With many families forced to shelter in place, celebrities are coming up with creative ways to occupy their kids.
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread around the country, more and more families are being forced or encouraged to shelter in place or isolate. And those with young kids are having to find creative ways to occupy their time that may have normally have been spent at school, daycare or participating in other activities. There are many celebrities who are in similar situations, from Chrissy Teigen to Jimmy Fallon, who are coming up with their own methods of filling the time. Whether it’s putting on a wedding ceremony for stuffed animals or sharing the late-night spotlight with their little ones, here are some of the funniest and cutest things celebs have done to keep their kids busy.
Variations on Homeschooling, Particularly P.E.
Like many parents around the country, Busy Philipps, Eric Decker and Jerry O’Connell are all doing their best to keep their kids' education going while schools are closed. Of course, everyone has a different style or approach! Philipps and O’Connell channeled their inner P.E. coaches by leading their kids in some socially-distant physical activities, like cricket in the garage and some outdoor fun in the backyard. “This is their P.E. credit for homeschool,” the Carter star O’Connell shared.
Decker also shared several cute photos of his kids, including one after a successful “push-up challenge” and another hilarious one of Forrest going rogue while his older brother completed his homework.
All-Day Pajama Parties
Several parents have kept their kids calm by keeping the pajamas on. Neil Patrick Harris may have kicked off a trend, when he shared a photo of his kids, Harper and Gideon, in matching pajamas in front of the fire. “Staying in. Far preferred to going out,” he wrote. Soon after, James Van Der Beek took it to the next level. He took to Instagram to share a photo of him and his five kids all decked out in their Christmas pajamas after revealing that they’ve reached that “phase of the quarantine.”
Meanwhile, Kourtney Kardashian recently took to Instagram to reveal that yes, they were all “still in our pajamas from the night before and haven’t brushed our hair yet, but we’ve been busy with the important stuff like meditating, reading books, watching movies, baking, dancing around the kitchen, playing dress up, most importantly really slowing down and spending time together.” So they definitely earned a pajama day!
Family Jam Sessions
Sometimes music is all it takes to temporarily distract everyone from what’s happening around the world and bond a family together. “Around here, we are singing and sending good energy to all,” Gisele Bündchen shared on Instagram before asking her followers, “What about you guys at home? What are you all doing?”
Eva Mendes posted a video of her family listening to “some old Cuban music,” writing that she was “trying to keep things light at home with my two little ones…. And yes that’s my 3 year old on the piano. I think she thinks the music is coming from her. And I’m not about to correct her.” Not to be outdone, Pink shared a delightful video of her and daughter Willow playing the piano as they worked on “our next song,” teasing that it “is almost ready!”
Parents Get Their Kids to Treat Them Like Royalty
A few parents have taken advantage of the isolation to get some special treatment from their kids, like Brooklyn Decker, who convinced her son, Hank, to pamper her. “Quarantine Day 3 is going well: I paid my kid a buck for a foot massage,” she shared on Instagram. Meanwhile, Jennifer Lopez shared a video of her son, Max, serving drinks to her fiancé, Alex Rodriquez. “We can’t go out to any restaurants or anything but the service and entertainment here is pretty good,” she joked.
Late-Night Hosts Put Their Kids to Work
Not all parents host a late-night talk show, but those who do took advantage of the extra hands around the house to help put on new episodes of their shows as they returned to TV after a brief hiatus. During recent episodes, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon's kids created artwork that their fathers proudly showed off on-air. Fallon’s daughter, Winnie, even drew a new Tonight Show title card for her dad.
Elsewhere, Samantha Bee has turned Full Frontal into a family affair, with husband Jason Jones behind the camera while her kids help out with lighting and props as she tapes from their backyard. “It was really, truly, a family affair -- that ultimately bored the children immensely,” Bee tells Variety about the experience of filming at home. “They are not impressed by what I do, and they are extra not impressed when I do it in the forest.”
Movie Marathons
While everyone has plenty of ways to burn off the energy, sometimes a good movie is what everyone needs to slow things down and let people veg out. Van Der Beek revealed that his new favorite movie was Disney’s Onward and Lin-Manuel Miranda shared an adorable video of his son dancing along with to some Fred Astaire. Stephen "tWitch" Boss, meanwhile, has been watching the Harry Potter movies with his wife, Allison Holker, and their three kids.
Taking Things to TikTok
Some families have come together to go viral in a different kind of way: taking things to TikTok, where there are endless dance challenges. Lopez and Rodriguez and their combined kids took to the social media platform to share a video of them lined up, busting out their best moves to “Something New” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Ty Dolla Sign. Jessica Alba and her daughter, Haven, took things further by recreating a funny exchange. “Do you have Instagram? No. Snapchat? Still no. Then what do you have? A life,” the mother-daughter duo say.
And When All Else Fails, Anything Goes!
Of course, just when it seems like there’s nothing else to fill the time, the creative instincts kick in. Lauren Conrad and Christina Aguileria have taken to fort-building with their kids. And then the ultimate stay-at-home family, Lopez, Rodriguez and their kids put on an epic, fun-filled backyard baseball game.
And then there is Chrissy Teigen, who recently officiated a wedding for daughter Luna’s stuffed animals while husband John Legend performed. Here is a closer look at those nuptials:
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