8 Hobbies to Try before the Year Ends 

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8 Hobbies to Try before the Year Ends 

When life has become too much of a routine and you need something new in your life, a hobby is a good thing to have. Most people think that having and maintaining a hobby is expensive, but there are so many out there that you can pick one or two to start with that you can learn on your own. 

Hobbies are a great way to challenge yourself and use or even add more skills to your repertoire. They can be fun, sometimes frustrating, and most of all, fulfilling. Check out this list of hobbies you need to try.  

Woodworking  

Regardless of gender, woodworking can be an important and leisurely hobby. Making things and furniture out of wood can be amazing, and it is something you can apply in real life. If you know the basics of working with wood, there may come a time that you will be capable of repairing old and worn furniture or even build one from scratch.  

You can choose to take baby steps by learning on your own at your own pace or dive right in by taking woodworking classes at a local community college. Apart from a hobby, you can use your woodworking skills as a side gig or something you can earn out of on top of your regular job.   

Writing  

You don’t have to be exceptionally great with words to take up writing as a hobby. Anyone can write anything they want. You can write stories, try journaling, write your thoughts, make poems, anything you want. It is a skill that you can easily develop when you keep doing it.  

The internet is full of advice, and there are guidelines on how to write your favorite form of prose or poetry. You can even start a blog of your own if you want to share your work. Writing is a great way to disconnect from the online world.  

If you want to completely immerse in your thoughts without the distraction of social media, get yourself a portable smart typewriter that looks and feels like the machine. You can carry it anywhere, it’s beginner-friendly, and you can connect to Wi-Fi if you want to upload your stuff on a blog or somewhere else.  

Learn a Foreign Language or Two  

If you’ve always been interested in knowing how to speak and write in another language, learning it can be a good hobby for you. This is especially good for folks who are fond of travel. A good motivation to learn a foreign language is if you plan to use it to talk to locals in your favorite country during your international travels.  

There are many benefits you can get when you speak and write a foreign language. Apart from opening up your perspectives, you will become a better learner and be pleasantly surprised to discover that you can do it. Learning a language that isn’t your own may prove to be challenging, but it will be worth it in the end when you enjoy the benefits it comes with.  

Hiking and Camping  

Ever wondered if you’ll be able to conquer your fear of being alone in the middle of nowhere or being disconnected from technology? Hiking and/or camping can be a great way to assuage those fears. Contrary to what people believe, survival life skills are important to learn because you never know when you need them. 

 The best thing about hiking and camping is that you easily make friends with people with the same hobbies. If you ever feel like corporate life or whatever work you have is bogging you down, you can always turn to the great outdoors to destress and a necessary change in scenery. Hiking and camping are, by no means, an easy hobby because they involve a lot of prepping, and it can get expensive with the necessary gear you need to get, but try them out once, and they may be something you’ll be fond of for life.  

Gaming/Streaming  

If you’ve been a gamer your whole life, then you know that nothing surpasses the feeling of unwinding with a desktop computer or console after a long day at work. It’s a fantastic hobby to have if you aren’t fond of being social or if you don’t want to leave home for some reason. You are free to play whatever you like and for how long you want to.  

If you’re a fan of console gaming, you can easily purchase a console you like and immediately start playing it with the game. However, if you’re a desktop gamer and you like the challenge of building your own PC, you’re free to pursue that as well. 

 The beauty of building your own gaming rig is that you have a lot of options to choose from and you can control how much money goes into what component so you can splurge on the most important ones. The glory and excitement of completing your first build as told by others who have experienced it are out of this world.  

On the plus side, if you’re good at playing games and have an impressive rank in online MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arena games), you can stream to build an audience. Not only will you be playing for fun, but you will also get to interact with others and connect with other people. If you have enough audience and viewers, you can monetize your streams and have a way to earn money on the side. 

 Cooking  

Eating is a necessity, and if you’ve been meaning to eat healthier, then cooking is a great hobby to take up. If you absolutely have no skills in the kitchen, you can opt to go to cooking classes or ask a friend who is a good cook to teach you some basic recipes. If you can hold up on your own, you can search for recipes you can DIY to expand your menu list.  

Cooking may take a bit of investment on your part in terms of equipment and ingredients, but it will be cheaper in the long run. When you don’t eat out as much and when you know how to make use of two or three ingredients to make a full meal, you don’t spend a lot of money and you make use of everything that’s in your kitchen. Furthermore, your newfound skills can be used to invite friends over as you host one of the many dinner parties in the future.  

Gardening  

This hobby is great on its own but even greater if you know how to cook too. Gardening is a great way to grow your own organic fruits, vegetables, and even spices. When you have various foods growing in your garden, you’ll find it no surprise to see that your grocery bill is even less than before. If you have kids, it is a great way to bond with them as you teach or even learn together how to grow different crops and harvesting them later on.  

Dancing 

Not everyone enjoys going to the gym to get sweaty and sharing the same sweat-stained equipment. Going to the gym is not the only way to get in shape as there are many different alternatives for people who share the same concern. Dancing is one of them. 

Dancing is one of the most enjoyable forms of exercises because you get to move your body to the beat of your favorite lively music. You can opt to take dancing lessons, take instructions from a DVD tutorial, or make up your own workout routine.  

Find Something Fun  

It doesn’t matter if you find a hobby that you want to make money out of or if you just want something relaxing to do on your downtime, the point of having one is that you enjoy doing it. Look for something that sparks your creativity again or drives your enthusiasm to do something outside work. It may take a bit of time and some exploration, but once you find it, you’ll know.  

What new hobbies have you picked up this year? Share your answers in the comments below.