30 Hobbies That’ll Kind of Make You Feel Like the Main Character

There are so many hobbies you can try, but I really wanted to create a list of hobbies that went beyond activities like biking or pottery.

Because I think you and I already have those ideas in the back of our heads. We’ve seen plenty of people take up common pastimes and we want something a bit different. And that’s why I made this hobbies list; I wanted to give you a new hobby to try that made you feel like the main character in your own life.

From themed film clubs to creating seasonal house recipes, I really don’t think any of these ideas will disappoint you.

And whether you’re looking for unique or cool hobbies, I hope these make your year a whole lot more enjoyable! Each one will keep you entertained, help you de-stress, and put a lot more fun into your life.

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1. Get Into the Science of Cooking

I feel like the science of cooking is one of the most interesting hobbies on this list. You’re going beyond just following a recipe and you’re figuring out how spices interact with one another and change a dish. You’re experimenting with heat and technique, and learning about the chemistry of browning (Maillard reaction). Or you’re getting into ancestral techniques like pickling, preserving, and fermenting.

There is so much to explore with this pastime and it’s an amazing way to challenge your creativity.

2. Perfume Blending

Whether you attend a class on basic perfumery or just watch Youtube video tutorials, perfume blending is an incredibly creative hobby to take up. Also, it’ll just feel good seeing pretty bottles on your dresser filled up with a scent you created.

Just start simple and collect a few notes and accords and experiment until you make perfumes or colognes you genuinely like. One of them could even become your own signature scent.

3. Urban Foraging & Cooking

Make sure to do your own research first and practice proper due diligence with this activity.

And once you have, start hunting for edible flowers, herbs, wild fruits, and anything else you’ve learned about. Then use the ingredients in dishes, soups, drinks, jams, desserts, or even homemade bread.

It’s an aesthetic way to romanticize your life while also being practical.

4. Start a Themed Film Club

Instead of just having friends over to watch a movie, create a theme around each time you meet up for your film club. So think outfits (optional), ambiance, snacks, drinks, and dishes that match the film’s country, era, or genre.

It becomes an event rather than just Netflix.

You can also just do this as a solo date and have fun making recipes themed to a movie every week, two weeks, or month.

5. Flower Market Ritual + Flower Arranging

Head to a flower market in your area (maybe get a coffee while there), and pick blooms that you feel would work well together. Then go home and take time to enjoy this peaceful activity. Put on a playlist, open up a window, grab a pretty vase, get your scissors, and start arranging your flowers.

You don’t have to be perfect at this. It’s just a calming activity that you get to do every week or two (or however often you want), and you’ll get better overtime.

Side Note: If there are no flower markets near you, Trader Joe’s is a good option and some farmer’s markets sell them.

6. Create Your Own Seasonal Home Library

Rotate your books by season.

So think cozy classics in the winter, travel memoirs in the summer, romantic poetry in the spring, and adventurous stories of change in the fall. And of course you can change this up and pick out the books you feel represent each season best.

You can also take time whenever each season rolls around to add books to that specific collection. Honestly, the whole ritual feels like you’re setting a mood for each chapter of your life.

7. Writing Thank You Letters

If you’re a thoughtful person or you just want to grow in gratitude, then writing thank you letters might be the best hobby for you.

I recently read a book call 365 Thank Yous, saw how it changed the author’s life, and I fell in love with the idea.

Also, it can be a very relaxing activity. You can take some quiet time to think of the people who have helped you in big and small ways, grab some nice stationary, and send out your first letter.

8. Hosting Seasonal Tasting Nights

Pick just one thing and do a mini tasting at home (solo or with friends) with aesthetically labeled plates and palate cleansers.

This could be floral honeys in the spring, fruity vinegars in the summer, nutty olive oils in the fall, or rich chocolates in the winter.

You’ll be able to learn the subtle differences between each region or variety (think terroir), and the ritual feels like something a cool side character in a novel would invite friends to.

