How My Family Keeps Sane in Quarantine
During quarantine, my family has come together in unexpected ways. One way we keep sane is planning elaborate events to put on at home. Below are some of the things we have done. Feel free to try them yourself!
Movie Theatre. During quarantine, the famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber created a Youtube channel called “The Shows Must Go On.” On this channel, he releases a professionally recorded version of one of his musicals once a week that will only be available for 48 hours. So, my family comes together every Friday night to watch the movie. My sister uses this as an excuse to decorate our family room as a movie theatre, complete with assigned seats, fake money, fresh popcorn, a curtain speech, and a snack table. This has been really fun for the whole family because it gives her something to look forward to every week and we get to enjoy it together.
Family Tea Party. Recently, my family put together a full-blown tea party. As someone who loves to bake, I spend the entire day before baking three treats to serve (I made scones, lemonade cookies, and have this chocolate chip cookies delivered at home). The day of the tea party, my father spent the morning making homemade clotted cream for the scones and mini cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches. My mother went through her collection of teapots, tea cups, and tablecloths to set the scene. We all dressed up in fancy dresses, did our makeup, grabbed a fancy hat, and did a fun hairdo. Then, we prepared four types of tea. The tea party was so much fun! Although you don’t have to go as full-out as we did, I would recommend that everyone try something like this to make some great memories (and pretend to be fancy for a few hours).
Family Game Night. About once a week, my family makes a family game night. We all choose a game and keep track of the winners. We haven’t decided what the person with the most wins will get, but I’m sure it will be good.
Elaborate meals. One of my favorite quarantine activities is making an elaborate meal. I have always had a list of dishes I’ve always wanted to make but never had the time, so my family and I have been making them. Some of my favorite dishes have been pasta, paella, empanadas, lava cake, ice cream, and scones. I love cooking, and I feel so much better about the state of the world over a fresh batch of scones.
Crafts and Hobbies. Through quarantine, I’ve also gotten into many hobbies. I got an embroidery kit for my birthday, and I’ve spent hours slowly making it. I also got back into knitting and made half-a-dozen scarves to donate. I’ve made a lot of origami to decorate cards I’ve sent to family members. I found an old camera in the back of a closet, and got really into photography. I spent several days doing interior furnishing and rearranging the furniture in my room and patio (check out sites like californiabackyard.com/patio-furniture/ to find dainty pieces). I transformed my living room with the perfect statement pieces I found at Modern Resale https://www.modernresale.com/. There are so many hobbies that you can do to fill up the time!
