay Lohan one)
That Darn Cat (the 1997 one)
The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan one, of course)
Holes
Heavyweights
Cadet Kelly
Brave

NETFLIX
Set it Up
Always Be My Maybe
Triple Frontier 
Night on Earth
Brain on Fire
Wine Country – what up, Napa! 
Spenser Confidential
Bird Box
Murder Mystery
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Dumplin
Fractured
Someone Great
The Wrong Missy
The Lovebirds

Short Videos

“Hot Ones” on YouTube

We always love any episodes of Hot Ones – celebrities eating increasingly spicier wings while answering questions.. It’s pretty great. 

“Worth It” on Hulu

They choose a category and will go to a low, medium and high price point places to try that category and decide which one is most worth it at its price. For example, for “ice cream” they go to a Foster’s Freeze first, then to an artisanal ice cream shop and then to Serendipity III in NYC to get the $1k sundae. It’s pretty entertaining, just make sure you eat beforehand or you’ll stomach will growl!  

Crafts

Super bored, learn a new craft! We have always loved paper crafts and making greeting cards, but we’re going to order some polymer clay and look into doing some fun things with that. You never know what your next hobby could turn into! Maybe it’s painting, drawing, knitting, sculpting – anything!!

PAPER CRAFTS
Send some snail mail! Send a note, anniversary card, birthday card – whatever!
Cute Watercolor Birthday Cards
Pop Up Cards

CLAY CRAFTS
I really want to try these and will come back to them later!
DIY Ring Dish
Photo Stands

CALLIGRAPHY/LETTERING
Interested in learning calligraphy? Check out our FREE faux calligraphy workbook to start learning a little bit about lettering and practicing!

Shopping Small

During this challenging time during our economy, consider shopping online at small businesses first before going to the bigger retailers. If you can give someone a little extra cash that might be out of work right now and are supporting the artists directly, that can make a huge difference for someone! And if you are stuck at home, one of the best things to do is send yourself gifts, obviously!

• Resin and Blooms – a friend of ours started creating these resin coasters during quarantine and ended up going full-time after just a few months! We have sent these as gifts and people are always impressed with Erin’s work. Check out her beautiful resin art shop!
• Amanda Jane Designs – if you are a fandom kind of person or if you love Disney, Harry Potter, Star Wars, romcoms, etc. there’s something in Amanda’s shop for you or someone you know. We love finding gifts for people in her shop – she’s amazing and so creative! She also has customized jewelry options as well!
• Obsessories LA – you can make your face or your pet’s face into jewelry and that’s pretty amazing. It might be perfect for your next white elephant party?
• Creative Amme – they have such cute wooden puzzles for kids during this time and they also have super cute free downloadable activity sheets right now!

Puzzles

We love a good puzzle and it can be a fun family activity too! They can also take quite a bit of time so these quarantine days aren’t so long! We LOVE color puzzles; here’s our favorite one linked below!

Activities to do with Kids

When you are stuck at home with kids, you can run out of things. todo quickly. Here are some of our best babysitting activities that we would always use!

ROCK/POTATO/PINECONE PAINTING
It sounds silly, but my best friend made me a potato for my birthday and she put eyelashes on it and everything and not only was it hilarious, but she also had fun making it so if you’re quarantined right now and BORED AF with your kids, chances are you have a rock or potato and some kids crafting materials (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, even straws or forks or whatever you have around the house!) and can have fun with it. Have them make a family of rocks and then once they dry, they can play with them for hours. Or make a big tic-tac-toe with rocks, put some tape down and play on the floor! Telling ya – kids these days don’t need iPads – they need rocks and potatoes lol!

MASTERCHEF JR. COMPETITION
Have the family watch an episode or 2 of Masterchef Jr. (it’s the most amazing show ever and such a fun one to inspire kids!) and then give them a small mystery box or something to do in the kitchen! Heck, give them PB&J and see what they do with it – you never know, they could surprise you! Or you could just end up eating something nasty and wasting a bunch of food, but as long as the kids have fun, right?

GAME TIME
Depending on the ages of your kiddos this will vary, but hopefully it can spark an idea for you!

