Five home hobbies to keep you busy in Winter

Gone are the evenings spent cooking on the BBQ, or evening walks on the beach. Winter is well and truly here! With more time being spent indoors longing for summer evenings to return, it’s the perfect opportunity to take up a new hobby. We’ve put together five of our favourites that won’t make a dent on your wallet.

Start a scrapbook or two

Scrapbooking is a great way to document life events. From the birth of a new baby, to a family reunion, the options are endless. Scrapbooking is a method for telling a story and it’s a great rainy-day activity that the kids can get involved in too. An unused notebook or school exercise book can be transformed into a creative story with the use of photos, and fun embellishments you have lying around home. Odd bits of wrapping paper, cut out letters from newspapers and colourful pens can bring your scrapbook to life.

Be better at budgeting

Now’s a great time to be planning that next family vacation, but often the first step is saving up to make that dream vacation a reality. Start with how much money you make each month, after tax. Breaking your monthly expenses into specific buckets can help determine where your money goes each month. A spreadsheet is great for tracking all your expenses and seeing where you may have overspent. Once you’ve determined how much you can save per month, start a new bank account and a direct payment so you don’t even have to think about it. Aim to review your budget every week or so, then you can keep track of what might need to change or if you’re sticking to your plan!

Discover a new language

こんにちは, hallo, bonjour, hola. Learning a new language means learning lots of new words. It can be daunting to learn a new language, especially when you think back to how little you remember from your high school French class. The first step is picking a language you want to learn, maybe you plan to travel to a new country or have friends and family you want to communicate with. Next, create some flash cards, these can be simple words for things around the house. Include the English word and the equivalent word in the language you're learning and recite these as you pass them every day. You may also be more of a visual learner, so seeing the cue cards in your mind when you’re trying to order that cup of coffee in Spain can help spark the memory!

Learn the art of origami

Origami is the art of paper folding to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional subjects. Most origami is folded from a single square sheet of paper, but once you get to an advanced level you can include multiple pieces of paper to create intricate designs. Origami is a hobby that the kids can get involved in too, and with just a few sheets of paper, you can create hours of fun. You’ll find lots of different designs to try online, starting at beginner level right through to advanced.

Teach an old dog new tricks

If even the dog is telling you they don’t want to walk in this winter weather, take the exercise inside instead. Not only are tricks great for mental stimulation, but they’re also a great bonding experience. Whether you have a puppy or an older dog, they can learn tricks with a little patience and support from you. Tricks are always easier to teach if your dog knows the basics like sit, stay and down. As a general rule, training sessions shouldn’t last more than 10 minutes. Want to impress your guests? Teach your dog to give them a wave goodbye!