Here at Funidelia, we hope that in these moments of uncertainty and confusion you can remain positive and take care of one another. Everything will pass, the sun will come out again, and we’ll come back even stronger!
Our team will continue working day after day, sending out packages and taking every security measure at our disposal to continue to bring fun to your homes, so you can take care of yourself and never stop smiling. Our slogan has always been “Have Fun!”, but we think it’s important to make some small changes during these times. So, we want to remind you that even though there’s not a cure yet for coronavirus, there is a cure for boredom- the most important thing is never stop smiling!
So just for you, we’ve put together some cool, fun ideas to make quarantine a bit more bearable, especially for the younger ones who are going to feel it the most.
For those working from home
Our team has also been affected by these exceptional circumstances and some of us are able to work from home. When you work remotely, it’s good to maintain the same routines: start and finish your day at your usual time, try and make a “workspace” like you have in your office, and dress as if you were going to leave the house.
@virpix8
But this doesn’t mean you can’t be comfortable. Try not to spend all day in your dressing gown. Change out of your pyjamas for that video call with your boss, but when you’re done working put your dressing gown or blanket back on so you can relax and disconnect. Have you seen how comfy and soft these geeky dressing gowns are?
We’ve also got them in kid’s sizes, so all the family can match!
To disconnect a little from the tension of work and all the information about coronavirus, try and find a corner of the house somewhere just for you, somewhere you can take a few minutes of calm for yourself. There’s nothing better than going out onto the terrace or into your garden, taking some deep breaths and having a nice cup of tea (because a cup of tea solves everything, right?) Add a geeky touch to your tea break with a mug featuring your favourite characters. Harry Potter, Simba, Rick & Morty, superheroes… We even have mugs that change colour depending on the temperature of what’s inside.
Combat boredom as a family
We’re always saying that we don’t have the time to do all the things we want. So, what better time to take advantage of having some time at home? Are we bored? No way! There are loads of things to do at home to fight off boredom, to keep the kids entertained and teach them at the same time how they can have fun as a family. Here are some ideas:
1. Baking afternoons
Ever since MasterChef Junior came into our lives, there are lots of kids wanting to help mum and dad in the kitchen. They love becoming “little chefs”.
Make a pizza, bake some cupcakes, a sponge cake, or some cookies. Here’s some easy recipes to entertain the little ones with, especially if you use these uniquebaking moulds.
What about making some cupcakes decorated like their favourite Hogwarts house? You’ll need:
- 80g butter
- 200g sugar
- 200g flour
- 1 level teaspoon of baking powder
- 120ml semi-skimmed milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 level teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together the butter and sugar until you have a smooth batter. Add the eggs and milk and stir again. Combine the baking powder with the flour and then add half the flour mixture and continue to stir. Add the vanilla extract and the rest of the flour and stir until everything is incorporated fully and there are no pockets of flour.
Fill the cupcake moulds (two thirds will be enough) and bake for 20-22 minutes at 180ºC. After this time, you can test to see if they are cooked through by poking a tooth pick into the top. If it comes out clean you can take them out of the oven.
Decorate the cupcakes with buttercream. For this you’ll need to mix equal parts of butter (at room temperature) and icing sugar. Stir the mixture at medium speed until it’s nice and smooth.
Or, do you prefer sponge cake? What about one that uses your favourite series or cartoons as a theme? You’ll need:
- 1 lemon flavoured yogurt
- 3 eggs
- 3 yogurt cups of flour (use the container from your lemon yogurt)
- 1 yogurt cup of sugar
- 1 yogurt cup of oil
- 1 packet (16g) of baking powder
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, until you have a smooth batter with no bubbles. Pour the batter into a mould. If it’s a silicone mould there is no need to grease it beforehand. But if you want you can sprinkle a little flour or icing sugar into the mould before you pour in the mixture, so it’s easier to turn it out after baking.
For a gourmet sponge cake, separate the mixture into two bowls. Add cocoa to one bowl and mix well. Pour the non-chocolate mixture into the mould first, followed by the chocolate mixture. The two will mix inside and create a unique pattern that you’ll only see when you cut the cake open.
What about some chocolate frogs, like the ones from Honeydukes? Here’s how to make them. But careful, you know that these frogs only jump once.
2. Let’s get training!
If we can’t leave the house for days, our bodies will notice the lack of physical activity. So, it’s important to keep fit and do some exercise. You can set out an area of the house to make your own gym, and if you don’t have the ‘machines’, just use what you have to hand. If you don’t have a fitball, use a large beach ball. No weights? Use some milk cartons… Or the kids! Like PaNE Trainer. All you need to do is use your imagination!
3. You can do anything with a bit of imagination
There’s nothing better to help your little one’s imagination run wild than a good book. Going on adventures and living through incredible stories with the characters in their favourite books. It’ll help them entertain themselves, improve their reading skills, and keep their classroom routines. They’ll learn how to have fun reading at home, escaping the four walls of the house for a while.
If you really want to help them get over their boredom, you can dress them up as the main character of their favourite book. Whether it’s Harry Potter, Peter Pan, a princess, a comic superhero…
You can also have fun, play together and join forces by dressing-up as a family. Each person can dress-up as a character from Star Wars and fight against “Darth Virus”. Fight against the evil “Coronathanos” with these Avenger costumes. Or you and your little princess can stop the evil Queen “Corona” from conquering the kingdom.
4. Never stop playing
If there’s one classic family activity that always unites everyone, it’s board games. From the Game of the Goose, that you can play with your little ones, to more traditional games you can play when they’re a little older, like Monopoly, Risk and Cluedo. Want to make them a little more entertaining? What about a themed game? You can play Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit, Game of Thrones Risk, or Lord of the Rings Monopoly!
Have a party at home
And even if after all these ideas for what do when staying home you’re still bored to tears and feeling a little down… Don’t worry! Stay at home! We’ve still got an ace up our sleeve: have a party at home.
Yep! That’s right. You don’t need to have a big party with loads of people to have fun. The people you live with, who you’re closest with, will do when it comes to forgetting your troubles for a while and having a great time.
You could hold Hawaiian theme parties, to forget about the cold. Mexican theme parties, to sing Rancheras. Unicorn parties, so we can remember that rainbows exist. Pirate parties, with treasure maps to find where mum has hidden the toilet paper. Or color themed parties, where for a whole week each day has a different colour.
It might also be the case that it’s somebody’s birthday during one of these days. Staying at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate it. There’s always reasons to celebrate a birthday, especially when it comes to the little ones! You could organise a birthday party with their favourite theme: superheroes, Frozen, Star Wars, dinosaurs, space, Mickey and Minnie…
So, don’t lose hope, it is possible to have fun at home. Remember, you can share your photos of having fun at home with the hashtag #HaveFunAtHome. Wishing everyone all the best, remember to stay at home!
#HaveFunAtHome!
Here’s the Funidelia team saying hello while working from home.