9. Journal and Book Binding

Do you kind of wish your books looked a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the mismatched covers you have on your bookshelf? Me too.

Also, if you’re a creative person, then this is the perfect hobby to take up.

And beyond learning to repair old books or change covers, you can also learn how to bind your own journals, or even press flowers into the pages. It’s beautiful, slow, and kind of makes you feel like the keeper of some secret archive.

10. Start a Life Archive Box

Each month, save tiny memories. This could be a cafe receipt, a pressed flower from a morning walk, a train ticket, a quickly scribbled note, a ribbon from a meaningful gift, or even sand from a day trip.

At the end of the year, you’ll have a shoebox (or some other kind of container) filled with the physical pieces of your own story. Think of it as treating your life like it’s worth documenting.

11. Tea Rituals

If you’re looking for unique hobbies, then this is a relatively easy (and fun) pastime to take on.

Create a weekend tea ritual where you try nice teas, learn about their origins, brew them with beautiful accessories, and pair them with simple pastries. You can either do this solo or have a friend (or more over) to do this with you.

And if you do end up sharing your tea ritual with friends, they can also bring over their teas to try.

12. Sun Printing (Cyanotype Art)

Use the sunlight to create blue and white botanical art prints. It’s inexpensive to take up, relatively simple, and probably one of the most peaceful hobbies to try. Also, it kind of feels like something out of a naturalist’s notebook.

So if you’re looking for a pastime that’s quiet, creative, and very aesthetic, then this is the hobby for you.

13. Learn & Become an Expert in Things Like Chocolate, Coffee, or Cheese

A few years ago, I ran into these Youtube video done by Epicurious where an expert guessed cheap vs. expensive chocolate, coffee, cheese, etc. I was instantly hooked and actually wanted to become an expert in these things as well.

And if you’re looking for new hobbies to try that’ll make you more knowledgable about a certain food or drink you really like, then this is the one.

You’ll get to know more about what makes each food or drink type different, what makes them high or low-quality, and how to better appreciate them.

14. Candle Making (With Literary Themes)

You’ll find candle making on nearly any hobby list. And it makes sense; it’s one of those types of hobbies that’s creative and practical. But I’d like to change it up a bit.

Instead of just watching tutorials on candle making and creating your own, give each one a literary theme. So for instance, you could make candles that are inspired by your favorite books, characters, or a scene from a book. So think “An Evening at Pemberley,” or something that reminds you of The Chronicles of Narnia.

Also, it makes for a great gift!

15. Botanical Ink and Dye Making

This is definitely one of my favorites on this list of hobbies to pick up.

Use foraged berries, flowers, or even spices to make your own inks and textile dyes. It’s the kind of earthy, almost poetic hobby that looks so aesthetically pretty and kind of feels like a craft from another century.

16. Stargazing and Astronomy

I started getting into astronomy a few years ago and loved it. Also, I feel like this is one of the most interesting and peaceful ideas on this hobbies list.

And to get started you can watch videos or read up on astronomy, get a beginner telescope, keep a stargazing journal, track meteor showers, and learn the constellations.

17. Fictional Cartography

Of all the hobbies on this list, I really love this one.

You can draw fictional maps of imaginary towns, kingdoms, or neighborhoods, and do it either in watercolor or ink (or just pencil). It feels so whimsical and like you’re designing the setting for your own novel.

18. Start Hosting Tiny Salons at Home

Historic salons first started in Italy and then really took off in France. And as defined by Wikipedia, “A salon is a gathering of people held by a host. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace’s definition of the aims of poetry, ‘either to please or to educate.'”

It’s an exchanging of ideas and it’s a hobby where once a month, you can host a small gathering where your friends brings a poem, a short essay, a piece of art, a topic, or an idea. So see it as a modern, cozy version of Enlightenment-era salons.

