100 Ways to Have More Fun as an Adult

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you need more fun in your life.

For most kids, having fun seems to come naturally. But as we get older and take on more responsibilities, it’s easy to forget to prioritize having fun.

But as it turns out, having fun is actually extremely important to our health. Having fun can reduce stress, improve our mood, boost mental health, decrease our risk of burnout, foster connections with others, and more!

In other words, it’s worth it to make time for fun.

For me, the most fun activities usually involve one or more of these characteristics:

• Moving my body (or at least my hands)
• Nostalgia
• Creativity
• Connecting with others

I should note that things like scrolling on my phone or watching TV, while they can feel relaxing, never give me the same burst of energy and happiness that having True Fun does.

(To learn more about True Fun and how to have more of it, I highly recommend Catherine Price’s book The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again.) 

So, if you want to add more fun to your life, here are 100 ideas of things to do to have FUN.

100 Ways to Have Fun As An Adult:

1. Play on a playground. Join your kids or just go when there’s not a lot of kids around.
2. Read comics. Calvin and Hobbes, anyone?
3. Color in adult coloring books, like this dreamy one.
4. Play a computer game. I played Nancy Drew computer games as a kid, and I still enjoy playing them. If you think it sounds too easy, there are some puzzles that are actually quite tricky!
5. Have a solo dance party. Just play some music and go nuts. You could also look up a Fitness Marshall dance on YouTube  – I guarantee you’ll have fun following along with them.
6. Learn a magic trick. There are amazing magic tricks you can do just with a pack of cards.
7. Blow bubbles.
8. Paint something silly, like a unicorn jumping over the moon. Or a one-eyed monster eating pizza. Let your imagination run wild (or ask ChatGPT to give you a silly prompt), and you’ll feel like you’re in elementary school art class again.
9. Sing karaoke. Pull up some videos on YouTube and sing to your heart’s content. Don’t worry about people hearing you.
10. Play with a pet. Set up an obstacle course for them, or hide some toys or treats around the room for them.
11. Buy a pack of stickers at the store and decorate a notebook, waterbottle, or card for someone.
12. Jump on a trampoline. You could go to a trampoline park, or invest in a small one for your home. Bonus points: it’s an amazing workout!
13. Play with a virtual reality set. There are so many incredible games on these things! Beat Sabers is my favorite!
14. Learn Amigurumi, the art of crocheting tiny cute things (like these adorable crocheted succulents)
15. Run through the sprinkler on a hot day. Seriously, could life get any more idyllic than that?
16. Fly a kite. So dreamy.
17. Build with Legos. There are so many cool Lego sets nowadays, no one could possibly claim that Legos are just for kids. I love this Harry Potter/Hogwarts Express set.
18. Learn a skill on Masterclass or Skillshare.
19. Make a blanket fort.
20. Play with boomwhackers.
21. Put together a gift basket for a friend. Spend some time thinking about things they would really enjoy.
22. Learn how to do pour painting.
23. Learn how to make a dish from a country you’ve never been to.
24. Go to the zoo, or watch cute animal videos online.
25. Film a silly lip-sync video.
26. Decoupage.
27. Learn your favorite song on the ukulele.
28. Draw in a reverse coloring book.
29. Bake a treat and film yourself like it’s a cooking show.
30. Three words: Bumper bubble balls.
31. Buy a cheap painting at a thrift store, and paint over it or alter it in some way (I’m talking adding aliens to the background, painting yourself as the main subject, etc.).
32. Go to an adult dance class.
33. Make a treat for someone else and personalize it to them in some way (paint their face on a cake, make cookies shaped like their favorite things, etc.).
34. Write a parody song.
35. Invite your neighbors over for a board game night.
36. Play with a fossil dig kit.
37. Learn calligraphy with a special set.
38. Do a craft you loved as a kid, like these fuse beads.
39. Go on a drive with the windows rolled down and sing along to the radio.
40. Kick a soccer ball around.
41. Learn how to tap dance by watching a tutorial on YouTube.
