The current COVID-19 pandemic is influencing our lives in an enormous and unprecedented way. Yet while this impact is being intensively studied with regard to a broad range of health, social, and psychological aspects, the effects of COVID-19 for creativity have been overlooked. Here, we explore COVID-19-lockdown’s consequences for creative activity. To this end, we relied on two extensive diary studies. The first, held in March 2019 (pre-pandemic), involved 78 students who reported their emotions and creativity over two weeks (927 observations). The second, conducted in March 2020 (during the pandemic and lockdown), involved 235 students who reported on their emotions, creativity, and the intensity of thinking and talking about COVID-19 over a month (5,904 observations). Multilevel meditations and dynamic structural equation modeling have shown that compared to 2019, during the lockdown, students engaged slightly, yet statistically significantly more in creative activities. Analysis of diaries collected during the pandemic also showed that students who spent more time discussing or searching for information about COVID-19 were not only more engaged in different creative activities but also declared more positive emotions. We propose potential explanations of these unexpected results along with future studies directions.