During these strange times, when traveling is out of the question, you soon run out of things to do or find not many places to go. You run through all the best movies on Netflix, finish an entire cookbook, find yourself itching to create new memories after looking through your old ones quite a few times and the walls start to feel a little closer than they were before.

It’s natural to get bored. Instead of sitting around on your phone getting lost in the news and social media (and slowly losing your mind), lean on to some fun things you can do on your rooftop or in your own backyard.

I have rounded up some of the fun things to do with your family while you are stuck at home:

Setup Rooftop/Backyard Picnic

Going on a picnic is not a new idea and many of us in India, associate picnic with winter holidays. But an outdoor picnic can be arranged and enjoyed in any season except in monsoon. So, if you are stuck indoors and have nowhere else to go, then arrange a great picnic with your family on your rooftop or in the backyard.

All you need are some sheets, comfy cushions, a basket full of pre-cooked foods, and some cool refreshing drinks to relax with. A simple setup such as this will give you an interesting break from your daily routine. If you want to take your picnic setup to the next level, add some fairy lights and flowers to the mix. It would be a great way to catch up with your loved ones after a hectic workday.

Camp Under The Stars

Just because you are stuck at home, doesn’t mean that you cannot go on camping. With so few cars on the street, the city skyline has cleared up, making stargazing now possible from your rooftop.

Find a nice spot on your rooftop with a clear view of the city skyline, set up your tent, and pull out your sleeping bag. Bring in a portal light or decorate your tent with fairy lights. Add a portable table fan if you stay in warmer cities.

Don’t forget to apply the mosquito repellent if you stay in India. Now, to complete your camping experience, wipe out a bowl of Maggi, and pour a hot cup of tea. Watch the amazing sunset and the twinkling stars as you would in any mountains.

Create Perfect Backyard/Rooftop Movie Theater

Nothing can be more sublime than watching a movie in your backyard, back patio, or rooftop. Thanks to warmer weather, now is the perfect time to grab some food, drinks, and an outdoor projector to set up a movie night for your family. With so many new web series and movies releasing on the OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc, movie watching can now be more fun at home without pinching your pocket.

Not only for watching movies or documentaries, you can use the outdoor projectors to enhance your gaming experience at home.

Throw a Rain Dance Party

If you have been to any amusement park in India, you must have come across to the concept of rain dancing where the DJ plays current hit songs for the crowd to dance in artificial rain.

You can do the same at your house. Throwing a rain dance party for your family is a fun way to enjoy the lazy summer Sundays at home. Play your favorite music and dance to its tunes in an artificial shower created by hose pipes either in your terrace or backyards. You get to be a DJ at your own party.

Start Terrace Landscaping/Gardening

If you have a green thumb and feel like transforming your backyard/terrace/balcony into a more relaxing space, you could try out some of the easy landscaping ideas. If you love to garden but don’t have a ton of space, consider creating vertical gardens with the help of recycled things like plastic bottles.

Spending some time outside in the fresh air and sunshine is an effective way to boost your mood and de-stress. In fact, gardening has shown to be helpful in reducing the risk of depression. It’s also an ideal way to teach young ones to focus on the task on hand and the true meaning of responsibility.

I got you covered. If you are looking for ideas, check out this 10 ideas for backyard landscaping on a budget. I am planning to build a vertical garden as I have a crunch for space at my apartment.

Building Giant Board Games

Are you a fan of board games? Then I am sure you will enjoy building large life-size board games like Chess, Go, Jenga in your backyard, back patio, or rooftop. It’s a fun DIY project to work with your kids.

If you have a hard surface, with black paint, you can easily create a large chessboard and use anything wooden lying around in your house as pawns. If you are handy with wood, then you can create the pawns yourself. If you are creating the chessboard in your backyard, then just mow the grass in the places representing the white fields and leave the grass as it is representing the black fields. Or use colored tiles as shown in the above image.

If you enjoy DIYs, you might find this blog post on creating a large outdoor Jenga set interesting to attempt while stuck at home.

Throw a Backyard Barbecue Party

A backyard barbecue party is a perfect way to spend time with family and friends during the summer months. Many of you may not be having a barbecue lying around in your house but those of you who have it at home can certainly put it to good use. The center of every barbecue is the food. Choose from a variety of grilled items to make and impress everyone with your newly learned cooking skills!

I always look for Indian Seekh Kebabs at barbecue parties. I have received a charcoal barbecue grill last year on my birthday but couldn’t use it much due to my hectic work schedule. Since currently, we are self-isolating ourselves from the outside world, I used this opportunity to learn to make kebabs at home.

Plan a Treasure Hunt for Kids

If you are stuck at home and out of ideas to keep your kids entertained, then try a classic treasure hunt or scavenger hunt at home. This will keep them on their toes.

Create a clue to find a location or an item in your home. Then have another clue waiting at that spot for them to lead to another location/item. This can be as simple or as complex as you want. Treasure hunts enable a child to think on their toe and complete a task on their own.

Create Your Own TV Show

Yes, why not! Let your kids come up with a script of their very own TV show. Its a fun way for kids to express themselves while being stuck at home. They can use toys, puppets, or even home movies to narrate their stories. With a few craft supplies and a whole lot of creativity, you can unlock your kid’s hidden talents. Just be sure to let them lead the way. When you do you will see their artistic inspirations come to life.

Play Fun Food Eating Games

Food eating competitions are fun to participate in and to watch. There are so many fun variations of food eating games that you can try at home. You could have donuts eating competition where participants have to finish eating three donuts in the shortest amount of time to win.

It doesn’t have to be donuts, you can play this with any type of sweets you have at home. Alternatively, you can hang the donuts with a string and the participants have to finish eating them quickly without touching them (have their hands folded in back). Eating games don’t have to stick only to sweets, you could try with savory dishes as well like Golgappes.

Recently, I participated in a Samosa making competition alongside my younger brother at home. All we have to do was to roll the dough, fill the stuffings, and make the most number of Samosa (at least resembling one) within 15 mins. The participant who has the most number of Samosa resembling the correct shape wins.

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So you see, the options are numerous! Make the best of this time and create everlasting memories with your family using these amazing rooftop/backyard ideas. Do you have any idea that’s not on the list? Let me know and I will add it here.

If you enjoyed reading this post, don’t forget to share with your friends and family. Let me know your thoughts on these ideas by commenting down below.