Finding A New Hobby

Disclosure - this is collaborative post 

I don’t think any of us were prepared for  2020 and what the year brought. We started the year with an idea of what our year was going to look like, holiday plans, special events and birthdays however none of that went ahead and instead we spent most of the year safe at home. I know for most, 2020 was the year of trying new things, exploring your local area, and trying to keep your mental well-being and health a priority. In between working from home, homeschooling, and our daily exercise walks we found that we needed to keep ourselves busy and decided to each take up a new hobby. Lockdown was the perfect time for us to explore new hobbies and try new things that we may not have tried before. 

Chums had an idea and wanted to delve into the most creative past times that Britons have been loving over the last year. They decided to research creative hobbies that Britain is loving the most according to Google search. The results are really interesting and two of our hobbies that we decided to try and still continue to enjoy are within the top 10 searches. The top ten searches were jigsaw puzzles, knitting, sewing, creative writing, painting, sudoku, baking, embroidery, crochet and scrapbooking.

I'm not sure when I decided to buy myself a jigsaw but it was quite early on in lockdown. I ordered one from Amazon and started as soon as it arrived. I had no idea how calm and relaxing completing a jigsaw puzzle could be. It helped me focus on something, took my mind off the outside world and refreshing the news and it was really fun to do. There are so many different jigsaws to choose from depending on your likes and also how many pieces you want to try and complete. I decided to choose a Disney puzzle because that is something I love and makes me happy and I went for a 1000 piece jigsaw which kept me busy. I got myself into a little routine, taking a hour in the afternoon to complete my jigsaw puzzle while the boys were busy. It really helped with my stress levels and actually helped me maintain a healthy well-being. It seems I wasn’t the only one, as the search team jigsaw puzzles on average collected 362,000 monthly searches according to Chums research.

Another hobby that we took up was baking. Finding baking recipes online was really fun however trying to get ingredients during lockdown wasn’t easy but we did our best. Baking was something that we could do as a family and it especially helped with homeschooling little J. It was such a fun activity and he didn’t realise he was learning at the same time. We incorporated maths, physical development, communication and problem-solving. Using google search for baking recipes on average had 64,000 searches on Google and like jigsaw puzzles came in the top 10 most searched.

It's never too late to start up a new hobby. I have found my stress levels have decreased since completing jigsaws. It really has helped be focus on something and reduces boredom too. Baking together has also helped this too. There is no better feeling than sitting down to eat something you have created, it definitely gives you a sense of achievement. If you are looking for inspiration check out Chums for more creative hobby ideas and let them know by using #CreativeBritain on socials.

Michelle