10 Creative Lockdown Activities

10 creative lockdown activities header
~ Karalee

AD – Sponsored | Many of us are still in lockdown, and I wanted to share 10 creative activities that you can mostly do from the comfort of your home.

#1 Painting

I love to paint with watercolors, and I also have acrylics that I use for the clay charms that I make. Watercolors are affordable, and you usually paint on watercolor paper, which is thicker than regular paper. Watercolor painting is great for adults and kids as it is easy to fix mistakes, and it is not as messy as acrylic and other paints. Acrylic is also affordable and versatile, and you can pretty much paint on any surface (canvas, paper, wood, polymer clay, stone, fabric, and glass), but it dries quickly and cannot be altered when dry unlike watercolor. Other options for paint are gouache, which is similar to acrylic but more expensive, and oil paint, which is also more expensive. However, oil paints are great for painting on canvas as it dries slowly, but it requires a longer time commitment than the other paints. Whatever paint you chose, you can paint anything around you, your favorite things, something abstract, or you can even follow a Bob Ross video on YouTube.

A moon watercolor painting by my friend Lise
A watercolor painting by my friend Lise

#2 Drawing and Coloring

All you need to draw is paper and something to draw with such as a pencil, pen, marker, etc. You can also draw on your tablet if you have one or even on your phone. As far as coloring, you can draw something then color it or you can buy coloring books, and there are plenty of options for adult coloring books. You can also print out coloring pages online. My daughter especially loves drawing and coloring at home and at her kindergarten.

#3 Photography

You do not need a fancy camera or any experience to take photos. You can use your phone’s camera and take photos around your home or you can go for a walk and visit the park, forest, beach, or anywhere else you would like and take photos of anything that you find interesting. I especially love taking photos of flowers in the Spring and of nature and animals year-round. I also let my daughter use my phone if she wants to take a photo. There are affordable cameras for kids like the VTech Kidizoom or Fujifilm Instax Camera as well as affordable cameras for adults on Amazon.

A picture I took during the Spring of raindrops on white and pink flowers

#4 Writing

You can write anything whether it is your daily thoughts, poems, short stories, a novel, a play, or even a song. You can write on your phone, computer, or you can have a dedicated journal. You can also write letters to your friends or loved ones, and you can try out calligraphy as well. If you do not have a blog already, you can consider starting a blog. You can write about anything on your blog from your daily life, creative writing, recipes, reviews, advice, etc. I love writing and having a blog because I am able to get my thoughts out there.

#5 Graphic Design

If you have a blog or website, you can have a go at creating your own header and logo or even social media graphics like Pinterest pins and Instagram posts. You can use templates on Canva and download online graffiti fonts from Font Bundles that you can then upload on Canva when creating the design. You can also use the fonts to create business cards, cards for special occasions, or even a weekly schedule planner.

10 Creative Activities To Do During Lockdown Pinterest pin I made with using a font from Font Bundles

#6 DIY Crafts

If you have a ton of cardboard boxes, you can make them into something fun. I made a toy store using cardboard boxes for my daughter to play with. You can also make a scrapbook with old photos and decorate it, turn toilet paper or paper towel rolls into characters, or do seasonal crafts for the holidays. The ideas are endless, and Google and Pinterest are great resources for craft ideas.

#7 Cooking and Baking

I cook dinner most evenings and I love baking as well. If you are a beginner, I recommend downloading the Tasty app or browsing their website as it has tons of easy breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert recipes as well as recipes that require 5 ingredients or less. I recommend the Inside-Out Breakfast Burritos (there are 5 steps and they are great for breakfast), Easy Butter Chicken (I use tofu, but the recipe has 9 steps and a video to follow along with as well), and 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (they taste delicious and my daughter helps make them too) to start off with. Even if you are not a beginner, the Tasty app is a great resource for recipes, and if you have any cookbooks, you can pull them out and see if there is anything you would like to make.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies I made while following the recipe on the Tasty app
The 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

#8 Makeup and Nail Art

We are not going out as often, but that does not mean you cannot be creative and have fun with makeup. You do not have to buy new makeup, and you can use the makeup you already have. If you are unsure what makeup look to do, I have done various makeup challenges on my blog including the Draw My Makeup Challenge, 6 Minute vs 60 Minute Makeup Challenge, and My Daughter Picks My Makeup Challenge. If you are wanting to do your makeup, be sure to clean your makeup brushes before doing so if it has been a while since the last time you washed your brushes. Along with makeup, you can also do nail art. Again, you do not have to go out and buy new nail polish, and you can use what you have. Simply Nailogical started out as a nail art channel on YouTube, and she has plenty of tutorials. There are also tons of other nail art tutorials on YouTube.  

#9 Reading

If you are like me, you have a rather long TBR (To Be Read) list. You can set time aside to read that book you have been putting off. You can also try out listening to audiobooks. Audiobooks are a game-changer for me because I can do chores around the house like putting away laundry while listening to a book. You can also download the Libby app where you can read ebooks or listen to audiobooks for free through your library.  

