10 Fun Things to Do at Home with Your Family: Get Introduced to 3D Printing

Living weeks in a row inside the four walls of home bemuses many of us. The world is doing its best to stop the coronavirus’ spread through the quarantine and distancing. The self-isolation becomes a struggle to those of us who are seeking out every day social interactions and get bored without making the social rounds. Luckily, you can find everyday joys and ways of chilling in a new hobby and discover 10 fun things to do at home with your family.

For example, get introduced to 3D printing, and you will have plenty of ideas for cheer at home and tons of activities to entertain your family and friends.

3D printing is a perfect hobby for both introverts and extroverts. It provides everyday joys, inspires to explore new things and open up new horizons, challenges to upgrade your skills and makes an exciting activity for the whole family.

We have compiled ten fun things to do at home with your family related to this DIY technological miracle.

Fun Things to Do at Home

If you have more free time on quarantine, you can use it well. Adapting to new circumstances now, you can change your future life for better, learn a new craft, perfect your skills and even successfully change your career.

Besides, you can fill all your free time with a new exciting hobby, divert your mind to a positive direction and spread your contagious creativity to other family members.

Here are 10 fun things to do at home you might fall in love with.

1. Learn a New Craft at Home

There are so many various DIY crafts for the home that each of us can find something impressive to learn. It is fun to discuss different opportunities with your family, think of the things that interest you the most and select a new hobby.

Good hobbies not only entertain us and improve our career. They also help us to relieve stress, make new social connections (even while staying at home), build self-confidence, change to a more interesting person and unite a family.

Here are seven creative hobbies and crafts to take up in 2020:

• Pottery
• Painting
• Photography
• Building electronics
• 3D modelling
• Blogging
• Starting a collection

Or you can combine these seven hobbies in one exciting home-based family activity called 3D printing.

2. Discover 3D Printing for Beginners

Before learning a new hobby and plunging headlong into the exciting 3D printing adventures, it is best to get inspired by the works of other masters.

Gambody Facebook group is the best place to catch inspiration and enjoy the beauty of real masterpieces. This community is created by Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace. Its atmosphere is amiable, positive and friendly.

Scroll through many impressive 3D printed figurines and models shared by Gambody enthusiasts, please your eye with stunning details and bright colours, and start learning what 3D printing is about.

Read a helpful article about the most popular 3D printing methods and main types of 3D printers to use in 2020.

3. Unbox a 3D Printer

After reading about different methods of 3D printing, you might be tempted to buy a 3D printer for home-usage. It is a great idea for multiple reasons.

Firstly, many affordable 3D printers in the market cost under $300:

Secondly, there is no need to visit a local shop because you can order just anything from online shops these days choosing a door to door delivery. Thirdly, owning a 3D printer gives you numerous possibilities for creations, making useful household things, entertaining and uniting your family.

We have compiled a list of 15 affordable 3D printers a beginner can use. And here is a detailed 3D printer guide for anyone who wishes to get introduced to 3D printing and enjoy this thrilling adventure throughout life.

You can make the unboxing of a 3D printer a family fun activity. Assemble the printer together and show your kids how impressive engineering can be.

4. Play Family Time Games at Home

Whether our lives get upside-down because of the pandemic situation and #StayAtHome movement in the world or over personal health-related or other issues, it is best to find fun activities to do at home and keep your family busy and entertained.

3D printing offers us many awesome things to enjoy while staying inside the four walls of a home. Modern technologies can interest all members of your family and provide each member something enjoyable to do.

Here are some ideas of how 3D printing can unite your family and become a new tradition for your evening and weekend activities:

• Unbox and test your new 3D printer (let your kids help you to read the instructions, watch the reviews on YouTube and make your first 3D printing model).
• Let your family members write down the names of their favourite movie, game and comic characters on slips of paper and put these slips in a jar. Each family member, in turn, can pick one name and choose your next 3D printing figurine or model.
• Participate in Gambody’s Happy Monday games to enjoy 55% off discount on one random 3D printing model each week (follow Gambody on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to see the announcements on time).
• Distribute responsibilities among your family members. Decide who downloads STL files of chosen 3D printing models, who adjusts the settings and prepares the model for printing, who sands the figurine, who paints which parts of the model, who assembles the project, etc.
• Allow your kids and relatives to be a part of your 3D printing project if they also wish to enjoy this exciting process.

