30 Quirky and Liberating Hobbies for Women Over 50 (Freshen up Your Routine)

If you’re over fifty, it’s easy to become complacent whereby you start letting life pass you by where life becomes a regimen of routine rather than excitement or spontaneity. This is especially true for those of you who may believe your best days are behind you and that there isn’t much more to be done once you’re older.

Rest assured, this couldn’t be further from the truth and in fact, it’s actually when we’re older that we’re able to appreciate our daily efforts much more than we did when we were younger when we would rush about not stopping to appreciate the moment.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to make a comprehensive list of handpicked hobbies for women over fifty to help freshen up your daily and weekly rhythm.

1. Surfing

Surfing, when practiced in a safe setting, is an excellent hobby to maintain peak fitness levels even as a woman over the age of fifty.

It’s not always about catching the most extreme wave as has been popularized by Hollywood, it’s about having fun and living your life to its fullest potential. As well as that, surfing can help you connect with new people and can allow you to build healthy habits to stay happy inside and out.

If this sounds exciting then we recommend finding surfing lessons in your area (via Google) and getting to grips with the basics first. It’s also worth considering having a friend or someone to buddy up with to make sure you have an observer whilst out on the water. Other than that, the only other thing you’ll want to get is a surfboard as it’ll save you money in the short term against expensive hire fees.

2. Cocktail Making

If the idea of a vodka mixer from your local bar makes you vomit in your mouth then it might be worth considering making your own cocktails for a more tasty and exciting drinking experience.

Believe it or not, most staple cocktails that are served in bars are relatively easy to make and don’t require much expertise. And once you’ve built this foundation of basic cocktails up, you can start working on more advanced ones too.

In a way, the only limit is your own creativity and imagination; sort of like cooking but with a kick to it! As with most hobbies, we recommend picking up a few necessities to help you get started such as this beginner cocktail kit.

3. Hydroponics Gardening

Hydroponics is a type of methodology most relevant to gardening whereby you can achieve fast, mess-free growing of plants and herbs.

In fact, hydroponics has been increasing in popularity over the years mainly due to how unaffordable large houses with gardens are becoming. Basically, if you want to grow plants these days then you’ll need to be able to do it in an affordable way.

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Hydroponics systems are both space-efficient and incredibly cheap to run and thus, can be a better method of growing plants than traditional methods.

4. Virtual Reality

Just because virtual reality is an advent of the modern generation doesn’t mean older people can’t get on board with the experience. And in fact, that’s what it is, an experience, and a rather unique one at that.

In a way, virtual reality allows us to free ourselves from the typical restrictions of day-to-day life and can allow us to experience entertainment in a more immersive way.

5. Join an exercise class

Exercising is almost a necessity if you want to maintain a healthy life, however, it’s not always the most fun, especially when faced with the prospect of doing it alone. For that reason, joining an exercise class should be at the top of your priority list if you’re wanting to make friends and maintain a trim figure.

Plus, for those days when you’re feeling a little demotivated, we’re sure they’ll be there to text you with some inspiring provocation — or some guilt, whatever works we guess, right?

6. Reading

Reading is an overlooked hobby in a world of instant gratification and mesmerizingly addictive services such as Instagram or YouTube. It’s easy for the younger generations to feel like they aren’t missing much when it comes to books as they’re not as flashy as electronics.

However, given enough patience, reading can become something completely separate from these types of services mainly because it feels like more of an involved activity whereby you can enjoy the feeling of imagination and paced wonder.

Basically, a book doesn’t spill its secrets on the first reveal, it requires some involvement from yourself to decipher everything that’s going on, and to become almost a part of the world within the book.

7. Woodworking

Woodworking is one of the best creative hobbies, mainly because it has so many practical applications that can help you around the house just as much it can help you channel those creative energies.

Whether you’re making shelves, tables, or furniture for your garden, woodworking never ceases to be an antidote for idle hands and one that is incredibly fun too.

