Happiness Project

Cancellations, closures, social distancing–it’s all A LOT to take in right now. Not only are you spending a lot more time at home these days, but several of the services you used to entertain yourself and your kiddos with are unavailable. And to top it off, it seems every time we jump online, we’re bombarded with bad news and negativity.

We get it. And we want to help.

We’re starting a Happiness Project! On this page, we’re compiling tons of things you can do to combat cabin fever, negative news, and the general boredom that comes from being stuck in your house. Things aren’t ideal right now, but we have been given a unique opportunity to learn, play, and create like never before.

Check out our ideas below, and share what you’re doing on Facebook and Instagram. Let’s fill our feeds with the good instead of the bad; show us how you’re practicing social distancing while still playing–spread the happiness!

This Collection Of Programs Is Designed By Our Recreation Team.

It’s Tailor-Made For Roanokers And We Hope It Helps You Find Some Inspiration For Time Spent At Home.

Create Mindful Art

Learn Knots!

Knots!

Learn How to Cook Outdoors

Explore Your City Parks by Bike

DIY Paper Terrarium

Mountain View Tree and Garden Tour

Create Your Own Gratitude Journal

Exploring Touch and Textures in the Garden

Make a Tree Fairy

Belly Dance with Us

Challenge Yourself to a 30-Day Workout Challenge (for Kids!)

Make a Bookmark from Pressed Flowers

Craft Hot Air Balloons

Tour Fishburn Mansion

Do Yoga with Lynn

Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Leaf Rubbing Art

1-2-3 Bread

Naomi Hide and Seek

Virtual Paint Party

Chair Yoga

Sign Language

Guided Breathing

Great Big Hug Pop-Up Card

Our Picks: Some Great Ideas We Discovered

PLAY Ideas for Families

Create an elaborate blanket and pillow fort! Bonus points if you tag @PLAYRoanoke on social media so we can show it off!
Sardines –This is reverse hide-and-seek in the dark. Close all your blinds and the drapes; try to get your house as dark as possible. Start with everyone outside and send in one person to hide. Then everyone else goes in to find the hider. When someone finds the hider, they simply sit down next to them. The loser is the last person to find the group.
Watch Broadway Musicals for free online from places like Broadwayhd.com’s free trial (just set a reminder to cancel before the bill comes!) Follow actors and theaters on Facebook and Instagram for more free and even live entertainment!
Four corners – Sit down in the center of the room and assign a number to each corner of the room. The person in the middle is blindfolded while everyone on the outside chooses a corner of the room to stand in as quietly as they can. The person in the middle then chooses a corner. Everyone in that corner is out and has to sit down. The game continues until there is one person left standing, and he/she is the winner.
Oversized memory game with poster board. This is great for indoors or outdoors, and you may have many of the supplies on hand already.
Recycled bottle bowling. One of the things we love most about this is that creating the bowling set will be as much fun as actually playing.
Bean bag ladder toss. This is SO easy to set up, and you’ll likely have the majority of the supplies.
Giant pick-up sticks. Creating the pieces for this game is an activity in and of itself.
Pick a topic and learn as much as you can about it. Take spring time for example– maybe you can explore gardening, identify different plants, photosynthesis, animals that are native to our region, the Month of March and all the holidays within it, the Ides of Month, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare! You could really go down a rabbit hole with this one which is what makes it great!
Take a virtual tour of these famous museums! We might not be able to travel right now, but we CAN take a virtual trip from the comfort of the couch.
Tour our national parks. Here are 33 national parks that you can virtually visit. Pick out your favorites and plan a trip to see them later!
Visit our parks. Getting outside is so important right now, but we also need to recreate wisely. Use this as an opportunity to check out your neighborhood park! However, keep in mind that all of our public restrooms, including port-o-johns, are locked right now. Thus, you might not want to venture too far from home. And you’ll want to bring some hand sanitizer to wash your hands afterward.

PLAY Activities for Adults

Disc golf. We have two disc golf courses right here in the city at Highland and Fishburn This is an excellent way to get outside and be active while avoiding close contact with people.
Family Supper Club around the World – find a globe or map, have one person close their eyes and chose a spot on the globe or map with their finger, find recipes online to cook an entire meal from that region. Or you can switch it up and have an international meal where each dish is from a different region.
Paint with Dark Beer or Coffee – They’re not JUST for drinking anymore! Break into that beer stash and try your hand at beer painting. Not only is this a quick fix if you’re out of paint, but what a conversations starter—“Oh, this piece? It was painted with a peanut butter porter.” What?!
Get picklin’– You can pickle just about anything, and now’s a great time to give it a shot. Check out the link for some pickling basics and start today.
Outdoor Art Around Town Our friends at Get2KnowNoke and Ride Solutions created this awesome map of all the public art in the city! This is a great opportunity to check out the awesome public art scene. You can ride a bike to them all or maybe just tackle a few by foot.
Yoga with Adrienne– Until we can get some videos of our own yoga instructors, Yoga with Adrienne is a great alternative! She offers classes from beginners to yoga vets, and yoga is a great stress reliever (so important right now). Check her out!
Blind Tasting– Do you have beer, wine, or liquor hanging around? Do a blind tasting! You can rate your favorite and even get your sommelier on and try to talk about appearance, finish, and complexity!
Name that tune minus the words – Play a song without the lyrics and have your partner or family guess the song!
Living Room Blanket Picnic – order take out from local restaurants in town and set up a blanket on your living room floor and put on some outdoor background music and enjoy an indoor picnic.
Learn something new! Have you always wanted to take an accounting class? Maybe you want to brush up on that art history? Now’s your chance! Here are several free courses you can take from Ivy League schools, and here are several courses you can finish in a day! If you have to be stuck inside, why pick up a new skill or two?
Start your spring cleaning. If you have to be home, why not make your space more livable? Go through your closets and drawers, clean out the basement, and wipe down those surfaces. If you need some inspiration, check out Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix!