Do you have a hobby? How about a family hobby? If not, now’s a good time to start.

What is a hobby? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a hobby is a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.

Sharing hobbies is an excellent opportunity for family bonding time. The memories you make will be talked about in years to come, “Remember when we used to…?” 

And who knows, maybe your family hobby will be passed down through the generations. And wouldn’t that be something?

Do you have to wait until your kids are a certain age to have a family hobby? Absolutely not. Any age is a good time to get the family involved in something together.

Beginning an activity, like hiking, in your child’s early years, can start with carrying your toddler in a backpack. Eventually, they can be walking the trails next to you, and maybe, just maybe, eventually climbing 14ers (elevations over 14,000 feet) together.

Hobbies don’t have to be big activities, like hiking 14ers. They can be as simple as working on a puzzle together after Sunday dinner or watching Charlie Chaplin movies.

The important thing is spending time with each other. 

So, how do you get started? What are some hobbies you can do together?

The answers to those questions start with: What are your family interests? Is there something you all enjoy, or maybe one person in the family has a passion they’d like to share?

Here are some ideas to ponder.

Indoor Hobbies:

• Board games
• Puzzles
• Playing cards
• Baking or cooking
• Movie Night
• Magic Tricks
• Video Games
• Making cheese
• Writing a story
• Book club
• Start a band – You could be the next Jackson 5 or The Osmonds
• Create a blog

Outdoor Hobbies:

• Geocaching
• Gardening
• Bird Watching
• Hiking
• Camping
• Stargazing
• Trapshooting
• Stone or Rock Stacking

Active Hobbies:

• Walking
  • Walk for a Cause or a charity
• Swimming
• Biking
• Running
• Triathlons
• Yoga
• CrossFit
• Jump roping
• Dancing

Make Something with Your Hands:

• As a gift
  • Knitting
  • Crocheting
  • Quilting
• Painting/Drawing/Crafts (seasonal)
• Origami – read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Elanor Coerr together then make 1000 paper origami cranes
• Welding
• Woodworking
• Start an Etsy business as a family

Experiences:

• Visiting the National Museum of … (There are lots of cool National Museums that you may not even know exist)
• Dines, Drive-Ins, and Dives road trip
• Concerts
• Plays
• Volunteering
• Fostering animals
• Collecting stamps in your passport – go where you’ve never gone before
• Breaking a Guinness Book of World Record
• Visiting the weirdest roadside attractions in each state

In the past, there’s been a misconception that authentic hobbies require people to collect items. Even though it’s not true, here are a few of the most popular collecting hobbies.

• Stamps
• Coins
• Trading Cards
• Comic Books

And if you’re into collecting, pawnshops, vintage shops, thrift stores, garage/estate sales, and antique stores are great places to visit.

If you’re not into collecting, but would like to document your family hobbies, consider:

• Making a scrapbook or photo album
• Writing a song, story, or poem about your hobby
• Videos/pictures/podcasts/blogs/Vlogs/artwork

Of course, nobody said your hobby has to be “normal.” A little out-of-the-ordinary is always interesting.

• Competitive duck herding
• Entering food eating contests
• Ax collecting and throwing
• Cosplay
• Creating Dumpster Diving art

Pick a hobby, any hobby – because a family hobby can be as simple as, “Hey, let’s do something fun,” which you continue to do time and again.