How I created my first Amazon Alexa skill

I don’t know about you, but my family loves Alexa. We use it for weather updates, music, an intercom system, and random entertainment.

As the summer dragged on this year, my children’s boredom started to set in. The “I’m bored” refrain started coming over and over. Every time I heard it, I would offer up a suggestion or two. Unfortunately, it was rare to hit on something that piqued their interest in the first few ideas.

Creating an Alexa skill

What I needed was a list of ideas to pull from, better yet, a set that the kids could pick from themselves. I started thinking of different ways to package up all these ideas. At first, I thought I would put them on a peg board of sorts which would make every idea visible at once.

Then I thought of our trusty assistant, Alexa. I read about some tools Amazon made to help people create new skills. Sure enough, they have a whole service that makes it easier than I ever imagined. All I needed was the content and Amazon took care of the rest. I didn’t have to write a single line of code or do anything special to get the skill activated at home.

To get going I made my list of ideas. This process turned into a dinner conversation where the whole family brainstormed possible boredom killers.

Once I had the raw content, I realized I needed to infuse a little humor into the suggestions. The opportunity to combine my dad joke prowess and eliminate my children’s boredom was a win-win.

Ways to eliminate boredom 

Here is are the set of ideas we came up with. If you’d like to repurpose any of these for your own Alexa skill, please feel free.

1. You could go outside and ride bikes
2. If it’s warm why not go swimming
3. Put some spring in your step and Jump on the Trampoline
4. I know, grab your basketball and shoot some hoops
5. Ask your mom or dad to play catch
6. The dogs look bored too, why not take them on a walk?
7. Are you feeling lucky? Grab a board game to play.
8. Break out some glue and supplies and make something crafty
9. There is always the xBox, but let’s not go overboard
10. Those 3D Printers blow my mind, why not go print something cool
11. This is an oldie but a goodie, head outside and take a walk
12. Grab a friend and build a fort
13. Do you like water? Rent a paddleboard or canoe.
14. Ask your Dad to take you to the driving range. He loves hitting those little white balls…or are they yellow.
15. Why not escape into a book – they can take you to some magical places.
16. Music is cool. Why not play the piano or ukelele
17. Grab some popcorn and watch a movie
18. Are you hungry too? You could bake something fun and new.
19. You’ll have to do this sooner or later, so why not clean your bedroom.
20. Why not create a new movie trailer?
21. You could spend a night at a museum, or visit for the day.
22. I hear libraries are filled with knowledge, not as much as I have, but who’s counting.
23. Putt-Putt anyone? Fore!
24. Make a plan to rent a boat and spend a few hours on the lake.
25. Make like a monkey and hang out in the tree nest
26. Channel your inner Picasso and make a painting
27. Play Barbies. I understand you might have a few upstairs.
28. Nerf gun battle anyone?
29. Grab a rod, a worm and let’s catch a fish. Oh wait, I don’t have any arms. I just sit here. But, no, you go have fun without me.
30. Ah Nature. How about heading out for a hike.
31. Check out geocaching, it’s like high tech hide and seek.
32. Grab a hammer, nails, and wood and build something cool
33. Create your very own secret handshake and then come back and tell me what it is. What? You won’t tell me? Oh, I get it, it’s a secret.
34. You love to travel. How about researching some new places to visit. Create a list of your top destinations.
35. Humans love to receive letters. You could write and mail a few out to people you haven’t seen in a while.
36. Pack up some food and drinks and have a picnic. Just watch out for those pesky ants.
37. Have you been to the sculpture park lately? I wonder if there is anything new to see.
38. Some memories are hard to put into words. Luckily you have pictures. Organize them into a memory book.
39. Grab some nail polish and paint your nails. But I have a question. Wouldn’t it be called polishing your nails if you use nail polish? Oh well.
40. It’s your favorite thing to make and your dad’s least favorite thing to touch. Slime anyone?!
41. Smell that? Me neither, I don’t have a nose remember. Why not go make a scented candle?
42. Have you heard of time capsules? You could create your own and bury it in the yard.
43. When was the last time you talked to your cousins? Why not facetime them?
44. Be like Bill Nye the science guy and do a cool science experiment.
45. Teach our old dogs some new tricks.
46. Try to beat the house record of 10 hooks on the ring game in 20 tosses
47. Something smells? I think it’s the dogs. Why not give them a bath?
48. Those cars in the garage are filthy. Why not do your parents a favor and wash one of them.
49. You guys sure have a lot of friends. Why not make a few friendship bracelets. They make a great gift.
50. Play the bowling game on the Apple TV. I hear that’s fun. But don’t bother with that Siri, she isn’t nearly as smart as I am.
51. Surf’s up dude! Plan a trip to the Inland Surf Park.
52. How about a game of ping pong?
53. Teach yourself cup stacking. You might want to Google that.
54. Need some spending money? Try selling lemonade or popsicles outside.
55. Pick a number between 1 and 5. What was it? Yep, that’s what I guessed. Now you go teach yourself a new magic trick.
56. How fast can you solve a Rubik’s cube? Maybe it’s time for some more practice.
57. Grab some tennis balls and teach yourself how to juggle. I know you can do it.
58. Why not give your parents a break and cook dinner tonight?
59. Did you know that plants help clean the air? Why not plant one in a pot for your room?
60. Stretching and balance are important things to practice, so give Yoga a shot.
61. Grab your phone and snap some pictures of anything you find that’s interesting.
62. Shhhhhhhh. How about 10 minutes of meditation?
63. I can play some tunes. It’s always fun to listen to music.
64. Have your Mom or Dad create a scavenger hunt for you.
65. Go rev up the RC cars. Maybe race your brother or sister.
66. Woof! What’s that Bella? Want to play fetch? Cash, do you want to play? Grab a ball and have some fun.
67. Zip through the house on your hoverboards. But please don’t scuff up the walls.
68. You guys are great dancers. Why not learn some new Fortnight dance moves.
69. Puedes hablar Espanol. Do you speak Spanish? If not, learn a few new words.
70. Give face painting a shot. But do not use Nail Polish! Yes. I heard about that little incident.  
71. Draw a masterpiece with some sidewalk chalk.
72. Play a game of Nuke’em

And don’t worry, you can always add to your Alexa skill later. The process couldn’t be easier.

Here is the finished product in action. All you need to do is say “Alexa, I’m bored” and she does the rest. If you haven’t invested in a smart speaker yet, be sure to read my thoughts on why they are a great addition to your home. 

If you have other ideas to add to the boredom list, please share them below.

If you want to try the skill I created, you can activate it here.