Grandma Hobbies & The Art of Slowing Down

Finally, a Trend Worth Following!   

“OMG, I’m such a grandma”

Muses a charismatic young 20-something in one of those aesthetic “a day in the life” Instagram vlogs.  In this video, she’s filming her Saturday activities. 

She gets up, makes her bed, and journals with a matching pen and notebook by a window with her morning coffee and her dog.  She does some yoga, gets dressed (her outfit features a crocheted top she made herself), and grabs her favorite hand painted canvas tote bag. 

She eagerly tells you “we’re going to the farmer’s market!”

You hear her chat with vendors and fill her tote with produce.  She stops by a small indie book store on the way home to pick up a new read for her evening. 

You “join” her for lunch, and she starts to make a loaf of sourdough using a starter she’s been keeping for the last few months.  She gives you an update on the status of her garden, and you watch her do some maintenance while listening to a radio she thrifted.  She’s big on thrifting, after all, and she points out all of her favorite secondhand trinkets and upcycled goods she’s accumulated as you follow her through her video. 

She’s got a vinyl records collection that she spins while she makes dinner from her farmer’s market finds.  She settles in for the night with her new book, a cup of tea, a matching set of pajamas, and a crocheted blanket that looks like she might’ve made it herself, too. Of course, her adorable dog makes another cameo.

The video is tagged “#grandmahobbies.”

If you click on the hashtag, you’ll find hundreds upon hundreds more like it, with influencers and content creators all sharing their favorite hobbies.  From baking to painting to fabricrafts, slowing down into a more analog form of life is making the rounds on the wheel of trends. 

Unlike most trends, we hope this one is here to stay. 

Given its name, it probably is.

So, what’s a “grandma hobby?”

Simply put, a grandma hobby is a hobby your grandma (or any grandma, really) might’ve had.  These hobbies tend to be non-digital and focus on creative expression or being present in the moment.  They’re relaxing and tangible, and there’s some science that says they’re really good for you!

There’s usually a little skill required with some of these hobbies, but they all tend to be easy to pick up once you’ve figured out the initial learning curve. 

Another key differentiator of a grandma hobby: it’s slow.  It’s time (and attention) consuming.  There’s not much room for digital distraction, but these hobbies can pair beautifully with friends. 

Take painting, for example.

You can’t exactly watch TV or scroll on your phone into oblivion while you paint, but you can listen to music or hold a conversation with a friend. 

If you’re an extrovert, invite a few friends over, put out some wine or tea and snacks, and you’ve just created beautiful quality time that doesn’t cost you too much.  Or, you opt out of sound entirely and just enjoy the stillness.

You’ll probably be “bad” at painting the first few times you try it, but as you go, you figure out what you like to do and what you think looks good.  That’s called finding your style.  Funny thing about hobbies: you don’t have to be “good” at them to enjoy them, but time and practice are generous, patient teachers (and some of the best you’ll ever have).  Our wizened grandmothers learned this lesson, too. 

Painting is also slow; you literally have to wait for paint to dry before you can layer over preexisting layers.  There’s something sacred about crafting a labor of love and creativity over time.  It’s a degree of intentionality you don’t see nearly as clearly through digital media, making it something we crave nowadays. 

A Non-Exhaustive List of Grandma Hobbies:

Just to name a few…

Why choose Grandma Hobbies?

Lots of reasons! 

People like to joke about how our attention spans are toast, and most folks agree that they would benefit from spending less time in front of a screen.  The way we feel after regularly binge watching shows or doom scrolling?  It’s not fun.  That much screen time messes with our brains and our nervous systems, and it can actually spike our cortisol (stress hormone) in ways that aren’t helpful to our bodies. 

Grandma Hobbies, on the other hand, invite you to relax.  Activities like writing, knitting, or kneading bread are rhythmic and repetitive, which calms our nervous system after a stressful day.  Gardening gets you outside, which stimulates the production of vitamin D.  Board games are structured social time – no sitting around twiddling your thumbs, but you reap all the benefits of seeing your friends.  You get the idea. 

Long story short, our digital world is a fountain of knowledge at our fingertips… AND, it’s also the one thing silently sabotaging our connection to ourselves and others.  You deserve that connection!

What are your Grandma Hobbies?

At The Magnolia Company, we obviously love gardening.  It’s the Underhill family legacy!  We’re biased, but we think everyone should garden.  Connecting with nature and Earth’s beauty is what keeps us hopeful for the future. 

But, there’s no rule that says you have to pick just one Grandma Hobby. 

In fact, on the Roth side of the family tree is a master quilter.  Grams (Matt’s mom) has been quilting since Matt was knee high to a grasshopper, and she’s not putting down her sewing machine any time soon.

Matt has cherished childhood memories of hearing Grams’ sewing machine running late into the night.  He chuckles as he recounts finding her dozing off in her chair.  She insists, “I was just resting my eyes!” 

With her trusty needle and thread, there’s nothing Grams can’t make.  Matt’s daughter, Kate, recalls the time that Grams turned a table cloth into a robe for herself, simply because she liked the fabric and wanted a robe!  The family has a beautiful collection of handmade aprons in their kitchen pantry, all made with Grams’ love and skill. 

Most notably, Grams loves to quilt.  It’s a Roth family tradition that everyone receives a quilt when they’re born, a quilt when they graduate high school, and a quilt for their bed when they get married.  Now that Grams is a great grandmother, her projects continue! 

What she creates is more than a blanket.  Every quilt she makes represents decades upon decades of her well-honed skill and passion for her hobby, woven with the immense love she has for her family, made tangible for years to come.   

So, what are your grandma hobbies?  In a world of quick swipes left and right, how are you showing love to yourself and those around you?