Check out our 5 favorite neighborhood activities during social distancing! These group activities will help your family to feel close to your neighbors and friends as you all keep a safe and healthy distance apart.

Neighborhood Activities During Social Distancing

With practically the whole world on lockdown, it is important to find ways to create moments of happiness, connection, and purpose while social distancing with family. This roundup of ideas for community connectivity is perfect for anyone who wants to bring a little bit of light and joy to an otherwise dark and scary time. I have had the chance to participate in a few of these activities already, and can say with confidence, it has helped my children feel more safe and given us something to look forward to! Feel free to leave your own ideas in the comments as well. We would love to make this a place of sharing.

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#1 – Neighborhood Teddy Bear Hunt

Even though it is not actually bear hunting season, it is time to take your family on a Neighborhood Teddy Bear Hunt! You don’t need a special license to participate, but you do need to keep your eyes open for bears! Before the hunt can begin, send a message to your neighbors asking them to place a teddy bear in a window or on their porch. The teddy bear should be somewhere visible. There are a lot of ways to communicate electronically through email, Facebook, text, etc. You could even print up a little note explaining the activity and leave it on your neighbors’ porches. Then, take a walk through your community. Watch for all of the teddy bears peeking out of windows. You can keep a tally of bears spotted on a notebook or mark off the houses that have bears on a map from Google.

Why a teddy bear hunt? Teddy bears are a symbol of comfort. They are snuggly and the perfect friend for a good cuddle. Teddy bears remind grown ups of being a child and feeling secure and happy. I love that communities are supporting and comforting each other from a distance, with Teddy Bear Hunts. Join in on the fun today.

Teddy Bear Hunt to keep neighborhoods connected during social distancing.

#2 – Sidewalk Chalk Hope Walk

It is springtime! So, the sun does occasionally peek through the clouds to make lovely weather for being outside. Everyone cheers for outside time! Going outside is actually mentally healing and good for the spirit. Get sunshine and happiness with this Sidewalk Chalk Hope Walk. It’s the most perfect neighborhood activity during social distancing!

Use your artistic abilities and sidewalk chalk to create messages of hope for your neighbors and friends. Draw fun pictures. Write inspirational quotes or messages of encouragement. Leave a personal chalk art “shout out” to your best buddy. Chalk rainbows, hearts, and happy faces! Anything that would bring a little bit of hope and happiness to the friends out on a walk to escape isolation.

Then, take your own family on a walk to enjoy the art in front of the other participating houses. It is amazing how spreading positivity and love can improve mental, emotional, and physical health.

Sidewalk Chalk Hope Walk to help Neighborhoods stay connected during social distancing.

#3 – Shine A Blue Light For Medical Workers

Right now, the incredible medical workers in our communities are on the front lines. They are at war, battling a virus that is scary and new and extremely contagious. I am amazed at their bravery and commitment to service. I have read several journals this week from nurses, doctors, hospital staff, and surgeons, that have made me break down and weep. Their stories are heartbreaking. They are being kept from loved ones. Many are working without breaks, food, or sleep. They have witnessed suffering beyond that which we can imagine. However, their stories are also filled with hope, gratitude, and faith in God. I have developed a deep respect for our medical community across the world.

It would be so incredible to honor them and recognize their sacrifice by replacing the regular porch light bulbs on our houses with blue lights. By shining a blue light on your home, you can show support and appreciation in a way that is simple, yet meaningful. Imagine if entire communities banned together and participated?! Light has always been a universal message of hope. Let us all show our gratitude for the workers on the front lines with this simple action–blue lights for medical workers!

#4 – Frozen Cookie Dough Exchange

Cookies are one of the tastiest baked goods around. Am I right?! During Christmas, one of my neighbors delivered frozen cookie dough as a yummy neighborhood gift. I LOVED the idea. We were able to pull the dough from the freezer to bake a few weeks after the Holiday sugar rush was over. Plus, we got to smell the cookies baking before we ate them. That makes the treat so much better!

I thought it would be so fun to do a neighborhood frozen cookie dough exchange while social distancing with kids! Make a plan with your favorite friends. Make a schedule so each family involved delivers cookie dough to two families and they also receive cookie dough from two families. They can make any flavor of cookies that sounds yummy! Roll the dough into cookie balls and place them on a cookie sheet. Do NOT cook the dough in the oven. Slide the cookie sheet into the freezer. Let the individual cookie dough balls solidify. Then, bag the dough into a ziplock bags by the dozen. Do a porch delivery! Ring the doorbell and then run. A traditional “door dash!”

(I think with households baking the cookies in their own space will make them safe to eat!)

Another option is to do this same activity, but run it a little differently. It would start with one person making their cookies and then dropping them off to a few families with a printed note that says something like, “Our House Has been COOKIE CRASHED! Your house just got crashed with a yummy frozen treat. Even during isolation, we still have to eat! Make a batch of your favorite cookies and pass them on to a friend. Say safe and keep smiling until social distancing ends.”

If you want to use our template you can download it here: Cookie Crashed Template

(I think with baking the cookies in your own space, will make them safe to eat!)

Cookie Crashed printable for neighborhood connectivity.

#5 – Neighborhood Geocaching

Who doesn’t enjoy a good treasure hunt?! Anything that feels remotely like an adventure is more than welcome at my house right now! My kids love using maps and exploring and how great would this be while quarantining with kids?! Put together a Neighborhood Geocaching activity and you will be everybody’s Pirate hero. And, no one will even need to walk the plank!

You can decide on the item you want to hide for the geocache. I thought it would be fun to paint rocks. Partially because, painting the rocks is a fun activity all on it’s own. The rocks should be golf ball to tennis ball size. You can paint a fun little inspirational word on the rock or do pretty pictures. Make them colorful. Then, hide the rocks in a public area in your neighborhood like in a park or by the school.

Mark the location on your GPS on your phone. You can set a “Pin” using an iPhone. Then, send the pin location out to your neighbors and friends. They can then, go on a hunt to find your painted rocks! The more people who hide items, the better! Everyone can hunt on their own for the treasures, so it is a safe group game to play while social distancing. Take pictures in each location to prove that your family visited each pinned spot.

Maybe you will award a prize to the first family to hit all of the special hiding places first?! The game can be adapted to fit your neighborhood. Have fun rock hounding!

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