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As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, you may become a wee bit bored with the diversions you’ve been using to pass the time.
Perhaps you’ve binge-watched Tiger King on Netflix more times than you care to admit, you’ve viewed dozens of YouTube videos, you’ve shared every even-slightly interesting Instagram post from your favorite Insta-influencers, and you’ve beaten all of your high scores in every gaming app on your phone.
Time for some new ways to keep you interested, engaged, and maybe even enlightened. These offers of freebies can help you while you’re social distancing and won’t drain your bank account.
Whether you’re an adult, child, or senior citizen, you may find free stuff that is helpful to you while you’re at home, secluding yourself from the pandemic.
Also see => 12 Ways Tech Can Help with Social Distancing
Free Theater
The Shows Must Go On!
No need to spend money on expensive tickets to Broadway or West End shows (even if you could do that right now). Andrew Lloyd Weber has you covered with free musicals each weekend.
Sir Andrew has promised to post a new full-length show that you can watch for free on YouTube every Friday at 6 pm GMT. Note that the videos are only available for 48 hours from posting so be sure to watch them when you can.
You can subscribe to his YouTube channel The Shows Must Go On! and set a reminder to get notifications when a new video is posted.
This past weekend Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat aired, while next weekend features Jesus Christ Superstar.
Filmed on Stage
Filmed on Stage is a website featuring free videos of plays, musicals, and operas you can watch while you’re hunkering down. Some videos are available temporarily while others don’t seem to have an expiration date.
The site is updated daily with additional videos to watch. Some of the videos are available worldwide while others have country limitations.
Free Videos
Amazon Video
Amazon is offering free videos for children and families. Watch classics such as Mister Rodger’s Neighborhood, Scooby Do, Arthur, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and many more. No need to register or subscribe.
Find Amazon’s free videos at Amazon free Prime Video.
Amazon is also partnering with South by Southwest to make videos available for free to everyone in the U.S. for 10 days. Announced by tweet, Amazon has not released details yet.
Okay, exciting news y’all! We’re partnering with @SXSW on a 10-day streaming event to bring you a collection of movies from this year’s line-up. It’ll be free to everyone in the U.S. (yeah, we said everyone) because these films deserve an audience. Stay tuned for more details!
— PrimeVideo (@PrimeVideo) April 2, 2020
HBO
HBO announced last week that some of its shows will be free for about a month during this pandemic. No need to subscribe to HBO in order to watch shows such as The Sopranos, McMillions, The Wire, Veep, Succession, Barry, and more. Selected documentaries and movies are available for free as well.
You can watch these shows using HBO GO or HBO NOW. This offer began on April 3 so start your binge-watching now!
Don’t miss => Google Launches New Coronavirus/COVID-19 Resources
Free Ebooks and Audiobooks
Audible Stories
Audible is making many of its audiobooks free for download with its new Audible Stories program. There is no need to sign up for a subscription to Audible to listen to Stories and no need to cancel when you’re done listening.
Audible Stories are free to download and listen to, and are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.
Genres in Audible Stories include:
- Literary Classics
- Littlest Listeners
- Elementary
- Tweens
- Teens
- Folk and Fairy Tales for All
Choose from titles such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Aladdin, The Call of the Wild, The Jungle Book, Anne of Green Gables, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit. and many more.
If you’ve never tried listening to an audiobook before, now would be an ideal time to do so!
Harry Potter at Home
Harry Potter fans can not only get the first audiobook in the series for free, they can also enjoy online activities at the new Harry Potter at Home site. Have fun watching magic videos, playing wizard puzzles, testing yourself with fun quizzes, and reading articles that bring Hogwarts home to you.
Designed with both readers and teachers in mind, this new website includes content from Bloomsbury and Scholastic to help you enhance your enjoyment of the series.
Apple Books — Free eBooks and Audiobooks
Apple is offering free ebooks and audiobooks to help you pass the time while you’re social distancing. Located in the Apple Books app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers are free books for children and adults.
Choose from genres such as:
- Classics
- Sesame Street Classics
- First in a Series
- Fiction & Literature
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Romance
- Mysteries & Thrillers
- Great Free Listens
- Audiobooks
Download free titles including Judy Moody, The Monster at the End of This Book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, The Art of War, Dracula, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and more.
Even if you’re not sure whether you’ll read them during the pandemic, you can download the ones you’re interested in to add them to your library.
To get the free books, go to the Bookstore section of the Books app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer and find the Free section. Tap GET for any ebook or audiobook you’d like to download and add to your library.
Check out => Apple Launches COVID-19 Screening App and Website Based on CDC Guidance
Free Printable Coloring Pages
Coloring is no longer just for children. Now adults can use coloring to find peace and relaxation, so important during these stressful times.
These coloring pages are free for you to print and color, distracting you from the world around you and encouraging you to create art for keeping or sharing!
Adult and Children Coloring Pages
Crayola has a treasure trove of free coloring pages for adults and children. Check out coloring pages for:
- Adults
- Disney
- Seasons
- Easter
- Characters
and more.
Crayola Coloring Pages also has an educational section with lesson plans to help parents and teachers with at-home learning.
Adult Coloring Pages
Check out The New York Academy of Medicine #ColorOurCollections website featuring free printable coloring pages. These pages come from the archives of universities, museums, and libraries around the world.
Organizations currently participating in offering free coloring pages include Swarthmore College, Library of Virginia, Maryland Jewish Museum, Massachusetts General Hospital, Washington State, Fairfield University, University of Dallas, Fairfield University, University of South Florida, and more.
DoorDash
DoorDash is partnering with grocery stores to waive the delivery fee for shoppers over 60 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic. Running from March 27-May 7, DoorDash is offering free delivery for senior citizens at participating grocery stores.
Restrictions apply and you must sign up in order to take advantage of this offer. Find out more at the DoorDash blog post: Making Groceries Accessible to Those Who Need Them Most.
Your Thoughts
Have you taken advantage of any of these freebies while you’re socially distancing? Which of these is the most interesting to you? Do you know of any other free offers during the pandemic?
Share your thoughts (and other free stuff) in the Comments section below!
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*Social distancing image courtesy of David Švihovec via Unsplash and Creative Commons
Thank you for sharing these free resources! Now more than ever people are in need of free and accessible entertainment. Anyone with children would greatly benefit from this list! Keeping kids entertained all day isn’t an easy feat, and being able to work in some educational materials is an added benefit. And, it’s also been nice to see educational materials and courses being made free during this time. Good read!
Hi Aaron, Yes, all of us can use free stuff anytime, but especially while social distancing and especially if we have children at home. Having access to free educational and entertainment content can help us endure the endless days of being stuck at home while trying to keep safe from COVID-19.
Great stuff. I already know that Amazon Prime provides free videos for kids. But this is an amazing list. These videos and e-books are really useful to engage kids during this COVID season.
Thanks for the share,
Hi Manoj, Yes, having free stuff is always good, but especially when you are staying at home trying to keep safe during the pandemic. I hope you and your children enjoy these freebies!