5 Hobbies For Retirees

Welcome to the golden years!

Are you thinking about retiring, or perhaps you have already made steps to wind down. Nevertheless, you are about to have a lot more free time on your hands.

Hobbies are a great way to relax, have fun and spend time developing your own interests that might have previously fallen by the way-side.

Take a look at some of our favourite hobbies to take up in retirement.

1. Arts and Crafts

Whether it is quilting, painting or making your own jewellery, retirement is the perfect time to get creative.

If you want to get your creative juices flowing, checkout some local art classes, and remember you don’t have to just draw or paint, consider sculpture, pottery or cross-stitching.

Artistic activities are not only a great way to keep yourself busy, but you can make countless gifts for family and friends.

2. Cooking

Have you always had a desire to unleash your inner Delia?

Retirement provides you with the opportunity to enjoy the whole cooking process and improve your skills.

If you are looking for some inspiration, start by reading cooking books or magazines and try out some recipes that appeal to you.

If baking is more your thing, why not try and bake bread from scratch? Alternatively, if you are confident enough, bake a special cake for a relative or friend’s birthday. This gesture will be greatly appreciated and you have the opportunity to show off your finely honed skills!

3. Exercise

If you have spent years putting exercise on the back burner, retirement is the perfect time to get in shape.

Staying fit does not mean you have to sign-up for the marathon, you can try out low impact exercises such as swimming or yoga.

Remember to take any exercise at your own pace, even a morning walk gets you up and off the sofa.

4. Travel

With no further work commitments, in retirement, there is no better time to explore the world.

Whether you have aspirations to explore your own backyard in a caravan, or if you fancy somewhere more exotic, getting out of your usual comfort zone can stimulate the mind and senses.

Bear in mind that travelling does not necessarily have to break the bank, a lot of free destinations are quite affordable, just ensure you do your research first.

5. Geocaching

For all you techie retirees out there, geocaching is an any-day, any-time adventure that can take you to amazing and beautiful places, or maybe somewhere close by that you have never been before.

This is essentially an outdoor treasure hunt where you use GPS-enabled device (i.e. your smartphone) to navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates. At this location you can attempt to find the geocache (container) which is hidden in that area.

Geocaching does require a certain willingness to get outside and into the fresh air, but this is a great way for you to do something fun and exciting with family or friends.

Watch the video below to learn more about what geocaching is, how it works and how you can become a part of it.