Games that make you move a little:
Twister
Simon Says
Red Light, Green Light
Ghost in the Graveyard
Charades
Hide and Seek
Sardines
Musical Chairs
Duck, Duck, Goose
Heads Up 7 Up (you can teach your kids the best ways to cheat at this game because we ALL did it)
Hot Lava Monster
Keep the balloon from hitting the ground game
I Spy
Balance Beam (put painters tape on the ground and have them “balance” walking on it and can put in fun shapes/zigzags)
Dodgeball (but you use socks instead inside and give each kid a corner and 10 minutes to build their safety fort)
Hot Potato
Indoor or Yard Obstacle Course
Hopscotch (use chalk or tape)
Corn Hole

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Board + Card Games
Tic Tac Toe
Rat A Tat Cat (our FAVORITE game as a kid and super easy to learn!)
Connect 4 (or even a giant one like this!)
Uno/Uno Attack/Uno Flip
3 Up 3 Down
Dots + Boxes Game
Puzzles
Connect the Dots (can simply print them from Google)
Apples to Apples
Spot It
Candy Land
Chutes and Ladders
Hangman
FREE DOWNLOADS FROM CREATIVE AMME!
Creative Amme’s Letter Puzzles

Board + Card Games

In addition to the kid-friendly ones above, some of our other favorite games include:

• What Do You Meme
• The Blockbuster Movie Game
• UNO Attack
• Settlers of Catan (can also play on the iPad/iPhone app!)
• Colorku (not much of a game, but more Sudoku with colored balls)
• Slapjack
• Mexican Train Dominoes

Another idea: break out that old gaming system like your NES, Wii, or Gameboy Color and kick some butt in MarioKart on your GameCube or something! We recently dusted off our Playstation 2 and brushed up on our Guitar Hero skills. The stickers were peeling off the guitars, but it was so much fun and so nostalgic!

Cooking + Baking

If you didn’t know, Pirouette Paper’s name came from a young dream of someday owning “Pirouette Bakery”! That was until a food allergy got in the way, but we still love to cook and bake in our spare time. You can see our most recent recipes and updates over on Pirouette Kitchen!

Going to steal the Farmer’s slogan and say “we know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two” about cooking for sensitive groups because we have a food-allergy-filled household. Follow along on Instagram for some recipe ideas, especially if you are gluten-free and/or vegetarian!

Self-Pamper

When you are stuck at home and run out of things to do, always come back to this one: self-pamper! We had an at-home spa day complete with:

• An early-morning wake-up call (before 7am)
• Ice-roller facial wake-up (can also do this with frozen metal spoon)
• A tea-pot facial (literally just putting your face in the steam of a teapot or boiling water)
• Cup of warm lemon water (squeeze a lemon into a large mug of hot water, can add some raw honey for sweetness)
• Fruit and herb-infused water throughout the day (you want a LOT of water!)
• A 10-minute Peleton “arms toning” class
• A 10-minute Peleton “core strength” class
• A gentle morning yoga flow (we love Rajni yoga videos!)
• Meditation + gratitude practice
• If you have a partner, you can do back, scalp, hand, feet, or full-body massages for each other
• A relaxing bath with a lavender bath bomb, bubble bath, epsom salt, and of course, cucumber slices on your eyes (make sure you have some nice naturally scented accents to feel more spa-like. We love lavender, lemongrass, and eucalyptus!)
• Face and body masks that exfoliate and then moisten your skin, either bought or DIY
• Hair, hands, and feet masks
• Healthy food for all meals this day
• Evening movie that is feel-good and brings you happy feelings
• No phone time unless urgent

Other Random Things To Do When Stuck At Home

Alright, week 1, 2, 6… you are super bored now and the novelty has worn off. Here’s some other last-ditch things to do when stuck at home to hopefully spark one that works for you!

• Wash your makeup brushes. You know you need to!
• Re-decorate a room (or a few). Maybe try out an accent wall or repurposing a piece of furniture?
• Take an online course! Doesn’t even have to be “educational”; just anything that interests you! Check our Skillshare and Masterclass for some good ideas!
• Do an online workout or new type of activity virtually. We love the Peloton app – so many types of programs AND they even have dance cardio classes so you can feel like a doofus while you get a good workout. We also tried a few virtual kickboxing classes which were SO fun. A new hobby we didn’t know we needed! Also love doing ballet, yoga, and barre classes as well!
• Journal! How fun would it be if you (and whoever you’re quarantined with) find your quarantine journal years from now….you’ll be brought right back to your Tiger King, pajamas-all-day, the world-slowly-burning-down-around-you memories. But really, think about it -it’s the best time to document your life!
• Home haircuts! We have now become masters at grooming the little pup, and I now know how to cut Jimmy’s hair too. Just be careful with those bangs, ladies.
• Connect with nature! Grow a couple of herbs, put up a birdhouse or bird feeder, plant a beautiful flower… anything that will connect you to something alive and growing!

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That’s what we have for now, but will be continually updating this post as we watch and do more during these rainy days and lockdown restrictions. We hope you found our list of things to do when stuck at home helpful! Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss anything from us! Have fun!

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