We all work so hard year-round that by the time Fall comes around, we are exhausted and ready for a break. We can’t wait for Christmas to rescue us so we can finally relax. That’s where these super fun cozy hobbies come in!
You can take breaks and never run out of energy by incorporating simple and fun things to do into your weekly routine.
In this blog post, we will dive into 25 super fun cozy hobbies that you can try this fall, that beat doomscrolling.
With 12 weeks left in this year, you can try 2 hobbies each week, until you’ve found one that you absolutely love and want to spend more time on.
If you’re anything like us, you will find over a dozen hobbies that you want to keep doing all the time.
Let’s get started on those cozy hobbies!
Unique cozy hobbies
1. Learn to tie knots
Any sailor is a pro at tying knots, but you don’t have to be a sailor to become good at it, or to find it useful.
Being able to tie a multitude of knots isn’t just a good survival skill; it’s useful in everyday life as well!
Wanna hang something up? Or secure cargo in your car? Want to make some cool macrame hangers? Tying knots is the way to go.
This fun and cozy hobby allows you to stay inside. It doesn’t require many materials, just a rope that you can use over and over again. And there is a plethora of materials available online for free that can teach you the ins and outs.
2. Creating playlists for your friend
Most people absolutely love listening to music.
But do you know what your friends actually like listening to? Do they know what you like to listen to?
Creating a playlist for a friend is the perfect way to share music, and maybe find common interests, or to show them that you care about them.
Curate a fun playlist with your favorite songs, or songs that make you think of them.
Pick a theme or just make a random playlist.
Whatever you do, it’s a fun activity to do alone, together, or for someone.
3. Pot plants
We are over halfway through our list of cozy hobbies, so it’s time for a hobby that actually barely requires any time, but yields a beautiful result.
In case you didn’t realize, plants are a fantastic decoration you can add to your house.
They clean the air in your house of nasty stuff, increase oxygen, and contribute to an overall sense of calm in your space.
Potting plants is not difficult, and neither is keeping them alive, as long as you put them in the right spot in your house and water them now and then.
In this blog post you can find everything you need to know to keep some super powerful plants alive.
4. Thrift flipping
Visit your local thrift store, find an item that you sort of like, and get it.
When you’ve taken it home, upgrade it in whichever way you want.
Sand the wood, touch up the paint on furniture, hem or take in a clothing item you got, decorate something.
Make it as fun and crazy as you want.
You can then either choose to sell it, keep it or, give it to a friend.
5. Local history research/gyneology research
How much do we actually know about the region or town we live in, and where our ancestors came from?
How far back can you trace your family line?
Maybe it’s time to dedicate a few hours to this super fun project.
Dive into the archives at your local library or city hall, ask your parents about your grandparents, and your grandparents about your great-grandparents. Find anything you can online and put all the information together.
Once you’ve gathered a bunch of info, you can use it in any way you want.
Simply share it with your family or neighbors, design an infographic, write a story for the local newspaper, or make a family tree.
6. Storytelling game
Do this with friends or family at home in a very simple way.
Grab a few pieces of paper; 5 per person will do (more if you want to play longer). And grab a notebook + pen, or a bigger piece of paper for every player.
Everyone writes down something entirely random on the piece of paper.
Put all the random notes in a bowl and have the first person take 2-3 pieces.
The player makes a story by connecting the themes that have been written down. The other players write down everyone’s names and rate the first player’s story on a scale from 1-10.
Continue until everyone has played a turn, total up the points, and see who won.
You can also do this by yourself if you let a random theme/topic generator online pick your topics.
7. Solitary card games
There are a lot of solitary card games out there, perfect if you’re at home alone and bored.
Many of these can be played online nowadays, or you can find a YouTube tutorial introducing how to play with an actual deck of cards.
Some examples are:
- Solitaire
- FreeCell
- Spider
- Pyramid
- Yukon
- TriPeaks
8. Personal archive
Organize and collect old photos, ticket stubs, notes, receipts, recipes etc. to make a digital or physical archive that you can hand down to your kids.
9. Make a bouquet
Buy some flowers at a market, Trader Joe’s, or another flower shop or supermarket.
Pick 2-3 different types of flowers, and 1 type of greens if you’re a beginner.
