Have a Laugh

Put on a puppet show - playing with puppets is a great opportunity for the imagination to take off. From coming up with the story, making the puppet stage and creating sock puppets, you can fill hours of time away from screens and make good use of those lone socks that have lost their pair. This can be a great family project with older kids who want to learn about entertainment and production.

Act it out - Play a game of charades. We found a good list of 150 charades ideas for kids and adults.

Play the HA game - With this game you lay your head on each other’s bellies and laugh out loud. Laughter is the best medicine!

Have a wheel barrel race - not quite what you think and no wheel barrel required. See how to revive the retro game of wheel barrel racing.

Blow and pop bubbles - Buy or make your own solution or learn how to make giant bubbles with a tri-string giant bubble wand. Kids will love this!

Create a joke jar - write jokes on paper and keep them in a jar. We found some good ones here.

Have a pillow fight - lay out the rules in advance. Use soft pillows, keep the zippers away from faces and start swinging.

Using household objects In different ways - keep your kids laughing by using everyday objects in new and unexpected ways. Wear your pants on your head as a hat, put your shirt on backwards, use a banana as a phone, Be a bit of a goofball. Your kids (young ones at least) will probably love it.

Plan an Evening of Laughter: Host a comedy night. For the 21+ crowd, if you are fortunate enough to have a comedy club in your town consider partnering with them for your unplugged night. It’s easy to avoid checking your phone when you’re too busy laughing. You can also see if your city has Pop Up Comedy Nights such as www.donttellcomedy.com where you catch comedy in some unusual places like backyards, rooftops, and boxing clubs.