New hobbies to do at home: Low-cost, fun, lockdown-friendly activities to help while away the winter
Cross stitching is a creative hobby to take up during lockdown. (Envato Elements)
If you’re looking to discover a new, cheap hobby to start at home, you’re not alone. Almost a year on from the first national lockdown – and all those Zoom quizzes – the UK is once again being shut down, and people are once again looking for lists of quarantine-friendly hobbies and activities.
If you would rather not revisit banana bread, head shaving and Tiger King, but you need some lockdown hobby ideas to act as a distraction from constant doom scrolling on Twitter, it might be a good idea to take up a hobby or new interest.
There’s plenty of ways to relax while keeping your mind focused, including adult colouring books, cross-stitching and jigsaw puzzles.
From The Great British Bake Off to cats and Jane Austen to swear words you can get arty with adult-focused colouring books. Prices generally range from £4.99 to £9.99 so you won’t have to spend too much to keep busy during lockdown.
There’s also a number of books that focus specifically on mindfulness which will help anyone dealing with anxiety and stress during lockdown. They’re available from Waterstones and Amazon, with the latter offering book and pencil combos.
The sweary adult colouring book is a best seller. (Amazon)
Another way to get creative is starting cross stitch which will keep you busy and you’ll get a nice wall decoration out if it. The most popular choice for first timers is flowers to get some practice in, but once you’re ready to cross stich your way through lockdown you can print out any design to match your taste.
You can buy embroidery sets for beginners which include patterns, a hoop, scissors, thread and needles as well as instructions to get you started, with prices ranging from £10-£20. To shop all of the embroidery sets and accessories go to the Amazon website here.
This embroidery set for beginners comes with three designs. (Amazon)
If you’re looking for something cheap to keep you occupied during this lockdown then you could grow your own plants and vegetables from as little as £1.
From chilli to broad bean and carrots to tomatoes there’s plenty to choose from at DIY stores including B&Q to create your own little garden without breaking the bank.
There’s more than 200 packs of seeds to choose from – whether you want a fun hobby or to start being more sustainable in 2021 – and they’re available from the B&Q website here for home delivery or store pick-up.
For those who don’t want to get too creative but still want to pass some time away from their phones then jigsaw puzzles might be the answer. There’s lots of 1,000-piece sets available from scenic spots to pop culture favourites. So you could spend lockdown piecing together a destination we used to be able to visit before the global pandemic.
And there’s also 3D puzzles which are like a cross between your classic jigsaw and Lego, if you want to really up your game. To shop jigsaw puzzles head to Argos or Amazon for the best choices.
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