Go home, arrange a beautiful bouquet, put it in a vase, and enjoy it all week.
Crafty Cozy Hobbies
10. Make a zine
You may not have heard of this before, because it can be pretty niche.
A ‘zine’ is short for a small ‘magazine’ that you print yourself. Usually there are fewer than 100 copies (often only between 10-25).
You can hand these out to your friends/family, or try selling them.
There are plenty of people who collect zines, you just have to find the right type of crowd.
Here’s how to do it:
- Pick a topic – it can be anything: social problems, culture, beauty, love/relationships, traffic, history; the list is endless.
- Collect data/art/fun stuff – it’s entirely up to you what you put in your zine.
- Start writing – write a poem or article, or multiple, to add to your zine.
- Print it as frequently as you want to – it can be as little as 5 copies.
- Give it to friends/family or sell it on eBay, Etsy, or to acquaintances.
11. Mail art/make postcards
Maybe you’ve seen this popular craft on social media recently.
In more and more countries, physical mail is disappearing.
This is your chance to battle that in the most fun way possible.
You can start your own mail club with your friends, or find a pen pal across the world.
Make a beautiful postcard, decorate envelopes, or write a sweet or inspiring letter and send it to someone you barely know, or someone you care about.
12. Scrapbooking
This is one of our favorite activities to do, and is perfect for this list of cozy hobbies.
Wherever you go, you can find so many fun little things such as business cards, stickers, napkins, placemats, etc.
Collect these small and lightweight items wherever you go, grab a notebook and start gluing them in. Add some stamps, text, or stickers, and you will have spent your afternoon being creative.
The result? A super fun notebook that reminds you of all the beautiful and fun places you’ve visited over the years.
It can also be really helpful if you want a reminder of what you can do in your area, or to make a recommendation for a friend who is going on a trip.
13. Origami
Maybe you’ve heard of this Japanese art before.
All you need is some square sheets of paper and a phone/laptop/iPad.
Follow any type of beginner, intermediate or advanced YouTube video and make yourself some cool paper art.
14. Make decorations
You can do this right before Christmas, or for birthdays or other holidays.
Go on Pinterest and find some inspiration if you have a hard time coming up with an idea; there are so many different types of decorations you could make.
Use whatever materials you have at home (toilet paper rolls, fabric, sheets of colored paper, old ugly Christmas ornaments, etc.)
15. Collage
This super simple craft doesn’t take much more than a few magazines, posters, letters, junk mail, or whatever you have at home.
And of course some scissors and glue.
You can make a themed collage by picking a theme, color, or topic, or you can just put together random things that you think look nice.
16. Watercolor painting
Watercolor is a very simple art medium. It’s not as difficult as acrylic or oil painting, and a lot cheaper.
All you need is some watercolor and thick paper, and you can get started.
You can paint nice gradient backgrounds for doodles, try your hand at landscapes, or something else that’s fun. It’s all entirely up to you.
17. Crocheting or knitting
This hobby pops up on Instagram more and more. And rightfully so!
Crocheting, knitting, and sewing are all super useful hobbies that cannot be replicated by machines only. They’re good skills to have.
You can design your own clothes, bags, purses, handy storage bins, stuffed animals, home decorations, kitchen tools, and the list goes on.
This cozy hobby might sound hard, but there are millions of free beginner patterns online, and if you don’t want to splurge on fabrics or yarn, go thrifting, find some on eBay, or see if your mom or grandmother has some to spare.
TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t follow AI-generated patterns if you want to have a successful result. And if you want more resources to learn this skill, visit your local library to find some books about it.
18. Macrame
Another super fun thing to do, especially to make bohemian-looking home decorations is macrame.
It is basically just tying all sorts of different knots, with a beautiful end result.
There are many free online patterns, as well as books you can find at libraries that explain how to do it.
Cozy hobbies for outdoors
19. Walking
Yeah, when it’s said like that, it sounds a little lame, but there are so many fun ways you can go on a walk.
Here are a few ideas + tips on how to do them.
- Nature walk – go for a walk in nature and pay attention to changing leaves, birds, clouds, smells, etc..
- Photography walk – bring a camera or use your phone and take pictures of anything you see that you find interesting. You can also do this scavenger hunt style, by bringing a checklist of shots you want to take, such as a reflection in a mirror, a street sign, fruits on a tree, a flower in the grass.