There are other fun things to do at home that let you enjoy a 3D printer.

5. Enjoy Movie Marathon or Game Night

During quarantine, there should be plenty of time to watch all the missed movies from start to finish and play your favourite video games. It is time to find out why everyone loves Baby Yoda so much, in case you haven’t started watching The Mandalorian TV series or missed the latest Star Wars movie release.

You can relax and watch the good old movies or your favourite fantasy films, dive into your favourite universes, watch a new show or something your friend has recommended you.

And with a 3D printer at home, you can recreate all the great characters (heroes and villains) from the movies, TV series and video games you love the most. Isn’t it fun to take your favourite character out of the screen and into the real world?

6. Play Board Games

Explore your hall closet. Maybe you have some board games there. It is time to play the epic game of Monopoly with your family. Or you can test the fantastic Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, take a journey to the Middle-east with The Lord of The Rings, discover Warhammer Underworlds or try some other sorcery and sword adventures.

Who doesn’t love fantasy after all? The worlds where orcs, elves, wizards and magic spells are a common thing inspire us for new creations and impressive pastime.

Such board games can occupy the whole family for hours, challenge you and compel addiction to the much-needed escapism.

And, of course, modern tabletop games can inspire you to start your collection of 3D printed figurines and miniatures that can be a part of the game.

7. Take Online Courses

Quarantine and home self-isolation can leave you with much free time you have no idea where to spend. Maybe it is time to take online courses and learn how to paint 3D printed figurines.

Keeping your brain stimulated is a great idea. You can feed your mind with tips and tricks on setting up your 3D printer to make a smoother and more perfect print that requires no sanding or other extra work besides painting.

You can learn more about 3D printing without supports and learn how to position models on a printer bed to illuminate supports while printing.

Read interviews with Gambody enthusiasts who were kind to share their painting technique, ideas on turning any model or figurine into a masterpiece, secrets on achieving the right colour shade and character’s life-like resemblance.

Learn 3D modelling to create your 3D printing models. Get into details on adding LEDs and string lights into 3D printed figurines.

Choose something positive you have been meaning to learn about but have lacked time for. If not doing it now, then when?

8. Get Organized

When you have hours to kill but do not know where to start, take this time to get organized. While cleaning is not always fun, sometimes it is something you must do.

Firstly, it is useful to store your filament correctly to prevent it from going bad or getting wet:

Secondly, it is easier to work at home when your table is clean, and your 3D printer is not surrounded by spools of filament, your working papers, documents and other materials. Thirdly, you can finally add more shelves to display the 3D printed models if you felt as if lacking space to showcase them all.

Besides, it is easier to create in a clean atmosphere where nothing disturbs your eye and distracts your attention.

Your workshop reflects your mood, so stay positive and put your thoughts as well as a workplace in order.

9. Connect with Friends Virtually

Never let boredom get the better of you. Even in self-isolation, no one cancelled online communication, video calls, and chatting with your friends.

To support those creators and enthusiasts who were forced to stay at home, Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace released a set with Fun Mask Models for 3D printing. You can start your collection of fun projects with making these masks.

You can transfer into Sub-Zero, Wasp, Immortan Joe or Doom Marine and video chat like you are in high school again. Put on the face mask and enjoy group video chats with your buddies. You can even hold a virtual happy hour or night out with each friend dressing up as their favourite character from the movie, video game or comics.

Besides, the virtual world such as Gambody Facebook group is a friendly community where you can pass the time, find new friends, ask for a 3D printing advice and share your 3D printing experience as well as photos of your 3D printed models.

10. Start a YouTube Channel

Is your collection of 3D prints growing? Do you 3D print a lot? Well, the time has come for you to become a YouTube guru. Create a YouTube channel and start making videos of how you 3D print, assemble and paint figurines and models.

You can now inspire other newbies and hobbyists by sharing your knowledge, showcasing your masterpieces and giving out your secrets of staying positive and enjoying your life while 3D printing. Being creative and getting a new hobby can be fun for everyone.

As you can see, there are so many fun things to do at home and fantastic ways to re-connect with your family through 3D printing. Enjoy fun family time, create new 3D prints and spend a great time together. Stay safe and sane, everyone!