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25 Fun Things to Do as a Stay-at-Home Mom

As rewarding as it is, being a stay-at-home mom can be VERY boring at times, and alllll of us need something to do for some fun. At least sometimes.

Finding something to do at home and with kids can be a bit of a challenge (ESPECIALLY if you have younger kids), but luckily there are many activities to do as a stay-at-home mom (not that you can do all of them – but I bet you could do at least one of them).

Whether you spend time doing arts and crafts, going on a hike, or learning a new language, YOU CAN have fun being at home with kids.

This article is full of ideas for fun things you can do as a stay-at-home mom! Keep reading, choose a few, and just TRY it!!

Start a Small Garden

Small, at home gardens are a great way to grow your food at home, as well as to have a small piece of paradise in your backyard. There are several ways to go about creating a small garden in your home.

If you live in a seasonal climate, an outdoor garden will be an option for the spring and summer with either garden beds or a gated area. Another option is to have a greenhouse, which allows you to grow plants and produce outside of the normal growing seasons. You can do a DIY greenhouse (since I don’t know many people who randomly have a greenhouse).

As far as what to grow in your garden goes, many plants don’t require an incredible amount of work. Pick herbs and produce your family will actually eat, such as:

Basil Bell peppersGarlicRosemaryTomatoes Zucchini

Learn New Recipes

Learning new recipes is a great way to pass the time and find new foods to eat. The internet is full of recipes for so many different foods, from the best French desserts to amazing tacos.

Many recipes can be prepared with kids as well! For stay-at-home moms, this could be a great way to get in the kitchen and introduce kids to cooking, being in the kitchen, and kitchen safety.

Whether you decide to cook with your kids or for your kids, learning a new recipe is a great way to try new foods and expand your pallet.

Take up Sewing

Sewing is a hobby that allows you to be able to make so many things, for yourself and for your kids. It is relatively easy to learn, and once you get comfortable with the basics, you will already be able to sew basic things for yourself, such as hats or aprons.

Learn a New Language

Learning a new language is an activity that works the brain and gives you new knowledge that you can put to use. Learning a language with a child is a great idea because you both will start from the very basics and learn the language together.

What language to learn depends on a few things:

What language is most common in your area (other than your native tongue?)What language do you most want to learn?What language is reasonable for your kids to learn (if you’re doing it with them)

For native English speakers, common second languages to learn are Spanish and French because they are frequently used and relatively easy to learn. Other languages that are a bit more difficult but still used in the general public could be Mandarin, Portuguese, Korean, etc.

Learn a New Instrument

Learning a new instrument is an activity that will help you learn how to read music and gain a new skill. Although it’s going to be as maddening as it is rewarding, with the help of the internet there are many ways to find expert guidance (and you DON’T have to pay for it!)

YouTube is a great way to learn because you can see the instrument you are learning how to play in action. Some ideas for instruments to learn could be:

GuitarPianoUkuleleViolin

Learn How to Knit or Crochet

Being able to knit or crochet is a very useful skill and a relaxing hobby. It is easier to knit for some, but for others, it is easier to handle a crochet hook. To start, try them both and see which one you like more.

Keep in mind that while you can make anything with one that you can make with the other (you can make stuffies, blankets, and hats regardless of which you choose), one is better suited to some things than the other. For example, doing something more decorative is generally easier with crochet. On the other hand, functional clothing is usually done with knitting.

Take Up Painting

Painting is a relaxing hobby that doesn’t require any sort of expertise to do. You don’t have to be a professional at painting to be able to enjoy the art form, and there are many ways to learn new techniques and styles of painting.

No matter your artistic ability, painting is a great way to relieve stress, and it’s a great activity for involving the kids (IF you want to). While you paint, you can also give your kids their supplies so they will be able to paint along with you.

Also a tip – there are a TON of options for washable paints – keep nicer acrylics to yourself.

Start or Find a New Podcast

Whether it be listening to a podcast or creating one of your own, podcasts are a great way to pass the time, and there are so many different categories you could dive you could explore. If you are listening to a podcast, this can be a way to pass the time while hanging out with kids, cleaning, or running errands.

Some common categories of podcasts include:

ComedyHealthNewsPoliticsTrue crime

You can both upload and listen to podcasts on several platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.

Start a Blog

While at home with the kids, starting a blog is a great way to share your passion and connect with others! Whether you have a hobby for baking, botany, child-care tips, etc., there are PLENTY of topics you can write about (you can also monetize a blog too).

Some common platforms used to create a blog include:

BloggerWeeblyWixWordPress

**With that being said – IF you ever intend to MONETIZE a blog, make sure you only use WordPress.org for this. The other platforms can be a great option if you’re just looking for an outlet, but they’re almost impossible to monetize later on.

Write a Story

Writing a story is one way to get your brain working, as well as a way to be incredibly creative. When deciding what to write about, your choices are only limited by your imagination. You can write about anything you want! This could also be fun to get the kids involved and even see if they want to write a story of their own.

This is also fun to turn into a game where each family member takes turns adding a sentence to the storyline.

Get into Furniture Restoration

Furniture is a great way to add character to space, and restoring the furniture you found at thrift or consignment stores can add more of a personal touch. Furniture restoration can be pretty simple, depending on what you want to do with the furniture you find.

The basics of furniture restoration start with sanding and staining wood. Still, if you want to do some more complex projects, there are many videos available on the internet with step-by-step furniture restoration processes that will guide you through the process.

Get a Home Workout Routine

Being a stay-at-home mom can make it hard to find time to go to the gym. Being able to have an at-home workout routine can save you time and money. Workout routines can include the kids too, and it might help them get rid of some energy!