The only caveat is that it may require a relatively large investment upfront for some tools depending on what you’re doing, though, some specializations (such as whittling/carving) are cheaper to get started with — see woodworking cost breakdown.

8. Photography

Photography is the ultimate hobby for helping other people see the world how you see it. It’s a way of framing your perspective, whereby you can use creative manipulation or image software to enhance or change the impression that people get from your pictures.

It can be done deliberately or can be a great accompanying hobby for other enjoyments in your life such as traveling or documenting what you’re doing; it’s a way of preserving the moment forever for you to look back on, or for others to learn vital lessons from such as historical photographs.

Sometimes the importance of a photograph only becomes relevant decades later which is why we think photography is one of the most important hobbies to have in your repertoire of pastimes.

9. Foraging

Foraging will never be an activity that isn’t useful to have in your collection of pastimes. Whether that’s because you want to live more sustainably or because you can enjoy organic seasonal fruits throughout the year, knowing which edible berries to pick from such a wide selection can be an incredible feeling.

Plus, if the world ever does go to the pot then you know you’ll be able to keep yourself alive longer than the average person!

10. Jam Making

Jam making is a bit of an old-school hobby, however, it’s still going strong to this day and still manages to attract a large following who enjoy mixing a variety of fruits into their compote that can make for a tasty treat.

In fact, there are even dedicated events for jam makers to compete in whereby they try to outdo each other with creative mixtures of unique jams that include all sorts — even whiskies and a variety of other unusual ingredients!

In a way, you can think of jam-making much like doing art — you have a blank canvas that you can start with and it’s only your imagination that will limit the end result.

11. Pet Sitting

Pet sitting is the perfect hobby for any woman over the age of fifty who loves being around animals, but who also might want to make a little bit of money on the side.

In most cases, you’ll usually look after someone’s pets if they’re going away on holiday or when they won’t be around for a couple of days, however, if you’re looking to make it more of a long-term thing then you can also advertise your services through social media.

And in fact, people have such a huge range of pets meaning you won’t always be dealing with the typical dogs and cats, you may even get to experience the joys of fish and reptiles too!

12. Start a podcast

Podcasting is often seen as an advent of the younger generations, though, in truth, it’s more a reformed version of radio.

The main difference is, that podcasting is a way of cutting through the noise and being more specific about the subject matter you want to talk about, whereas radio has often been more generalized.

In fact, it’s rather easy to get started with a podcast or a talk show — modern mediums like YouTube and Spotify make it rather easy to upload your talks where you can talk about pretty much anything you like.

Plus, we’re sure with you being an older woman you have absolutely loads to talk about and probably have plenty of wisdom nuggets that both young and old can benefit from.

13. Swimming

The years can be unkind to our bodies, and in most cases, it’s likely you’ll need to adapt your exercise regime for your fragile bones and achy muscles.

For this reason, swimming is one of the best exercises for a woman over the age of fifty, mainly because it puts no pressure on our joints and can still provide us with the type of exhaustion we need to get fitter.

In fact, swimmers are known to have some of the best bodies in the business thanks to it working nearly all of the body’s major muscle groups.

14. Learn an instrument

Not learning to play an instrument is ranked as one of the top regrets in life for not having done so — don’t let that be you. And yes, it’s never too late to learn, even in your senior years; it may take longer, but being older usually means you are more patient to enjoy life’s musings.

With that in mind, there is a whole range of instruments waiting to be played and learned. Guitar and piano are probably the most common thanks to how versatile they are, however, don’t let that put you off trying more exotic instruments such as the drums or saxophone, they’re just as fun.

15. Dancing

If you have an appreciation for more artistic pastimes then dancing can be a great way to channel those creative energies.

In fact, dancing is one of only a handful of activities that combines physical discipline with artistic expression — you’ll need to be in reasonable shape to tackle dance, though some styles are more forgiving than others.

