Petra had a large circle of friends and their leisure activities varied. Their games reflected the scarcity of Icelandic life during the early decades of the twentieth century. Toys were few, so children’s play in Stöðvarfjörður depended largely on imagination and initiative. Nature itself was the most accessible playground.

At the time, the streams in the fjord were teeming with small trout, which Petra and her friends caught. They fished with simple rods - sticks fitted with line and hooks brought from home. The trout were then placed in pools or small ponds that the children built to raise them. Down these same streams, they floated small toy boats. Petra and her friends spent long stretches of time doing handicrafts. Petra later recalled sitting with a friend in the hayloft of a barn in Árbær, knitting, chatting, or singing. In good weather, the hillside, the shore, or the river gorges served the same purpose. Outdoor and group games of all kinds were popular. Stick games and ball games were played during the day, while hide-and-seek and tag were favored in the evenings. In winter, the slopes became a land of adventure, used for skiing and skating.

Petra received most of her education from her parents. A traveling school operated in Stöðvarfjörður until 1933, when Petra was eleven years old. By modern standards, she received only a short period of formal schooling. She enjoyed learning and did well in her studies, but she always felt most at home in physical education. Handball was her favorite sport, and no one could match her on the court. She was known for her exceptional toughness and competitive spirit. In later years, she would go on to win many victories in handball.

From an early age, Petra helped her parents with domestic chores. These responsibilities increased as she grew older, yet she later said that the work felt playful. Despite the physical effort, the children enjoyed being among the adults when there was much to do. This was partly because children, adolescents, and adults also played together in traditional games. In this way, the community of Stöðvarfjörður - children and parents alike - was bound together through both work and play.

Evening gatherings were a defining feature of social life in Stöðvarfjörður during Petra’s formative years. The small population meant that people of all ages took part. It also meant that much of the entertainment was created by the villagers themselves. Verses of all kinds, singing, and recitations were popular, and so were original short plays about life in the fjord. At times, more ambitious works appeared on the program, such as the classic plays Piltur og stúlka (Boy and Girl) and Maður og kona (Man and Woman) by Jón Thoroddsen. These gatherings were regular. Peers also met in smaller groups, but even then the tradition of storytelling endured. As dusk fell, ghost stories became the preferred genre, and the walk home could be long and uneasy through the unlit village.

Jón Ingimundarson, who would later become Petra’s husband, was part of this circle, having moved to Stöðvarfjörður at the age of fourteen. Nenni, as he was always called, and Petra were drawn to each other early on, though when asked about their first encounter, she would say that they noticed each other "the way children do.”