13 fun activities keep you busy during the lockdown

Discover 13 fun things to do that will keep you busy all through lockdown. Plus win a cute jewellery set

So I’m sure you’d agree the last 9 weeks of the lockdown have been testing, frustrating and seemingly never ending. However there are a few good things about being trapped at home. You can get around to doing that DIY you’ve put off for months, give the house a deep clean and even learn a new hobby. If you’re running out of things to do here’s ten more activities to get you through the next few weeks. I’ve even got a little competition for you all to win a set of jewellery. The lucky winner will get two cute earring sets so they’ve got something to wear when we can all go out again.

Do a jigsaw puzzle

Jigsaw puzzles are challenging and they’ll certainly get your brain whirring. Why not buy a 1000 piece jigsaw then get the whole family to sit around and put it together. A great way to get the family chatting and building memories.

Complete a diamond painting

If you use apps like Wish you’ve probably seen the diamond painting kits. If you haven’t then you can buy your own diamond painting here. They’re similar to paint by numbers but use diamonds instead of paint. The kit comes with your chosen image, diamond gems and a applicator. The image has different numbers that correspond to the different coloured diamond gems. Simply apply the relevant colour to each number on the image until it’s complete. Once you’ve finished you can frame it and hang it on the wall.

Learn something new during the lockdown

There are lots of course providers online that are providing free courses for you to learn something new. Topics vary greatly so you’re bound to find something that you find of interest. Here’s some of the best:

Coursera is a well known platform that’s collaborated with IBM and Google to offer courses specialising in certain areas. There are over 1000 free courses to choose from.

Future Learn is part owned by the Open University and offers 14 subject areas for you to choose from. You can get course award certificates from around £30.

Udemy is run by experts and has loads of free courses for you to start learning. It has a relaxed marketplace feel and many positive reviews from those who’ve tried it.

Have a clear out

The post office is still open so it’s the perfect excuse to clear out the stuff you don’t use anymore. Get rid of your old technology, clothes, books and appliances and make a bit of extra money during the lockdown. If you’re not sure on where to sell your stuff here’s my top tips:

eBay is good for pretty much everything but it does charge fees. However it has a huge audience so your items will sell quicker
Facebook Marketplace is free and you can sell anything. However I’ve found interest varies- you could be inundated with messages or get no interest at all.
Music Magpie buys your old gadgets, books and DVD’s. They will send a box over to collect your items and postage is free. However be warned the amount they offer for your stuff is often incredibly low, especially when you consider how much you could sell it for elsewhere. However what you are getting is convenience as they pretty much do everything for you.
Gumtree is also free but you do get quite a few scammers on there so do tread carefully- especially if you’re selling expensive items.
Amazon lets you sell through them and they charge a small fee. However depending on what it is you may be waiting a while for a sale.

Enter competitions

I’ve entered competitions for over 10 years now, and I find they’re a really easy way to pass the time. Sites like The Prizefinder and Moneysavingexpert are really good places to find the best competitions. Once you’ve finished on there you could try Competition Database or Loquax.

Review your finances

Feel like you’re spending too much on your utility bills or general living? Check out my latest post on ways you can cut back and start saving without doing anything dramatic. Changes are as small as switching from bottled to tap water or making your own lunch for when you go back to work.

Make some money

Depending on your situation you may have been furloughed or made redundant. It can be a trying time, especially if you have bills to pay. Why not use your extra time to start making money through surveys or discover 6 ways you can make money instantly.

Plant your own fruit and vegetables

Whether you’ve got a garden or not you can still grow your own fruit and vegetables. If you’ve got a garden, plant your favourite fruit and vegetables in flower beds so in future months and years you can eat your own produce instead of having to buy it. If you don’t have an outside space, plant your seeds into pots and leave them in the sunniest place in your house. Over time you’ll start to find your seeds start to grow and you’ll have lots of crops to enjoy. The best fruit and vegetables to grow in pots are strawberries, lettuce, carrots, kale, ginger and tomatoes.

Do a virtual tour of a museum or zoo

Yes they’re totally a thing right now. You might not be able to be there physically because of the lockdown, but you can enjoy your favourite tourist attractions in the comfort of your own home. Check out these tours:

The British Museum
The Louvre
The Museum of Modern Art
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Chester Zoo
London Zoo

There are lots more online, just do a quick Google search.

Get fit

If the nearest you come to exercise is going to work every day (so me) then why not get fit during the lockdown? There’s hundreds of workout videos on YouTube to get you started. I’ve found Zumba is a really fun, fast paced dance that doesn’t feel like you’re exercising. I’ll take dance over the gym any day!

Start writing

Whether writing comes naturally to you or not, it’s a great way to pass the time. If you don’t enjoy it that much you could start off with a diary to get out your thoughts and feelings at this time. Writing about the lockdown will certainly be something interesting to look at in years to come. Or if you love it you could perhaps write a novel, play or even start your own blog. It does take time but if you put a lot of effort in, you could even start to make money from your blog.

Love whodunnits? YouTube is full of them

I love real crime, it’s amazing to discover the depravity some people stoop to. YouTube is full of unsolved crime mysteries that will leave you scratching your head. Why not become a sleuth yourself and try to work out whodunnit? Good channels to start with are Rob Gavagan and Top 5 Unknown’s.

Start a instagram channel for your pet

Instagram is for everyone – including your furry friends. There are many pets that have been made famous through Instagram, and that could result in you receiving lots of lucrative collaborations. All you need to do is set up your channel, give it a cute name and then fill it with lots of adorable photos of your pet. Check out my cat Tara’s profile.

Want more things to do during the lockdown? Check out these posts:

10 fun things to do on a rainy day

10 fun things to do when you’re bored

Before you go, don’t forget to enter my competition to win this cute jewellery set!

To enter the competition simply follow the Rafflecopter instructions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions

The competition will run from 24 April 2020 to 25 June 2020 and will start and finish at midnight. There are four mandatory entries:
To follow @kathcake on Twitter
To follow @glitzandglamourmakeup18 on Instagram and comment on a post (any post)
Reply/retweet any of my tweets on my Twitter.
Subscribe to my mailing list (on the side bar)
There are other options which will get you extra entries that are not mandatory. If you say you’ve completed a entry but you haven’t you will be disqualified if you’re picked as a winner.

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