19. Embroidery

Embroidery really does make for a great hobby. Because while it is a good way to pass the time, it’s so much more than that.

Either you can keep your skills basic and see it as a relaxing activity while listening to a podcast, or you can level up and make beautifully embroidered shirts, handkerchiefs, scarves, or add beautiful small details on pants and other clothing pieces.

Oh, and it can be a great way to make money (if you choose to go that route) or make pretty gifts.

20. Learn Dip Pen Writing

Learning to master elegant handwriting with dip pens isn’t just a beautiful hobby, it’s an amazing way to slow down and be more mindful when writing in your journal. Or it can be a nice way to sit down, relax, and write a thoughtfully beautiful letter to a good friend.

There’s something that feels so dramatically old-fashioned (in the best way) when you see the beautiful ink scrip on nice paper. And that makes learning and practicing it so much more satisfying.

All you need is an ink well, nice parchment-style paper, ink pens, and different nibs.

21. Weekend Cafe Sketching

Pick a cafe, people-watch, sketch some strangers, and jot down bits and snippets of conversation (just vibes, not literal quotes). It kind of makes you feel like you’re an artist in Paris, and it’s a nice way to relax and build a book full of small memories.

22. Make Herbariums or Apothecary Jars

Creating Japanese herbarium and French apothecary jars is a fun way to either save your very beautiful wilting flowers or fill tiny glass bottles with pressed herbs, teas, and spices.

You can also slowly build an aesthetic looking shelf that looks like a cottagecore apothecary.

23. Create Seasonal House Recipes

Invent one recipe (or more) per season that becomes yours. So think a wintery citrus cake or a summer lavender lemonade. And as you do this over time, you’ll have a creative personal cookbook that almost feels passed down (even if it’s brand-new).

24. Learning Botanical Illustration

Slow, detailed drawing of plants and flowers. As a hobby, it’s a bit meditative, artistic, and feels like something you’d find in an old naturalist’s field guide. Also, you can do it on slow warm afternoons, on an early morning spring walk, or even do it with a close friend.

25. Vintage Photo Restoration

Look through your family’s old albums or head to a thrift store and create your own collection of old photos. Then clean them up digitally or by hand. It feels a bit intimate, nostalgic, and makes you feel like some archivist in their cozy study.

Oh, and not only is it a great hobby, but it can also make for a great gift to a parent or other family member. It really is moving to see an old photo of someone you care deeply about and it looks like it was only taken yesterday.

26. Early Morning Journaling Walks

For this hobby, take a short walk at sunrise, find a pretty place to sit, and journal what you notice (sounds, light, thoughts, etc.). It feels both meditative and adventurous. Also, it’s such a nice quiet time of the day where you can really think and not have distractions.

27. Curate Your Own Anthology

This hobby is simple and nicely artistic.

Just collect favorite quotes, poems, paragraphs, overheard lines, and thoughts into one beautiful notebook. It’s basically your own private literature collection.

28. Evening Architectural Photography Walks

Go out once a week in the evening or at twilight and photograph doorways, old shop signs, balcony railings, lampposts, stained glass windows, and pretty hidden corners. Everything looks a lot more mysterious and romantic as it gets darker.

29. Keeping a Seasonal Table at Home

Choose a small table, silver tray, or corner of a room and update it every few weeks with pieces that reflect the season or your current “chapter.”

This could be a candle that matches the mood, a few found objects (stones, shells, pressed leaves), a book you’re currently reading, a flower in a bud vase, and maybe a handwritten quote.

It’s a hobby that becomes a ritual; something you refresh again and again, and it kind of turns your space into a living narrative. Each season (or month) feels like a new scene that’s curated by you.

30. Historic Walking Sketches

Pick an old, beautiful neighborhood, walk slowly, and stop to sketch interesting doors, rooftops, and other pretty architectural details. It’s a nice pastime for getting out of the home, existing in beautiful spaces, and relaxing with a creative hobby.

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