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The sweltering outdoors doesn’t have homemade gummy sushi and a paint-by-numbers of your dog like your AC castle does.

I'm a resident writer on the Buzzfeed Shopping team, where my love for shopping (and doomscrolling on TikTok) helps me curate lists of the most trending lifestyle, home, beauty, and fashion products.

Check out these other fun versions of sticker-by-number if flowers aren't your thing. 

Promising reviews:  "This was my first sticker by number book. It was so fun and addictive to finish each one. I showed family and friends and they all ordered one. The photos of the flowers were so beautiful and following each piece was very easy. Highly recommend for a fun activity on a road trip or for just something extra to do while watching TV." —Nichole

"I’m a young adult who spends a lot of time in the hospital due to bad health issues. Most of the time, it’s nerve-wracking and very boring. I ordered this little book to take with me for next time, and I was very happy with it! It kept me busy and calmed my nerves. It was easy to do and therapeutic. I like the variety of pictures!" —Cherry  

Promising review: "When my granddaughter comes, I always buy her a craft for how to sit and do. She absolutely loves this. Kept her busy for hours and very inexpensive." —Arlene  

Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in 10 designs).

The company provides the paint and a code to use their tech to turn any pet photo into a "paint by number" template. So you will need a working printer in order to get the image on the included 8x10 printable canvas! 

Promising review: "This was so much fun! I tried three different photos in the tool they give you. It shows you a preview of each painting, which is really helpful when deciding which image to go with. Not every picture came out as good, so definitely try a few! Easy to use, and fun to paint — excited to frame it! Actually have some paint left over and will try to do another one!" —Jonathon Kebert

Promising review: I just got my mini pool table in the mail yesterday, and I already played a few matches with my family! This is more fun than I expected; it is definitely worth the $80. It is super quick and easy to set up, you don't even need the manual. It is very easy to store and good quality. The attention to detail was something that I appreciated, and the little pool balls look so cute! They have a nice weight to them." —Yelinett camejo 

Get it from Amazon for $74.99 (available in two colors). 

Promising review: "What a great, old fashioned puzzle for adults and kids alike! This is really good quality. It is small ( maybe 2.5 inches), so it's easy to throw in a purse or bag for good entertainment." —Jayne R.

Promising reviews: "This is exactly what I was looking for! It lays flat to easily complete the word search and not have to fight with the book. There are different types of puzzles, and some have extra secret searches! It’s great for the slow days at work!! I will definitely be buying more of these word searches!" —Roy Y Hahn 

"I really appreciate having puzzle books around when I’m feeling anxious. It’s a quick activity I can turn to when needed or even on a cozy night when watching a movie. The price for these was on point. It kept me busy for a few months before I made it through the book. I also appreciated that it was spiral so I could fully open each page! Would buy again in another variety from this brand!" —Cannon Fam

This is for ages 8+ and can be played with 3+ players. 

Promising review: "I cannot stress it enough, get this game and keep it in your car or bag so it is with you always. I bring it with to restaurants to occupy the kids while we wait, same for weekend getaways, or waiting rooms." —smssmssms

Promising review: "Absolutely love this journal! So so soooo many activities to keep you busy, and the supplies you need are just everyday household items! very fun and engaging, and helps get rid of perfectionism. Also keeps your mind off anxiety and stress. Very helpful and I really love it! The activities vary from sew this page, infuse this page, drop a journal from a high place, freeze this page, press flowers, poke holes in this page, and so much more! There are even activities and a cut-out postcard on the cover jacket. So fun and engaging! Hours worth of activities to do. Worth the money!" —Squishmallows101 

Promising review: "I honestly thought this was going to be way more complicated than it is. Quality was good and the instructions were perfect. I was able to make my first picture in a few evenings. Very relaxing new hobby :)"—Nikkia 

Get a three-pack from Amazon for $13.69.

The Woobles is a small business that specializes in crochet kits. 

Promising review: "This kit is amazing! It's fun and the instructions are broken down into bite-size pieces that make it easy to learn each step. You can rewatch the step over and over without losing your place. There is enough yarn, and they have cute designs to choose from. Plus, they have everything you need inside the kit, and they even get you started on the hardest part… a magic ring!" —Amazon Customer 

Get it from Amazon for $29.95+ (available in seven designs). 

Promising review: "This kit was the perfect Christmas gift for our 6-year-old! It was packaged well and clearly labeled, the ingredients were fresh, and included very cute and easy-to-follow directions! It was a great activity for all of us to enjoy together! We did half the regular salt pretzels and half with cinnamon and sugar; both were delicious!" —Austin

Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (also available in four other cooking kits like bagels and cinnamon buns).

Coco Wyo has sooo many other cozy stress relief coloring books with different themes to check out! 

Promising review: "I absolutely love this book! The illustrations are beautifully detailed, and the paper quality is outstanding. It's a great way to unwind and get creative. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys coloring!" —Sorianny

Pair it with a set of pens in five thicknesses, which are perfect for outlining.

