Fancy getting back to basics this year? Maybe it’s your resolution for 2026! You want to find the kind of childhood joy that seems to have disappeared when you become an adult.
To do that, you’re going to have to reconnect with your inner child a little bit. And the best way to get in touch with them again? To try out a few hobbies that would have made you happy when you were younger. Or alternatively, to just try out a hobby that reminds you of being a kid again!
Either way, here are some potential ideas for you.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska www.kaboompics.com
Retro Photography
Do you remember the age of tinny, disposable cameras and heavy Polaroids? Remember how fun it felt to capture a shot of a moment and not know what you really captured until the film developed?
Bring that back this year! Buy yourself a retrolens digital camera (they come in all kinds of colours!) and start snapping retro-like shots of your family adventures.
Plus, with a camera like this, you get all the benefits of modern digital photography. Reusable, no need for film, you can apply filters etc., and that makes photography a bit more convenient than it would have been when you were a kid!
Making Your Own Clothes
Who didn’t love wrapping rubber bands around sections of a plain white t-shirt, dropping it in a bucket and leaving it to soak, and then coming back to unwrap it later? Voila! You had a fun and easy pattern dye shirt to wear!
So, why not recapture some of that fun by making a few more of your own clothes these days? You don’t even have to become a master seamstress for it to be possible either.
If you want to make a pair of your own jeans, all you need is a pattern to follow, some denim, some materials to hot iron on top, and you can then just hot glue it all together. It’s best to use a sewing machine wherever you can, but glue will work for now!
Scrapbooking
This ties in nicely with retro photography, as you can print any photos you like and stick them into the book too.
Scrapbooking is a good way to make use of those old receipts, as well as those off cuts of card and wrapping paper leftover from Christmas. Have some fun with the waste by creating a scrapbooking page!
And there doesn’t even need to be a reason or a theme – you just need to like the patterns and colours that form. Don’t get bogged down in whether or not your scrapbook makes sense. Just let the creativity flow out and do what your inner child wants!
Want to get in touch with that childhood joy you remember? Then try out a hands on, more manual hobby this year. And just have fun with it! Make what you want, when you want, with whatever you want. That’s how you find the fun again.