With the vast majority of us spending more time at home than normal, it can be a little hard to keep everyone occupied these days. Here are some family-friendly ideas we have to help you keep busy and in touch.

1. Tea Party

Whether the classic party with your kids (and maybe a stuffed animal or two), or a new virtual connection a great way to spend an afternoon is always a tea party. Enjoy your favorite cup of tea alongside some homemade snacks from our TeaChef site and sip away the hours chatting with kids or online friends.

Bonus tip: Looking to try something new while you brew? We have a quiz to help you hone in on your next favorite. You can also try setting a theme for your virtual get together (like Spring or vintage) to help your party feel consistent across households.

2. Tea Painting

Painting with tea is a great way to flex your creative muscles during this time. Keep one cup for drinking, and then use some of your other leaves for pigment. We have an entire article on this over on our TeaMuse site, with instructions for how to make your own paints, activities to try for the beginner or the advanced painter, as well as tips for what kinds of tea will get you the best colors.

Bonus tip: If you're working with little ones or are even just trying to experiment yourself, consider a paint by numbers technique. Either search online for paint by numbers pictures to print or label pictures you already have in a coloring book at home. Play with different paper and brush types to really set your artsy side free.

3. Tea-Shirts

If you're looking for a more hands-on activiTea to share with your kids, why not try making some tie-dye tea-shirts? PBS has a nice guide on how to do this here, but feel free to play with different tie-dye patterns or techniques to get your own unique effect. For example, if you have different colors of tea you want to use, consider putting them in a squeeze bottle like you might use with traditional tie-dye rather than doing a full soak or find other ways to twist or knot your shirt to get different patterns.

Bonus tip: Try using the paints or pigment suggestions from tea painting to get access to more colors. Or, if you have a lighter colored shirt that already has a pattern like spots, flowers, or stripes, try adding the tea tie-dye over the top for a layered look.

4. Cooking with Tea

As we mentioned above, our TeaChef site has recipes for all sorts of tastes and skill levels. Prep a delicious breakfast smoothie to start your day, bake some cookies with the kids (here, here, or here), get fancy with some truffles. Earn loyalty points by reviewing the recipes you make, and, if you create a new recipe you love on your own, make sure to share it!

Bonus tip: If you don't enjoy cooking or baking, but still want to earn some extra points, you can also rate teas on our TeaCritic site.

5. Crafting

If painting is not enough to sate your inner artist, consider doing some other crafts. We've got a bunch of options for things you can do with your old sample tins, including making magnets, storing scavenger hunt clues or craft supplies, making sewing, camping, or gaming kits, and more.

Bonus tip: Have extra tea tins but not the crafty type? Consider going through all those junk drawers and office supplies and tidying up. Tea tins are great for organizing tool or fishing boxes, office or craft supplies, tech, jewelry, and that infamous junk drawer. Find more ideas here.

6. Create a New Blend

At Adagio, we have thousands of Signature Blends to choose from, many modeled after some of your favorite fandoms, but if you still haven't found the one that's just right for you, consider making one. Design one for a friend or family member, conquer a fandom we don't have (or add your personal spin on one we do), and enjoy your new custom brew!

Bonus tip: You can get loyalty points when others buy your tea, but make sure to rate and review the ones you try too to share the love!

7. Gardening

Tea leaves make great material for composting (including biodegradable tea bags), so if you're looking for a new hobby, now might be a great time to get into gardening. This article from Balcony Garden Web has great tips on how to get started, though there are plenty of great resources out there.

8. Reading

If tea piques your interest, which, we're guessing, it probably does, why not learn more about it? In addition to this blog, we also have our TeaMuse site, which features articles on anything from tea culture, health benefits, enjoyment, food and drink, travel and more.

There are also a ton of books on tea. With such a long and storied history, you can find all kinds of books on anything from the tea plant itself, its historical significance, the science behind a perfect cup, and more. Or, study tea adjacent topics, such as teacups or teaware, tea ceremonies, or recipes.

9a. Join us on Socials

If you want to be a more active member of our tea community, there are a couple of ways to go about it. The first would be to join our forums on TeaChat. Join discussions on types of tea, vendors, teaware, and more. We also have active communities on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram if you want to connect.

9b. Join the CommuniTEA

You might have noticed personal portion packets in your last purchase, each labeled with a date. As part of our CommuniTEA, we enjoy those samples every day, trying new teas and sharing about them together. Join tea lovers the world over by sharing a cup and then make sure to share your personal cup as well. Go to the communiTEA page and scroll to the bottom to purchase your own monthly box!

10. Philanthropy

Last but certainly not least, one of the best ways to feel connected is to share. Whether it's hopping on a call with a family member, friend, coworker, or even stranger who might be feeling a little lonely, donating to a good cause, or volunteering, what better way to spend your time in this season than through giving? We've highlighted a few ways to do so on a recent Tea Muse post, but there are a ton of ways to give and share during this time.

Share a cup, share a gift, and stay safe out there, friends.