At-home workouts can be with machines, streaming something, or even a simple instructional YouTube video with no equipment.

Take the Kids on a Hike

Getting outside is really important. Going on a hike is a great way to get the kids out and experiencing nature, as well as to get yourself some fresh air.

Hiking accessibility really depends on where you live and your proximity to any trails. If you live in an urban area, getting out and walking around a park is enough to get you and your family out and about.

If you are going on a more serious hike (and don’t enjoy being miserable), make sure to bring lots of water, sunscreen, and snacks!

Join a Book Club

When you want something to do that isn’t as involved with the kids, joining a book club is a great way to have something truly your own. Reading a book is a healthy, daily distraction, and having people to talk to about your books will expand your social circle.

If you don’t want to leave the house, there are online book clubs where you can virtually connect with others about the book you are currently reading. No matter what, a book club is a great way to have something you enjoy.

Want to involve the kids? There are also family book clubs that include the kids to promote their love of learning and reading.

Get the Kids into a New Sport

Sports are a great way to get your kids to be more active and to be able to meet new friends. Whether it be soccer, gymnastics, swimming, or tennis, sports are a fun way to get exercise even when they’re disguised as a new hobby.

Being a parent for kids involved in sports is a lot of work, especially as sports get more competitive. If you want to get your kids in organized team sports, be prepared to:

Be driving them to practices and gamesCheering your kids on while they playMaking sure their uniforms are clean and readyPreparing snacks for the team

It’s a big commitment, but the benefits to both you and your kids are well worth it!

Start a Sports Team

If you live somewhere with few opportunities for sports, a way to still be able to get into sports is by creating your own team. Soccer and baseball are some of the most common sports, which are the easiest for starting from scratch.

If you want to start a sports team for your kids, you will need to put a lot of time into putting everything together. Some things you might need for a sports team include:

Coaching Place to Practice PlayersUniforms

Most areas have their own rules as far as the leagues go, so you will need to look into your local area and their requirements for being involved in local games and tournaments.

Learn about Your Families Genealogy

Learning about your family’s genealogy is incredibly interesting. It can help you, and your kids better understand where they came from and begin to help them value their history. Usually, DNA genealogy tests come in the mail, and they will send you back your results in the mail or online.

Be WARY of the options you find out there – I’ve had a couple of friends get verrry inaccurate results from some of these companies.

Get into Couponing

With kids, sometimes budgeting is necessary to be able to get everything needed from the grocery store. Couponing can make sure that you get everything you need and get it with savings as well.

Couponing could range from simply using a few coupons at checkout to coordinating your entire shopping list around the coupons you have and how much savings you will be able to get. Whether you choose to go all out or be on the simpler end, couponing can actually be a fun hobby because it feels a little like treasure hunting.

Pottery

Pottery is a calming hobby that can create some beautiful art, not to mention some useful pieces such as mugs or bowls. Pottery does take quite a bit of preparation to get started, such as getting a pottery wheel and a kiln or access to one.

If you are able to get all the supplies necessary, pottery is a great hobby to obtain as a stay-at-home mom. If you don’t have the means for equipment, look around for pottery classes near you. Most areas offer something.

Start a Small At-Home Business

Do you have some form of craft, hobby, or concept that you think you could turn into a business? If so, there are now so many ways to be able to start a business from your own home.

With the internet, it is incredibly easy to build a platform, advertise, and sell your goods and services. This makes it all possible for you to be able to work from home and be your own boss at the same time.

Fostering Animals

If you are staying home for most of the day, why not take the time to care for an animal? Fostering an animal can be hard and oftentimes a bit difficult with kids because they can form an emotional attachment.

If you and your kids are up for it, there are tons of animals that need to be taken care of, and a stay-at-home mom is a perfect person to help acclimate some of those animals to safe environments. Fostering an animal is a hard, but ultimately fulfilling, and great thing to do.

Create Your Own Recipes

If you are into cooking or baking, making your own recipe is a great way to share your passion with your kids and to have all of your favorite dishes written down.

Many families have a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. Maybe one of the recipes you create will become one that is passed down.

Take Up Interior Design

If you are staying home all day, you most likely want to be in a space that makes you happy and is somewhere you want to be all day. Taking up interior design can help you achieve your dream space in your own home.

Platforms such as Pinterest have tons of design inspiration and could give you ideas about what you want to do with your own home. If you want to get the kids involved, you could have them do smaller projects in their own bedrooms so that they feel like they are creating their own space too.

Start a House Plant Collection

House plants are extremely beneficial to have in your living space. Starting a house plant collection is beneficial because certain houseplants can help with focus and concentration. They can also help purify the area.

Whether or not you have a green thumb, there are many ways to successfully have plants in your home. For example, Pothos plants are incredibly easy to take care of, which would be a great option for a plant to put in a kid’s room.

Other low-maintenance house plants could be:

Cacti MonsterasSmall herbs that are easy to grow in kitchen windows, such as basil

No matter what plants you choose to add to your home, any of them will be beneficial to your health and to the overall ambiance of your home.

Start a YouTube channel

Starting a YouTube channel is a fun way to vlog (video blog) what you do every day or to be able to teach others how to make something fun and creative by sharing your content.

Whatever you choose to base your YouTube channel on, it is a fun way to share your voice with others.

Your Options Can Be Limitless

Being a stay-at-home mom can be a challenge, especially when it comes to finding fun activities to do for yourself and with your kids. Going outside or being creative with kids by painting or doing pottery are ways to spend time with them and help them find something they love.

At the end of the day, being at home with kids is the best and most rewarding job in the world.