By Mikayla Weiss, Sports Editor
When the time comes and people start asking you: “What’d you do over summer break?” And you can’t think of anything to say except you watched TikTok and played Roblox… Well, it sounds funny in the moment, but then you get to thinking–imagine all of the fun things you could’ve tried over break. Don’t waste this summer–here’s a list of some hobbies to try out.
Section 1: Physical
- Running
All you have to do is put on a pair of running shoes and go outside. You can put on some headphones and listen to your favorite song too. Running is my favorite way to clear my head.
[Phil and Claire Dunphy from Modern Family jogging.]
- Walking
Sometimes, going out and getting some fresh air and sun is just what you need. Walking is a great form of low-impact cardio, and you can enjoy the scenery around your neighborhood. I try to get in two walks a day.
- Lifting
You can lift weights at home or at a gym. Increasing your reps or weight over time is a great way to build muscle. Remember, consistency over perfection.
- Pilates/Yoga
Pilates and yoga are also a great way to build muscle. You can go to classes or find free videos or courses online. Pilates is my favorite form of exercise because the burn feels so satisfying!
20 min Full Body STRETCH/YOGA for STRESS & ANXIETY Relief
Beginner Dance Tutorial | Taste – Sabrina Carpenter Choreography
How to Punch the Heavy Bag for Beginners | Part 1
Fishing 101: The Basics You Need to Start Fishing Today!
[Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye from the Marvel Cinematic Universe]
- General Sports
A lot of people play general sports in school, but playing in the summer is fun as well. During the summer, you can also try out new sports. My favorites are tennis, archery, and badminton.
- Gardening
To start a garden, you’ll need a container, soil, water, and seeds. Even if you don’t have a backyard, you could still start a garden. You can start with seeds, or buy them already grown and just keep them alive. I don’t have a backyard, but I really wanted to start my own garden, so I planted seeds, let them sprout, and then put them in my balcony. It’s important to make sure you water them regularly.
How to Start Your First Garden (COMPLETE GUIDE)
[Bree Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives working on her perfect front lawn.]
Section 2: Creative
- Drawing
Pick up a pen or pencil and draw on a piece of paper. You can take classes or watch free tutorials to improve! If you really enjoy it you might want to take Moreau’s drawing class.
HOW TO DRAW A PERSON! (Beginner Friendly Step by Step)
- Video editing
This is my favorite hobby ever. I prefer Adobe After Effects as a software, but you can also edit on apps like CapCut, Video Star, and Alight Motion. You can edit anything, but normally people edit characters from TV shows or celebrities. To get your clips, you can download scene packs on Instagram or screen record clips from YouTube and put them into the software. There are a bunch of free tutorials on YouTube if you need help.
how to make a tiktok edit on capcut in 1 minute *beginners tutorial* NO PRO
- Photography
You don’t need to be a professional to start up photography. You can take photos of anything, even using your phone camera. Try different frames, lighting, and angles. I like taking random photos of things I find aesthetically pleasing.
- Writing – Fiction, Non-fiction, Letters, etc
When you think of writing, you think about school, but there are a ton of different forms of writing you can do and you can write about anything you want. Writing is truly so fun and it doesn’t always mean an essay.
This is *exactly* how you’re going to start writing a book 👩🏻💻🖋️ | STEP BY STEP GUIDE
- Journaling
Journaling is a great way to learn more about yourself and reduce your stress. You can journal about your day, your feelings, what you want to do, and much more.
9 Simple Journaling Techniques for Beginners (That Actually Work!)
[Elizabeth Olsen, most known for her role as Wanda Maximoff journals daily.]
- Crocheting/Knitting
If you don’t have the materials needed for this activity in your house, I suggest you buy a kit from the store. Once you have everything you need, you can watch tutorials on YouTube and start making anything you want out of the yarn
how to crochet a simple flower | no magic ring 🌸 easy crochet tutorial for BEGINNERS
How to Knit: Easy for Beginners
- Sewing
Sewing is such a cool hobby because if you get good enough, you could make your own clothes. Imagine how amazing that would be? Before you start sewing, you should watch tutorials online for beginners.
Learn to Sew Ep.1 | How to start sewing your clothes – step by step from the beginning
[Julia Roberts, most known for Vivian Ward in the movie Pretty Woman sews as a relaxing hobby to unwind.]
- Painting – Acrylics, Watercolors, Oils
Painting is another thing we used to do as kids, but stopped. Pick up your paintbrush and paint palette and paint away!
Basic Acrylic Painting Techniques for Beginners
- Jewelry making
Jewelry making ranges from beaded bracelets to complex metal work. You can make your own jewelry and possibly even sell it.
💫 HOW TO MAKE JEWELRY 🩵 beginner phone charm tutorial, wire + bead basics ✨
- Ceramics/Pottery/Airdry clay
This activity lowers cortisol, increases focus, and improves hand-eye coordination. With clay, you can make anything you want, like vases, bowls, cups, and more. You can take Moreau’s ceramics class if you really enjoy the hobby.
a beginner’s guide to starting pottery: essential tools, prices, and tips!
- Scrapbooking/Junk journaling
It’s important to remember that social media isn’t our only archive. Scrapbooking or junk journaling can be your new archive. You can even print photos of you or your friends and scrapbook them into your pieces. I don’t scrapbook that often, but normally I turn them into scrapbook posters I can hang on my wall. For 2026, instead of making a classic vision board, I “scrapbooked” it in the same style as below.
DIY How to Scrapbook | *aesthetic ideas* tips + inspiration
how to start junk journaling in 2026 – my fave supplies and inspo! ✿
- Caligraphy/Lettering
It’s nice to be able to write in all sorts of pretty ways, but calligraphy and lettering also act as a form of meditation and reduce stress and anxiety. This is a hobby I’m looking forward to picking up soon!
