Hobbies And Interests
Dress Up or Makeover
Younger inmates can use their own wardrobes or their parents' to play dress up. Towels and tablecloths make great superhero capes while others may enjoy the jewelery, high heels and hats in parents' cupboards. Make shields from garbage lids and swords out of broom handles for pretend combat. After dressing up, play games with your new characters. You can also practice new hairstyles or makeup techniques to give yourself a new look. Get your friend to recommend new wardrobe combinations you have not considered before. Try your hand at stage makeup. Stick cornflakes to your skin with white glue to simulate scabs or burns. Blobs of petroleum jelly make great blisters while ketchup can be used as blood.
Music
Listen to music. Get your friend to share her music so that you can broaden your musical outlook. You can also listen to parents' music selection; you may be surprised by what you hear. Watch music videos or recorded concerts by your favorite artists on the Internet. If you are musical, have a jam session with your friend. Try to learn new tunes together or help each other with techniques that will make you better musicians. Swap sheet music or teach your friend songs you wrote yourself. If you friend does not know how to play an instrument, show her some basic chords so that she can play along. If you don't have musical instruments, make your own. Pots and pans make great drum sets. Put a few grains of rice in a plastic container, close the lid and shake it to make maracas. Punch holes though the middle of bottle tops and thread some yarn though the holes. Tie the ends of the yarn together to make a rudimentary tambourine.
Arts and Crafts
Drawing and painting are always a good idea. If you have the supplies, practice origami or make paper airplanes or greeting cards. More elaborate crafts include clay sculpting or making papier-mache puppets. Make sock puppets by drawing faces onto socks with markers. Cardboard boxes can be used for a number of crafts. Cut a square out of one side, kneel down and put the box over your head. Now you have a stage for your puppets. If you sit in the box, you can turn it into a car, rocket, spaceship or airplane. Decorate or paint it accordingly.
Games
Play tag or hide and seek around the house, taking care not to bump into anything breakable. You can play card games, video games or computer games. Play charades or board games if the power is out. Ball games aren't usually a good idea, but you can play bowling by setting up empty soda cans and knocking them down with a ball. Watch a movie and then act out your favorite scenes. Cover furniture with blankets to make tent forts. These are excellent places to play games or pretend you are camping. You can also read books or comics, tell scary stories or play with your toys while in your fort. Have a picnic with your friend in the privacy of your fort.
Cooking
Try out new recipes. If parents are home, get them to teach you how to cook or bake. Make cookies, candy or cakes which you can decorate. If you have fondant, make flowers or small cake toppers. Try cooking dinner for your parents or making your very own pizza. New recipes are available on the Internet. You can also try new drink combinations. Try to invent new coffee or soft drinks that you can surprise your friends with. Some varieties of play dough can be molded into shapes and then baked in the oven for more permanent displays.