Many people are at home at the moment, either working from home or having been furloughed. For those that are furloughed finding things to do to fill the hours when they would normally be busy at work can be difficult, which can make the day seem longer than it is. In this article we will look at some great new hobbies to try while being at home to help keep you occupied and stimulated.
Art
For most of us the prospect of getting into art is all but a dream. Most of us wouldn’t know where to start. For those who would love to understand more about art and learn how to paint or draw there is hope, even when stuck at home. Makings and Musings are offering free online art classes with live workshops and an online course library. It even has a section for children so what’s stopping you creating your own masterpiece?
Cocktail Mixing
Now that the weather is taking a turn for the better, many of us are venturing out into the garden and what better accompaniment to take with you than a cocktail? If you are like me, though, this typically means a pre-made cocktail from a bottle or a can. For those of you who would prefer to emulate Tom Cruise in Cocktail, however, there is hope. The London Standard has a weekly cocktail recipe as part of its Quarantine Cocktail Club. Each week they publish a new cocktail and have a link to other cocktails, so you won’t have to wait a week to try new ones. Mix and Twist offer online cocktail making courses which are free to access, they can also supply you with the basic equipment, worth taking a look if mixology is going to be your new hobby.
Wine Tasting
Now this might seem as counter intuitive as you could imagine but several companies are offering virtual wine tastings and masterclasses. One such company is 67 Pall Mall who are offering online masterclasses via Zoom. Wine trust is doing the same over zoom and you can access them via Instagram but you will need an account. Although you don’t get the benefit of actually tasting the wine you will learn a lot about the different types of wines and the various global wine regions.
Baking
Many of us love the idea of baking at home and normally we would restrict that to cakes or pies. Breadhead are offering online courses to show you how to make much more than just cakes. Every day, at 2pm they are offering a live course on Instagram from Focaccia to Brioche to cheese and olive sticks. With such lovely recipes and a live workshop what’s stopping you from joining and learning some new baking skills?
Learn a Language
In today’s global environment, one thing we brits aren’t great at is languages. There are so many online resources available such as Cactus online courses which are paid courses. The BBC also offer online language courses. You might not be speaking whichever language you choose perfectly by the end of the lockdown but you could certainly be well on your way to some decent conversations.
Genealogy
Most of us are not able to see our relatives at the moment and that is not easy for all involved. Why not get yourself immersed in your family by researching your family tree? Genealogy is the study and tracing of lines of descent and there is a lot of online resource to help you trace your family history. FreeUKgenealogy.org.uk is one such resource as is Ancestry which is a paid for resource. Be careful, though, you might find yourself becoming obsessed with your family tree and what started as a quick dabble to while away the hours might become a longer-term project which will no doubt be informative and fascinating.
Gardening
Many of us don’t have green fingers and the most we will do in the garden is mow the lawn and prune back a rose bush on occasion. Now is the perfect time to learn a little more about gardening and doing some simple projects. The RHS has an informative guide to gardening for beginners and with a little research on the internet you will be able to find plenty of easy to do projects to help you give your garden that wow factor.
During these difficult times, it can be hard to keep yourself occupied but it is also the perfect opportunity to start a new hobby. There are many more interesting, wacky and traditional hobbies than we have mentioned in this article but maybe the suggestions here have inspired you to start something new and interesting.