Calligraphy for Absolute Beginners: The Only Video You Need!
- DIYs
This hobby doesn’t call to anything specific, except crafting things yourself. There are many things you could make like bookmarks, phone cases, and more!
ENTER YOUR HOBBY GIRL ERA 🎨 aesthetic DIY crafts for summer
- Soap/Candle Making
Soap and candle making are fun because it allows you to customize practical items from scratch. They combine science with art, which is super cool. There are tutorials on YouTube, but you can customize the soap or candles however you want.
Soap Making Tutorial and Recipe for Absolute Beginners (you can do it!)
- Origami
Buy some origami paper and look up tutorials on YouTube! There are a ton of different things you can make with origami, and there’s so many videos on it.
How To Make A Cat Easy Origami Step by Step For Beginner
- Pipecleaner flowers
Pipercleaner flowers are fun and easy to make. They can also be good gift ideas.
DIY Pipe Cleaner Lily | Easy Bendy Twist Flower Tutorial 🌷
- Flower Arranging
Flower arranging sounds easy, but can be challenging to master. It’s a nice hobby to have and can make your house look nicer.
Take Your Floral Arrangement From Amateur To Pro By Designing With These Six Elements
[Bree Van de Kamp from Desperate Housewives shown arranging flowers.]
- Listening to Music/Making Playlists
A lot of people listen to music, but exploring new genres, analyzing artists, and making playlists can deepen the hobby even further.
- Watching TV Series/Movies
This might sound like a terrible hobby, but completing different TV series and movies is much better than watching social media. It can reduce stress, provide comfort, and cause you to get inspired. I was inspired to start my own garden because my favorite character from Desperate Housewives, Bree Van de Kamp, is known for her perfect lawn and flowers. If you need some show recs, I suggest Modern Family, Friends, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal, The O.C., The Flash, and more.
Section 3: Intellectual
- Chess
Chess has immense strategic depth and an amazing mental exercise. At first, it might be hard, but practice and you’ll keep getting better. You don’t need to have any materials because you can start online. If you have the materials and know how to play, you can play with friends and family. A great place to start is https://www.chess.com/
- Coding
Learning how to code is great, even if you don’t want to go down that career path. It teaches you how to think logically and in a structured way. I took a STEM class before where we learned how to code, and it was really enjoyable.
- Reading & Annotating
The minute you find a book you love, you will not be able to put it down. Instead of buying a bunch of books, the library is a great way to start finding the types of books you like without having to purchase anything. Annotating books is also enjoyable and helps you deep even further into the book. It sounds like school, but if it’s a book you really enjoy, you’ll have fun annotating it.
easy book annotating in under 2 minutes
- Puzzles
Classic puzzles, LEGOs, or sudoku are fun and a great way to reduce stress. You can do them with family, friends, or by yourself. I make sure to bring my sudoku book with me everywhere I go.
- Learning a new language
Learning a new language enhances cognitive skills, strengthens memory, and deepens cultural understanding. Romanticize the language you’re taking here at Moreau. You just might fall in love with learning it.
learning a new language is easy, actually
- Cooking/Baking
Cooking and baking is an incredible skill to have as a teen and as an adult. Check out cookbooks from the library, try new recipes, experiment with new ingredients. If you make your own food, you know what’s in it. Eating healthy and healing your gut can improve your mood, boost your immune system, and make your everyday life better.
[Bree Van de Kamp is known to be quite the chef in Desperate Housewives.]
- Playing Instruments
Playing instruments enhances brain function, mental health, and can even provide emotional release.
How To Master ANY Instrument You Want (Beginner to PRO)
- Documentaries
Documentaries are entertaining and you learn new things. There are many different types of documentaries to watch on apps like Netflix, Hulu, and more. My favorite documentary is Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut.
Section 4: Social
- Volunteering
It’s super easy to volunteer, and at the same time, you’re getting service hours. A simple way to volunteer this summer is to volunteer for H.A.R.D, or your city’s recreation and park district. You can volunteer with friends to make it even better.
- Book clubs
Joining a book club is really nice because it can get you into reading, while also socializing.
- Board Games/Video Games
Board games and video games are a fun thing to do when hanging out with friends or family. The games can range from casual strategy board games to Fortnite.
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Board Games
Section 5: Collecting
- Stamp Collecting
Stamp collecting is when you save postage stamps. Collectors normally organize them by theme, country, or era.
6 Essential Tips to Start a Stamp Collection
- Rockhounding
Finding, storing, and identifying different types of rocks is a hobby that is free and makes you smarter.
Rockhounding 101 THE Best way to FIND minerals. ROCKHOUND with a GEOLOGIST
- Funko Pops
You can collect Funko Pops of your favorite characters if you find them in stores.
- KPop Albums
KPop albums include CDs in them, but people normally collect them for all of the inclusions and the photocards of certain idols.
- Cards
You can collect a variety of different cards, like KPop photocards, baseball cards, and Pokémon cards. After you start up your collection, you can start trading and selling.
- CDs
It’s fun to collect CDs from your favorite artists and groups. You can find them for cheaper at places like Half Price Books.
- Vinyl Records
Vinyl records are like CDs, but they’re more expensive. These will only play on a vinyl player.
- DVDs/Blu-rays
I started collecting DVDs in the past year and I’m obsessed. It’s so fun to collect your favorite TV shows and movies. They can get expensive, so I suggest you collect them if you have a DVD/Blu-ray player, because then you can actually rewatch the shows and movies you buy.
A Beginners Guide To Collecting Physical Media
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