Promising review: "I love this book. I pre-ordered after seeing it on TikTok and couldn't wait to get it! I'm working on my second coloring page and love it! THIS is a great book for older adults and anyone who doesn't think they are an artist! Just need a fine black marker and you'll be busy for hours!! I'm going to get more as gifts. This also makes a great alternative for children, teens, and really anyone as an alternative to screen time! Get one, you won't be disappointed!" —Little wave 

Here's a TikTok that shows how to play. In short, you pick a 2D or 3D puzzle from the guide and set it up to match the image. Start the timer and work to solve the puzzle with the remaining pieces. When done, stop the clock and record your time. Friends can challenge each other, or you can play solo to try and beat your own best score. It requires AAA batteries, so be sure to grab some!

BuzzFeed contributor John Mihaly has this to say about this game: "We love the classic version in our home, and it's been in heavy rotation since we got our hands on it. The object of the game is to finish a puzzle using all 12 Kanoodle pieces. The 2D version lies flat, while the 3D version (you can play both with this set) requires you to build a pyramid of pieces. Simple, fun, and challenging (harder puzzles reveal fewer pieces to start)."

Promising review: "Very easy to use and fun for all ages. Great gift idea and is small and compact, so you can take it anywhere with you!" —Jocelyn

Promising review: "I’ve bought these years ago and decided to buy them again for me and my son. He really enjoyed making the candy/gummies. He was proud of his candy sushi once they were assembled, and of course, he loved eating them. He said they were very yummy. The flavor for all the different little things wasn’t bad but my favorite was the 'seaweed,' it tastes just like grape Hi-Chew (my favorite flavor). I recommend buying these at least once for the kids. It’s fun and a tasty treat. We will look into the other kinds in the near future." —Blythe

Get it from Amazon for $8.15 (also available in a three-pack).

You can do the book in any order, but if you start from the beginning, you'll get the full story of Detective Logico. There are 100 puzzles total, ranging from Elementary level to impossible. Starting easy, you will find the suspect, location, and weapon. The next level, you will have to go through a puzzle of interrogation, as the suspects always tell the truth, but the murderer lies. You will then need to discover the motive. And when you've hit the impossible level, you will have to discover all four elements while dealing with a lying witness statement. And there's a logic grid puzzle helping you solve each case!

Check out a TikTok of Murdle in action. 

The best part?? Once you finish "Murdling," you can use your sleuthing skills on Volume 2, Volume 3, and a whole BUNCH of other themed Murdle books! 

Promising review: "The puzzles are a lot of fun, but the characters, story lines, and other details take the Murdle experience to another level. I have no idea how the author came up with all of this creativity! You can Murdle solo or with friends. I look forward to future volumes, but this one will keep me busy for a while!" —Liz Gately

Promising review: "A great tool for keeping your mind busy. The instruction book is a little difficult to follow, but with the use of YouTube and the book makes for a great experience." —Camille L. Branch 

Kunitsa Co. is a small business that specializes in reading, exercise, and food journals. 

Promising review: "This book journal had plenty of room for all the book reviews and so much more. It has pages for daily reading tracking, pages for reading goals, pages for DNF books, favorite books, loaned-out books, and tons of review pages. All you have to do is fill it out. It's perfect!!!!" —Cody McNeal

Get it from Amazon for $22.95 (available in six colors). 

Promising review: "These, as well as the other two books in the set, are easily the most beautiful stickers I’ve ever seen or used, and for significantly less than you’d be spending on stickers this pretty on Etsy, or anywhere else. —Layla

Get it from Amazon for $15.99 (also available in literary and dreamlike themes).

Promising review: "Such a fun gift, but I decided to keep it for myself. A good little sit on the couch and watch a show in the background kind of vibe." —Kylee Stonebarger

"Puzzle Mania is everything I hoped it would be, clever, challenging, and unbelievably fun. Joel Fagliano brings the same brilliance from his New York Times puzzles into this book. Each puzzle feels fresh and original, with just the right balance of difficulty and satisfaction. I found myself saying 'just one more,' and suddenly an hour had flown by. It’s now my favorite way to unwind and sharpen my mind. Perfect for puzzle lovers of any level!" —AlexS

Jim & Gloria is a small business that sells arts and crafts kits. 

Promising review: "These were so much fun! The colors are bright and the pens are easy to use. I highly recommend dyeing your animal; it's a lot of fun! And he looked super cute." —Jenny w.

Get a pack of 12 from Amazon for $15.93.

Promising review: "I gave this to my grandson (age 9) for his birthday, and he absolutely loved it. The shells were easy to paint, and he loved the glowing aspect when they were put in his bedroom!" —Amazon Customer

Promising review: "This game is so fun! My husband and I pick one card and if the question is a little more difficult we put it on the fridge and give each other time to answer. Has added a little more genuine conversation into our weeknights raising two girls." —Derrek & Abby

If flowers aren't your thing, the listing has animal, bird, and autumn versions, too!