- Color walk – pick a color, and follow that color from your house until you don’t see it anymore. Walk back home from there, or pick a new color and follow it further. You can make the walk as long or short as you want.
- Penny walk – flip a penny at every intersection. Heads: turn right, tails: turn left. See where you end up!
- Historic walk – look up where you can find old buildings in your neighborhood. Visit the various locations and learn a little about the history.
20. Birdwatching
This completely underrated hobby is so fun to do!
You might think birdwatching is for nerds or old people; it’s not.
Nowadays there are apps out there that help you figure out what bird you’re looking at and keep track of all the birds you’ve seen.
You’d be surprised how many beautiful or unique birds you could spot just in your town alone.
21. Geocaching
Another outdoor hobby is geocaching, an outdoor scavenger hunt where you use a GPS or your phone to find hidden containers at specific coordinates worldwide.
All you need to do is install an app and follow directions to the coordinates.
All you need to do is install an app and follow directions to the coordinates.
When you get there, search for a hidden container. Sometimes they’re pretty obvious, sometimes they’re extremely well-hidden.
Once you found it and opened it, you can write down your name and the date in the logbook before putting it back in place.
Some containers also contain a little “gift” that you can take if you replace it with something else.
22. Try a new sport/follow a YouTube workout
We love dancing as a workout, but frequently don’t have the time to find a studio to go to regularly.
That’s why online YouTube dance workouts/choreographies are fantastic. You just need some time and a screen to play it on, and your happy workout has started!
There are so many different sports, like dancing, that are either less well-known or new to you.
Try out a new sport this year! Find a local gym with a martial art, follow a YouTube workout, or join a friend for a workout class.
Food-related cozy hobbies
23. Tea, coffee, beer or wine tasting
This super fun and cozy hobby can be done at restaurants, special locations such as wineries or coffee shops, and at home on a smaller budget.
Honestly, it doesn’t even have to be with a drink; you could do it with any type of food as well.
Just buy a few different types of beer, wine, food, coffee, tea, you name it, at the grocery store, liquor store, or farmer’s market and pick out a few to try that day.
You can go all out and do it together with friends or family, or just keep it simple by yourself or with your partner.
Lay out the different foods, pour a few glasses, and try them one by one, noting the different hints of flavor with each sip/bite.
If you wanna go professional, get a spreadsheet ready and write it all down to keep track of what you like and what you don’t like.
24. Recipe remixing
Cooking and baking is fun, but it can get quite repetitive and somewhat boring if you always follow the same recipes.
Try something new by remixing 2 or 3 of your regular recipes and see if you like the result.
For example, maybe you like baking focaccia and cinnamon rolls; find a way to combine these two recipes into a delicious, gooey cinnamon focaccia.
25. Pasta making
Making pasta is a super fun activity. And it tastes so much better than store-bought pasta.
All you need is 100 grams of flour and 1 egg for a small portion. Knead the dough until it bounces back when you press it in with your finger.
And then all that’s left is rolling it out and cutting it up, or using a pasta machine to roll it out for you.
If you google unique pasta shapes, you’ll find so many different types of traditional Italian pasta that you’ve never heard of before.
It’s the perfect activity for a date night, or if you want to put a little more effort into dinner for yourself.
Cozy Hobbies for Writers/Readers
26. Reading
We know it’s nothing new, but reading is just awesome.
There are so many different types and genres of books, written by a broad range of authors. Whether you’re into comics, sci-fi, academic journals, poetry, or literature, there is a book for everyone.
If you’re already an avid reader, it will be fun to try out a new genre!
27. Journaling
It may sound a little boring to you, but journaling can be such a game changer.
You can write about any topic and make a million different journal entries.
Here is a list of ideas to get you started:
- Bullet journal
- Gratitude journal
- Brain dump
- Daily prompt
- One-line-a-day
- Junk journal
- Dream journal
- Recipe journal
- Habit tracking
- Journaling for mental clarity
And the list goes on and on and on.
After sharing so many of our favorite cozy hobbies with you, we hope you will never get bored again!
Let us know in the comment section what your favorite hobby is, and maybe we’ll be able to go in depth about all the amazing benefits that hobby can bring you.
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