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter paperback

#10 Virtual Tour

The last suggestion I have is to take a virtual tour. There are tons of museums and art galleries that offer virtual tours, and Google Arts and Culture has a huge list of places where you can see online exhibits as well as explore the museum. You can virtually tour landmarks, national parks, theme parks, and watch live cams for zoos and aquariums. There are plays, musicals, and concerts that you can watch online as well.

What creative activities have you been doing during lockdown?

91 thoughts on “10 Creative Lockdown Activities”

    2. I love painting. It so much fun and I love getting to be creative. I personally feel like since lockdown I have been able to do so many things that I personally don’t think I would have done before like start blogging. I always loved writing but this time has caused me to enjoy writing so much more.

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    1. I’ve played piano for many years before I started college, but I would like to get back into it!
      Yes! You don’t need an expensive camera to take good photos

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  5. Fantastic list – I love inspiration like this. I’ll second the recommendation for Canva when it comes to graphic design, blog post covers etc. Oh, and I LOVE Karin Slaughter. Pretty Girls is awesome!

    Caz xx

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    1. Thank you! Yes I love using Canva for my featured images on my posts & Pinterest pins!
      I’ve had the book for a while, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it haha. That’s great to hear you liked it!

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  9. So many fab suggestions on this list. I love the idea of a virtual tour, especially as we can’t really go to the places in person at the moment. I have definitely upped my crafting this past year, I don’t know what I’m going to do when lockdown ends…who am I kidding, i will still be a crafting maniac 🤣🤣

    thanks for sharing!

    Aimsy xoxo
    Aimsy’s Antics

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  10. Reading is really the only thing I have time for outside of my work. I’ve worked from home for nearly 6 years, so lockdown really wasn’t much of a change. If anything, it just meant MORE work at home than I had before and less time to rest haha. But sometimes on the weekends, I squeeze in some time for baking too 🙂 Great suggestions here!

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  11. Gotta love a covid-friendly list of activities! I’ve been painting a lot, but I would love to bake more often.. maybe when I have less to do in uni, nowadays my days just fly on by so incredibly fast.

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  13. These ideas are great reminders! My daughter and I are going to do nail art tomorrow. I wish I could take her to a spa for a treat, but going to Target and getting some cool stick-ons will have to do. Thanks for posting such fun activities.

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  15. These are some fun and simple things to stay creative and calm during lockdowns. Drawing, baking, and writing have helped me too. Recently, I have done a virtual tour of a museum, and it’s fun.

    Nice Photos:)

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  16. You and your daughter have been far more creative than us during lockdown! Flora’s done a lot of painting, photography, and baking though, of which I am a very happy and lucky recipient 🙂 Fab ideas, Karalee, also for the summer holidays! x

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  17. Great ideas here. The sprogs got all the cardboard boxes out this week and painted them. It’s surprising how much fun kids can have with some cardboard and paints!! x

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  18. Love all these suggestions! I think reading and writing have been my true saviors during lockdown, really miss taking pictures and painting, so might get some time to do it again while still at home, thank you for sharing x

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  19. During lockdown I definitely started baking and reading more. Something fun that I am looking forward to doing with our kids is having a paint night at home. I think painting is such a fun activity.

    This post is so helpful to those who need some new activities.

    xo Erica

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  27. These are great ideas and I think I love them all lol. I really took up photography during lockdown. I’ve always loved taking pictures so I’ve taken the time to learn all about the topic!

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  29. I love all of these activities! Painting is something I was briefly interested in and I had a lot of fun with it. Life in lockdown gets boring so maybe that is what I need to spice up my life a bit again. Thanks for sharing!

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  30. Taking a virtual tour is such an awesome idea!! I’ll definitely have to try doing one soon! I’ve been doing a tonne of cooking and baking over lockdown so it’ll be fun to do something a little different! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  32. Painting is an awesome one I think many people don’t think they can do or don’t feel like doing. But doing it anyway can really lift your mood! Reading is a must for me as I’m always trying to gain more knowledge and improve upon my old ways. Some really great tips here!

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    1. Thank you! Yes! You don’t have to have any skills to paint & I’m not the best painter, but I still enjoy it nonetheless! Reading is always great too!

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  36. Love these different ideas for lockdown activities! I started painting and got somewhat far with watercoloring until I got bored with it. I should go back to it though! Cooking is a great thing to do during the lockdown! You can actually baby sit your preparation and cooking, versus having to do other things. Thanks for sharing!

    Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com

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  37. Water color is i think the best medium for paints. Adult books i know. Photography i love. Cardboard boxes yea, those shoeboxes my sis’ kids play with. Yes to makeup and baking. I have a long tbr list too but i like physical books, not sure if i can ever do audiobooks though ive heard they are good, but i enjoy the paper. Virtual tour ive never tried and just saved the link you gave to explore. Very relatable post and probably the best lifestyle options you gave. Love to your daughter! xxIsa A. Bloggerhttp://bit.ly/39f9FN0

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    1. Thank you! I love watercolor painting, but acrylics are nice too! I love photography too along with doing my makeup & baking! You should give an audiobook a try to see if you like it. It’s nice to listen to an audiobook when you’re doing chores like putting up laundry. Virtual tours are so fun!

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