100 Really Fun No-Screen Activity Ideas

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So many of us spend most of our days looking at our screens. While our phones and computers are important, it’s really helpful to find ways to take a break from looking at them.

There are plenty of great suggestions on this list, all of which you can do without looking at your screen. I find ideas like these really help strengthen friendships and family bonds.

Hands-On

Fixing, building, and getting hands-on with activities is a great way to take a break from your screen.

• Go metal detecting.
• Cook a new recipe from a cookbook.
• Go to a flea market.
• Have a scrapbooking afternoon.
• Organize loose change and coins at home.
• Upcycle a piece of furniture.
• Go fishing.
• Homebrewing kombucha.
• Work on a simple at-home diy project.
• Offer to mow lawns for friends and neighbors who can’t.

Active

Sports and physical activities offer a great opportunity to put your phone away for a while.

• Swimming.
• Martial arts class.
• Beach glow walk.
• Indoor circuit training.
• Squash.
• Hoops at a public basketball court.
• Walking group.
• Rowing club.
• Weightlifting.
• Inflatable obstacle course run.

Relaxing

Unwind with some of these relaxing activities.

• Take a bath.
• Read a book at a coffee shop.
• Journal in a diary.
• Plant seeds in the garden.
• Yoga or stretching meetup in a park.
• Sunset meditation.
• Garden center window shopping.
• Listen to vinyl records.
• Go bird-watching at a nature reserve.
• Create a vision board.

Social

These ideas are ideal for doing with family and friends.

• Host a dinner party.
• Join a community theater group.
• Join or host a book club gathering.
• Host a knitting circle.
• Go to a language and culture exchange.
• Watch a local sports game.
• Sing in a choir.
• Host a drum circle.
• Go to a barn dance.
• Volunteer in your community.

Indoors

If you’re indoors, try some of these.

• Have an afternoon of baking cookies and other sweet treats.
• Host a crocheting circle.
• Join a dance class.
• Listen to the radio.
• Join a pen-to-paper writing meetup.
• Have a board game evening.
• Watch a play or theatrical performance.
• Build a model kit.
• Go to a piano lounge.
• Make friendship bracelets.

Family

Get the whole family involved with your no-screen afternoon and try some of these.

• Evening stories and imagination games.
• Build a pillow and blanket fort.
• Design and paint a treasure map.
• Family bicycle ride.
• Backyard or at-home hide-and-seek.
• Nature walk.
• Lego-building challenge.
• At-home theater and skit performance.
• Fly kites.
• Craft day.

Different

Try something different, and switch up your usual routine with a new experience.

• Explore an art gallery.
• Go to a science fair.
• Astronomy meetup.
• Explore a weekend craft market.
• Watch street performers.
• Read philosophical texts.
• Join a study group.
• Go to a library.
• Attend a lecture or seminar
• Go to a skill swap workshop.

Mindful

These ideas are great for encouraging you to be present and reflect on things.

• Play memory games.
• Relax on a chair in the backyard.
• Work on a puzzle.
• Play chess at a club.
• Solve brain teasers.
• Make handwritten plans or to-do lists.
• Host a deep conversation get-together.
• Journal using a printable/template.
• Have a storytelling afternoon.
• Hold power poses.

Creative

These creative activities can provide hours of fun.

• Go on a photography walk with a film camera.
• Play guitar.
• Write poems in the backyard.
• Sketch at a museum.
• Paint a watercolor landscape.
• Have a flower-arranging afternoon.
• Learn to yodel.
• Have a makeup artistry afternoon.
• Take a woodworking class.
• Paint miniatures.

Outdoors

If the weather’s good, get outside and do something fun.

• Al fresco dining at new restaurants.
• Urban street art walking tour.
• Running club.
• Play tennis.
• Play frisbee at a park.
• Take a road trip and explore a scenic place.
• Beachcombing.
• Water activities at a lake.
• Street food tour.
• Growing giant vegetables.

There are so many ideas to try here. If you want to give a few a go and see which worked best for you, you can get this list as a PDF here.

Enjoy some quality time with friends, family, or on your own, and give yourself the no-screen break you need.