Montreal is still in a red zone lockdown, and regardless of how we feel about it, we’re stuck with it for the time being. In the meantime, we need to find ways to busy ourselves. I don’t know about you, but my daily schedule has been work, eat, sleep, repeat. It’s getting old, fast. We’ve come up with a few activities you can do at home that are fun, will keep you busy, and will support local businesses all at the same time.
Colouring Books
Colouring can be therapeutic. It’s just you and your crayons, trying to stay between the lines. Put some relaxing music on, pour yourself a cup of tea (or wine) and occupy your mind. You won’t even see the time fly by! We have some local suggestions for you to try out! This one by Loogart is free to download and it features our Montreal neighbourhoods for you to colour in. This next one is called Montreal and features Montreal’s attractions and most famous foods. Buy it here.
Ceramic Cafe at Home
Don’t you love sitting idly in a coffee shop painting your greatest creation on your soon to be newest mug? Well, Ceramic Cafe is making that possible for you! Go to their nearest cafe and buy a whole kit! It includes whichever pottery you choose as well as all the paint you need. Then, simply bring it back to the cafe so they can cook it in their ovens. Fairly quickly, you’ll be one beautiful mug or bowl richer! Check out how it works on their website.
Learn How to Cook
We have lots of extra time on our hands so why not learn a new skill? There are ample recipes to find online but wouldn’t it be even better to cook with a professional? Virtually, of course. Sillanitti of Qualcosina Traiteur has been hosting weekly live cooking classes on her Instagram since the first lockdown. She makes it so easy too! She will even have the ingredients delivered to you, so you’re guaranteed the best of the best. Check her out here and get cooking!
Join a Book Club
Have you been meaning to read that book sitting on your shelf but haven’t found the motivation to do it? Do you feel you just don’t have the time to sit down and read? Trust me, you definitely have time now! Join a virtual book club to get things moving along and discuss with like-minded individuals. Make yourself a coffee, sit back, and chat about a wonderful book. Join this local book club, Cover Girls Montreal, and as they say, “Quarantine, read, and chill.”
Virtual Museum
Why not enrich your mind and check out a virtual museum exhibit? Here is a great resource that will help you find all the virtual museums available in Canada. Click here to check them out. Travel across the world and through time and learn something along the way! One of the ones we’re excited to see is a virtual tour of the Monastery of the Ursulines of Québec.
At-Home Spa
It can be a spa day every day! Give yourself a facial, give yourself a mani pedi, put in a hair mask, go wild with the self care. May we suggest you shop local for all these lovely products? Bkind is a great option! They are made right here in Montreal, Quebec. They’re vegan, biodegradable, compostable, all natural, the works! Bonus: they donate 2% of all their sales to animal shelters or organizations helping animals.
Get Renovating
Have you been dying to change the shelves in your bathroom? Or you really have wanted to repaint the living room? Hello! Now’s the perfect time. Get all your home renovation projects done and make your space even more enjoyable! Who knows, when quarantine is over, you may not want to leave anyway! If you want fun tips and inexpensive DIY tricks, check out Small Space Designs. She is a renovating wiz and will help you make your home trendy and beautiful.
Whatever you decide to do with all this extra time at home, make sure you’re having fun!
Featured image by Ava Sol.
