It’s extremely important to play, even as adults. Actually, especially as adults. As bad as I am with kids, I have a theory as to why they are generally happy: they play often.
I’ve talked about celebrating your weirdness before, but playing doesn’t necessarily have to be “weird”. It can be good for you to bring back activities you used to enjoy, that somewhere along the line you stopped doing because you became “too old”. There are actually very few things that have an age maximum. Here are some ideas to get you started.
jump rope draw with sidewalk chalk hula hoop target darts sit on Santa’s lap visit a playground jump in a ball pit wear party hats visit the science museum, aquarium, or zoo join in group sports color pictures play hangman make fortune tellers play dress-up fly a kite buy toys and stuffed animals tell knock-knock jokes buy vending machine toys catch lightning bugs finger paint jump through a sprinkler buy something from an ice cream truck play board games keep a pet rock make s’mores pop bubble wrap visit a petting zoo build a sandcastle go on a scavenger hunt splash in puddles build a fort blow bubbles tie-dye mud wrestle build something out of Legos have sleepovers make holiday crafts put together a puzzle make a Playdough ice cream cone create a city or rocket ship out of old boxes play the cloud game believe in magic wear Ring Pops love and play with animals use your imagination take bubble baths play Frisbee, mini golf, or go bowling dance in public sing loudly pretend you’re a Disney or cartoon character play egg shakers, maracas, or the triangle
What else can you do to play?