Five Unexpected Hobbies 

But hobbies don’t just fill all those empty hours; they can also benefit you in numerous ways. Research has shown that having an active lifestyle may actually lower your risk for some health problems like dementia and cancer, decrease depression, improve your cognitive abilities, and even prolong your life!

There are lots of hobbies out there; however, if you haven’t yet found that passion that gets your motor running and your juices flowing, below are five unexpected hobbies that you may want to consider.

Five fun unexpected hobbies 

1. Yarn spinning

If you already love knitting or crocheting, you might enjoy starting from the beginning and spinning your own yarn too. That’s right; spinning isn’t just for pioneers like Caroline Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie”! Modern-day fiber enthusiasts also have taken up this ancient craft.

“I love taking something from raw, washing it [the fiber], combing it, spinning it and then knitting it,” says Nancy, who has been spinning for almost 15 years, using her finished product to knit socks, hats, scarves, baby blankets, and even a dress. “I enjoy the process!”

Nancy finds spinning to be very meditative, and then taking that yarn and knitting it into something beautiful promotes mindfulness. She also recommends joining a guild to make new friends who share your interest in spinning.

Basic requirements: You’ll need a spinning wheel or a drop spindle, which is less costly, and wool, plant or man-made fibers, which you can buy ready to spin.

2. Raising chickens

You may know someone who has a flock of chickens in a coop in their backyard, and they’ve probably had nothing but good things to say about this avocation. Not only do you have a steady supply of fresh eggs, but the birds are apparently pretty good company too, according to Andi and her husband, Paul.

“Chickens are fun to watch … and provide a lot of comic relief,” explains Andi, who started with under a dozen chicks a decade ago and is now up to 30 birds (including three ducks). “Each one of them has different personalities and looks, and some react to their names. They also remember faces and know who’s a friend or a foe.”

Basic requirements: First, you should make sure your neighborhood allows you to have livestock on your property. Then you’ll need a hutch or coop fortified against predators (Andi and Paul’s is called “Fort Cluck”!), which you can build yourself or buy premade (according to Andi, manufactured coops may not be as well-made and potentially more costly). You’ll also, of course, need the chickens and their food.

Related: Ideas for Connecting Across Generations

3. Upcycling

You don’t have to be an artist or a professional furniture refinisher to transform old, castoff furniture into something new and beautiful. Just ask Ruthie. For the past 17 years, she’s scavenged tables, chairs, bookshelves, etc., at thrift stores as well discarded on the curb and perked up these pieces with lively, upbeat paint colors and patterns.

“I love giving new life to old, sad-looking furniture, turning it into ‘happy furniture’ with bright bold colors,” says Ruthie, who painted children’s rockers found at thrift stores for a friend’s six grandchildren, along with countless other projects. She gives the newly refurbished furniture as gifts or sells it at consignment stores.

Basic requirements: You’ll need primer (Ruthie uses Zinsser because it eliminates the need for sanding), colorful paint (she uses either craft acrylic paints or the small sample cans at the big box home improvement stores) and brushes.

4. Glass fusing

If you find light streaming through colored glass mesmerizing, you may want to try your hand at glass fusing, a process where you manipulate and join individual pieces of glass together using a kiln.

Desiree was always intrigued by craft glass (glass with color and texture) and the decorative panels, bowls, lamps, etc., people made with it. Twenty-five years ago, she took a stained-glass class to learn more about the craft. Then she discovered fused glass, which she found gave her great opportunities for creativity. Desiree was hooked!

“I love the way you can transform a piece of colored craft glass by allowing light to shine through or around it,” explains Desiree, who gifts her finished works of art to friends and family. “It moves from a flat, two-dimensional piece to a multi-dimensional piece that can change further if you change the angle of the light that beams though it. … The opportunities seem endless to me.”

Basic requirements: You’ll need a glass cutter; a grinder, diamond file or sanding block; and a kiln (Desiree uses a fiber kiln that runs on 12-volt power).

5. Making fishing lures

Sometimes you’ve had a particular hobby all your life, but for health reasons, you just can’t do it anymore and you need to find alternatives. For Tom, that hobby was fishing.

Due to mobility problems and vascular dementia, he couldn’t manage those long ocean fishing trips anymore, so his wife encouraged him to try shorter bay trips or fishing off a dock. But Tom simply wasn’t interested. Instead, he maintained a connection to his passion by starting to make fishing lures (and hundreds of them!)

This intricate work is not only good for his manual dexterity and cognitive function, but it’s also relaxing for Tom. “It’s like crocheting for you,” explains Tom, who happens to be my dad! “I just love to do it!”

Basic requirements: You’ll need a variety of lure components, including lure bodies, skirts, floats, spinners, hooks, beads and fishing line, plus pliers, wire cutters, scissors, tweezers and more. There are also supplies to paint and even mold your own lure bodies.

If none of these hobbies sparks your interest, here are a few more uncommon pastimes that just might interest you: beekeeping, beer or wine or mead making, genealogy, sourdough bread baking, felting, dog agility training, and writing songs or poetry.