42. Ask ChatGPT to give you a silly prompt, then write a poem about it.
43. Decorate your house for the current season or the next holiday coming up.
44. Paint a mural on a wall in your house.
45. Embroider your socks with little decorations like flowers.
46. Get on Google Earth, find a place you remember from your past, like your old house or high school, and turn on “street view” to feel like you’re walking down those streets again.
47. Decorate an outdoor tree with ornaments, whether it’s Christmas or not. 
48. Draw with sidewalk chalk.
49. Look up the top tourist spots in your town and visit them.
50. Make a vision board.
51. Create your own stickers with a sticker maker.
52. Shoot some basketball hoops.
53. Have a themed movie night with themed snacks and decorations.
54. Learn how to sew a dress for yourself.
55. Go birdwatching.
56. Do a science experiment.
57. Plan a dream vacation – figure out where you would stay, what you would do each day, etc. You could even make a plan to make it happen someday.
58. Write fanfiction for your favorite TV series.
59. Do the egg drop experiment, where you have to use common objects around the house to make a protective holder for an egg so that it can survive being dropped from 6 feet. Make it a competition, if someone else in your house wants to try it too.
60. Make a bouquet of flowers out of pipe cleaners.
61. Go swimming at your local rec center.
62. Design a shirt and use Printify to make it a reality.
63. Go lawn bowling in your backyard or at the park.
64. Play personalized Jenga. Write your own challenges or questions on Jenga blocks, and when a person takes that block out of the tower, they have to do the challenge or answer the question.
65. Collect wildflowers and press them in a book.
66. Play “penny in the flour,” either as a challenge against yourself or with others. Here’s how to play.
67. Go indoor rock climbing.
68. Go to a thrift store and find an outfit that you could wear to cosplay as one of your favorite characters from a movie or TV.
69. Test couches at a furniture store. Sit on each one and give it a score based on how comfortable and stylish it is.
70. Taste test the french fries at all the nearby fast food restaurants and rank which ones you like the best.
71. Write a parody of a movie and film it with some friends or family members.
72. Have a PowerPoint party, where each guest prepares and presents a PowerPoint about something they’re passionate about, no matter how silly.
73. Decorate the covers or the spines of your favorite books with acrylic paint or stamps.
74. Go to an escape room or buy one you can do at home, like this one.
75. Make your own mini-golf course in your house.
76. Paint a pot, whether that’s going to a pottery studio or buying one at a thrift store and painting it yourself.
77. Go on a hike you’ve never been on.
78. Play trivia, with yourself or with others.
79. Go on a bike ride.
80. Learn constellations and go stargazing.
81. Play catch with a velcro Toss and Catch ball set.
82. Get a rock tumbler and turn common rocks into beautifully polished ones.
83. Explore a town near you that you haven’t been to.
84. Make your own comic. You could cast yourself or someone you know as a superhero.
85. Use Sharpies to decorate a pair of plain white Keds.
86. Buy a Stem kit, like this one where you can build your own Bluetooth speaker.
87. Go to an animal shelter and volunteer to walk or play with the dogs.
88. Perform a secret act of kindness.
89. Make art in a collage style.
90. Paint a piece of furniture.
91. Play a giant version of a game you loved as a kid, like giant Sorry.
92. Go rollerskating.
93. Make a city with magnetic building blocks.
94. Go to a farmer’s market or craft market.
95. Set up a scavenger hunt for a child or partner.
96. Write a silly stand-up comedy act and perform it for a small group.
97. Play a friendly, harmless prank on a partner or close friend, like filling their car with balloons or taping pictures of their celebrity crush inside their closet.
98. Try out a kickboxing class.
99. Go to the library and read your favorite picture books from when you were young.
100. Play Bocce Ball.

Conclusion

If ANY of the 100 ideas listed above sounded fun to you, don’t just go on your merry way — make a plan to DO IT.

Whether you need to make space in your schedule, call up a friend, or purchase the supplies, do it today so that you can start having more fun and flourishing again.

Best of luck!