Grace Sugget uses air dry clay to create ashtrays she hand pants in various shades of pink. (Image by Grace Sugget)
Indoor hobbies & activities: COVID edition
By: Kianni Reynolds-Lewis
The pandemic has had people wanting to get outside for fresh air for months now, especially now with cases on the rise in both the city and province, enforcing the idea that being stuck at home during social distancing could last even longer. However, going back to staying indoors may happen sooner than most of us would like now that daylight savings has ended, and winter is fast approaching. Maybe home just might seem like the better option despite the possibilities of boredom and stir craziness.
What is there to do while stuck indoors?
Grace Sugget, a fourth-year business student at MacEwan, has found a new hobby in sculpting.
“I use air-dry clay and then paint it myself,” said Sugget. “It’s cheap and messy but loads of fun because you can make literally anything.”
Kimberlyn Brown, a student teacher and recent graduate of the U of A, is currently living at home with her parents and three siblings. Not having to worry about classes or homework, she has struggled to find how to spend her spare time. During the pandemic, Brown mostly enjoys reading a lot and credits Indigo’s promotional emails for feeding her habit. “My” online shopping is so bad,” said Brown.
With winter just around the corner, Brown has invested in a pair of reading socks and a weighted blanket to help keep her cozy while reading. However, to try and curb her online shopping habit, she is now considering embroidery after watching her sisters create art to hang in their room.
Caitlyn O’Brien, another U of A graduate, who, like Sugget, has also taken to crafting. “I have hundreds of indoor hobbies because I get bored easily,” said O’Brien while laughing.
“It’s kind of lame but crochet has been fun. I’ve started 12 blankets and finished none. I’ve also started bullet journaling. I bought some fun calligraphy books on Amazon and they’ve kept me busy during COVID.”
With the course load from online classes, struggling to afford groceries and other living expenses, not everyone has the time or funds for new hobbies. If that’s the case for you but you still want new activities to keep busy, here are some suggestions to help make your time quarantined as interesting — and perhaps even as productive — as possible.
- Bake. Nothing beats the winter and quarantine blues more than some freshly baked banana bread or chocolate chip cookies. Keep in mind, the more the merrier — and the messier.
- Learn a new language. Download Duolingo, or a similar app, and teach yourself a foreign language. To ramp up the fun, invite your friends or roommate(s) to download it too and enjoy some friendly competition from the in-app leaderboard activities.
- Try out at-home aerobics or yoga videos. Download a fitness app with curated workout playlists. Need more persuasion? Gather everyone in the living room, search up fun ‘80s-style workout videos on YouTube and enjoy the funky music and crazy hairstyles.
- Try a drawing tutorial. Look up different drawing tutorials to spark some inspiration and creativity! Search for topics that interest you like favourite characters, animals, tattoo ideas, etc.
- Have a spa day. Treat you and your roomies to an at-home spa day you don’t have time for during a normal workweek. Or keep the relaxing day confined to your room for some much needed “me-time” and light some candles or throw a red scarf over your lamp for more mood lighting.
- Host an indoor picnic. This is a unique way to change up the daily routine and add some excitement to those extra cold and dreary days! Spread out a blanket and set up plates with snacks (perhaps charcuterie?), along with drinks and napkins. Bonus points if you dress up in your best summer clothes and pull up a sunny landscape on your laptop.