2025 is the year of trying new things. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself to hopefully stop doom-scrolling on TikTok for hours at a time and wasting my nights away looking at dreadful Daily Mail updates. Usually around January, people tell themselves that they’ll start to work out at the gym, read twenty books by the end of the year, or start cooking up some healthy meals Gordon Ramsey would be proud of. But I have a few hobbies up my sleeve that are different than any of those. Because sometimes we need to try something completely new altogether.
play the Harmonica
These are pretty inexpensive instruments and, from what I’ve seen on TikTok, pretty easy to teach basic skills on. Now, if you have a roommate, this could debatably be a ruthless hobby to pick up, but as long as you’re home alone, you might as well, right? For a more inexpensive option, I would select a Fender. I would also suggest a Hohner for a well-rated harmonica, in which price can vary greatly based on the model. If you watched a lot of videos of Bob Dylan playing harmonica for whatever reason (this is personal to me) as a kid, or you really like “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, this could be the perfect 2025 hobby for you.
Needle Felting
Needle felting is listed as being a pretty easy craft to learn, as well as being extremely accessible. Plus, for fans of texture, the wool does feel nice. This is a craft that only involves a few parts: the un-spun wool, a needle specific to felting, and a pad to stab instead of your table (or fingers). Stabbing pieces of wool over and over until they form a condensed shape sounds fun, doesn’t it? If you get lonely sitting at your desk, you can needle felt a little mouse to sit next to you.
make some paper
If you were on TikTok a few years ago, you may have seen people make their own colored paper with flowers and leaves and even pour coffee into the mixture for the color and scent. Start by cutting up some old paper, soaking it, and blending it up. If you don’t have a blender, check your local thrift store! This blended mixture is your pulp, and you probably don’t want to use that blender for anything you want to eat later. Mix the pulp into a tub of water until there are no more chunks left, or you’re happy with the texture. Next, you’re going to need something called a mold and deckle (you can make your own). This filters out the water and forms your paper shape. After you use a sponge to dry it out, you can hang your pieces of paper out to dry. Not only is this a fun activity, but it’s great for the environment, too!
Get medieval with it
Really, all you need for this is a pair of pliers and some jump rings, but I haven’t had enough gumption to try. I added a link to a pack of 2000 jump rings for larger pieces. With the recent “revival” of medieval fashion, aesthetics, and overall love for fantasy, anyone can get into making chainmail pieces. Here’s a TikTok by a user who made a chainmail headpiece with some extra chains and gems to suit her needs.
Leaving ominous omens
I saw someone do this on TikTok, and I thought it was really amusing. If you can draw, and even if you can’t but you have a pencil and paper, then this would work. Draw some uncanny, horrifying faces and other cursed beings and leave them around town for others to find. You can leave them out in the open or hide them just barely out of sight. The great thing about this hobby is that you don’t need anything besides a pen/pencil and some paper.
This is your sign to try new things, no matter how strange they may be. Learning to play the harmonica isn’t exactly that weird, but it’s not very common and could get you bullied if your peers don’t have that inherent sense of whimsy that you do. Let’s face it: if you’re reading this, you’re more interesting than them anyway.