Need paints? Get a well-reviewed Grabie set of 50 watercolors and 6 brushes for $19.99. 

Promising reviews: "Charming little book that is perfect for this beginner. It was well described and delivered on what it described. Very happy with this purchase." —Amazon Customer

"I gave these as presents to an 8- and 10-year-old, and they loved them. The outline of the picture to be painted is perfect, and the instructions are very easy to understand. The only thing I would add is to try the paint color on a separate sheet of paper before coloring the book." —Renee Gardner

Promising review: "I used these molds to create homemade Nestle Crunch bars. It was easy to load these molds. I placed them on baking sheets and banged them on the counter to remove air bubbles, then loaded into fridge/freezer. The molds are compact enough that they fit easily into my side-by-side fridge. I did not add any release agents to the molds before using, and the chocolate bars popped out very easily." —Keith G. 

Promising review: "When I first flipped through this book I was beaming with joy and excitement since I’ve been a Disney fan for years. They say food brings people together and this cookbook depicts fun and exciting food/drink recipes the whole family can enjoy. I couldn’t get over the photos for each recipe. They all had that magic touch Disney brings to its films. I see this book becoming a collectible and I feel every Disney fan should own a copy of it!" —Alena D. 

Dungeons & Dragons is THE ultimate role-playing game. If you're stuck in the house for a bit, it's the perfect time to start a campaign. This kit comes with an eBook, 1,000 pre-generated characters, a map, and more to help you get started. If you're already familiar with DnD, check out one of the MANY expansion books available.

Promising review: "My son is getting into D&D, and I wanted to get something with some decent starter material. Coming with seven sets of dice, this makes it extremely easy to get games going right away. Not to mention campaigns already ready. If you're looking for a great starter set, this is the one you want!"—Jason Willis

The game covers five categories: Arts & Culture, Sports & Recreation, Science & Technology, Geography & Landmarks, and People & Events. The set comes with a playing board, a deck of cards for every category with questions listed A–E, and a deck of "selection cards" that decide which questions on each card will be answered. You begin by placing a card from each category face up on the board, then choose a selection card to start the trivia. Players take turns answering questions. If you answer correctly, you keep the card and replace it on the board with a category of your choosing. The game can end in several ways, including when a player collects a card from each of the five categories. Psst, for a fun twist, you can use wild cards to roadblock other players from completing their set. 

Promising review: "If you read my other reviews, you see we have been buying up Trivial Pursuits for all generations and when I saw this, I had to try it. My husband (56) loves History and figured it would be fun for us. I was really surprised that our teenaged sons enjoyed this too. There is an element of sabotage that they had a lot of fun with. Will definitely see if there are subsequent kits or versions with new questions. Highly recommend." —J. Roberts 

Promising review: "This hoop is GREAT! It is just so much fun to exercise with this thing. I play music and try to dance too lol. But I have experience, they used to have a weighted hoop in the gym I went to and I did it all the time. Highly recommend. You just need to make sure it's clicked together correctly or it'll come undone! Don't worry if it happens to you, though, it's totally fixable. It happened to me I think twice before I got it down. Anyway, if you're looking for a weighted hoop, look no more!" —Molls

Get it from Amazon for $39.99+ (available in two weights).

The kit also includes two wood carving blocks (one cherry and one basswood), three types of sandpaper, and sharpening supplies.

Promising review: "Great little introduction to the hobby! It will take you longer than you think to complete, so it’s a nice free-time activity. My 8-year-old is very impressed that I 'made it with my bare hands.' I highly recommend this adorable comfort bird kit, and my advice is to take your time, it’s not a race!" —Tammi H. 

Pair it with this set of calligraphy pens that come in three different stroke sizes. 

Paper Peony Press is a Texas-based boutique publishing company that specializes in purpose-driven books. 

Promising review: "I’ve tried several instructional books on hand lettering. This book is the best by far. I won’t say the names of the other books, but suffice it to say they are all at the top of the list when you search for hand lettering. It is the only book that gives practice for the base strokes and also discusses posture and how to hold the pen, and at what angle to the paper. It is also a lovely book to work with; nice artwork/illustrations. I recommend this book to other beginners out there!" —Karen Rorick

BuzzFeed Shopping is service journalism first: Our writers and editors spend all day shopping so you don’t have to, vetting products, fact-checking brand claims, and surfacing what actually helps in real life. We center readers over revenue, recommend products with authenticity (using real experiences, not ad-speak), and reflect our diverse audience, inclusive of a variety of price points, people, and needs. We cut through fake deals, favor useful info over glossy fluff, and recommend both budget and splurge options with context so you can decide what’s right for you — and still have a little fun along the way.

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.