5 Fun Activities to Keep Busy in Lockdown

While a lot of us are working and schooling from home, there is significance in keeping our weekends separate – especially for our mental health. That said, it can be difficult to know how to go about this.

Our Bloom collection is here to help us remember the spirit of weekends, and to discover ways to bloom from the comfort of your home. Through our collection, we hope to encourage people to explore all that we can do at home, and to shift our focus off all that we can’t. 
 
Here are five fun ways to get creative without leaving your house.

Treat yourself to a self-care Saturday

The outfit we pick out from our wardrobe every morning has meaning – and subconsciously, an effect on our mood. 
 
Indulge in a bit of retail therapy with our classic kimono, loungewear or caftan cuts in new, fresh colourways. Versatile, lightweight and made of 100% natural fibres, our collection of women’s apparel feature the perfect throw-on pieces that you can take to the grocery store, to lounge indoors, Zoom meetings and more. 
 
To elevate your self-care practice, our homeware collection also includes hand-poured soy candles, and artisan-made body lotion from Mangosteen Malaysia. 

Find soil solace

Use seed, soil and sunlight to improve your mood and mental health with our Plant Starter Sets – created in collaboration with fellow social enterprise and edible plant people, Eats, Shoots & Roots.
 
If you’re looking to give gardening a go at home, these beginner sets are a great place to start as they include a hand-crafted batik planter, vintage mister, pot, seeds and soil. You can choose to begin your plant journey with Thai Basil or Red Amaranth, and each set comes with a guide on how to successfully grow each seed from scratch. 
 
These beginner sets make for a great gift for a friend you miss, a co-worker, or the kids in your life. 
 
Decor to de-stress

As we spend more time indoors, decor is a simple way to add colour to your living spaces and refresh your home. 
 
Our collection of homeware is made for the one thing we still look forward to on the daily – our food. If the makan session has resulted in a few unintended spills, our 100% cotton homewares are machine-washable and thankfully, reversible too. 
 
Our artisan-made homeware is the perfect gift to dress up the dishes of the amateur foodies in your life that have become professional chefs in lockdown.
 
Bake the boredom away 

One sure way to make time fly is to get in the kitchen, get cooking, then find comfort in the carbs. 
 
We have made it easy to bake the day away with our matching adult and kids baking sets. Each set includes a batik apron, assorted cookie cutters, a whisk, and the team’s favourite sugar cookie and icing recipe. 
 
You can even take these aprons beyond the kitchen and into your garden as the apron features pockets to keep your gardening tools close and garden soil far, far away from your clothes. 
 
Paint to relax

Use art to relax and express yourself by mixing colours, experimenting and sharing this time with your loved ones.
 
Batik Boutique’s ready-made DIY Batik Painting Kits are a gentle way to explore the world of art. Each kit comes complete with a palette, brush, frame and batik dyes – so all you need is a cup of water and a kitchen towel. 
 
These kits are a fun activity for both adults and kids, and are also a great gift for the person in your life that needs a bit of support during this time. 

When we create something – whether it's art, food or plants – we are able to take a break from our concerns or worries. And even if these creative activities don’t look quite like they used to, they’re still doable from within your home and will do wonders for your state of mind.
 
Every purchase you make from Batik Boutique directly impacts the artisan who hand-crafted the product. So beyond the feel-good activities, you can also feel good knowing that you have played a part in supporting local artisans during this trying time. 
 
Visit our online store to browse our collection of products hand-crafted by artisans in Malaysia.