In most cases, you should be able to find a dance class in your local area where they can teach you the necessary skills to get good at your chosen dance style.

16. Kite Flying

Sometimes the best activities in life don’t require a huge amount of effort and input, rather, they simply require the get-up-and-go to do them.

Kite flying is a pretty relaxing activity and is something that can be enjoyed throughout the year, especially if it’s windy out.

Plus, if you have kids or family, it’s something they can all join in with by taking turns or bringing their own kites along with them to add to the fun.

17. Go to festivals

Attending festivals, whether musical or celebratory, can be a great way to have fun with friends and family, and can also be a great way to meet new people.

Absolutely thousands of festivals are hosted every year all over the world meaning there’s never a moment where you need to stop partying. And forget what society has conditioned you to think, even at fifty or older you’re still cool and hip enough to get down with the younger generations. Heck, it’s the older generations who started this party!

18. Learn a second language

Speaking another language is a great way to expand your horizons whereby you’ll be able to communicate much easier in another country and can experience the culture exactly how it was meant to be experienced.

Plus, being able to speak another language can also open up other opportunities for you in terms of prospective jobs or even being able to live in another country on a permanent basis.

You’ll also really impress your mates and your family as it’s definitely not an easy thing to master.

19. Baking

Being able to make delicious desserts and savory foods on demand is a skill that will make you incredibly popular amongst your friends and family.

In fact, if you’re good enough then you might just be able to make a part-time or even a full-time hustle off the back of it — specialist, hand-crafted food goods have been in heavy demand over the past few years that looks set to keep on growing.

Business aside, spending the day baking is a really great way to relax and unwind, and it’ll make your home smell like an absolute dream factory.

20. Collecting

There are many different types of collecting hobbies, and in truth, you can start a collection for pretty much anything you like.

With that said, some collecting hobbies are more prominent than others such as coin collecting and card collecting.

More unique collections include matchbox collecting and even periodic table element collecting.

Just from those few examples, you can see how varied and fun the activity of collecting can be — plus, at the age of fifty or older, it’ll allow you to proceed at whatever pace suits you best.

21. Sketching

If you want a simple way to expend some creative energy then we highly recommend taking up sketching.

You can sketch whatever you like, whether that be more interpretive drawings or perhaps, something a little more realistic such as landscape or portrait drawings.

Really, sketching is so convenient, you can hide away a little sketch pad in your pocket and pull it out whenever you feel like it.

22. Origami

Origami is the perfect hobby for when you need to relax and unwind.

There are no specific ways to get started, you can just start folding your paper into whatever you want, though, YouTube has some great tutorials to follow along with that can help you get more familiar with specific types of folds or shapes.

23. Traveling

As we get older, it’s easy to become entrenched in a particular way of living whereby we forget to really enjoy everything the world has to offer.

There’s no better way to shake off the cobwebs than by packing your suitcase and jetting off to an exotic, sunkissed location, or if you’re more adventurous, somewhere that offers more of a challenge.

24. Minimalism

If you’re sick of the clutter and material possessions in your life, then it may be time to start embracing minimalism.

In fact, it’s more an ethos to live by rather than a hobby, though, it can bring plenty of satisfaction to your life just like your favorite pastimes.

There are no specific ways to start embracing minimalism, but a good place to start is usually decluttering your home or living space.

25. Coding

Being a woman over fifty who’s involved in coding would make you a particularly rare breed.

That’s because only ten percent (or so) of people involved in coding are women and even fewer are in the older age brackets.

However, don’t let that dissuade you from taking up this amazing pastime — it can help you really understand the inner workings of computer software and it’s also the basis for where you’ll make games from.

26. Sand Art

As a medium, sand can be molded and shaped rather easily making it a great conduit for channeling your creative energies.

You can draw on it and make traditional 2D art, or if you’re good enough you can spend the day making 3D structures and sandcastles.

This is an underrated hobby but one worth trying if you get the chance.

27. Blogging

You don’t need to be an experienced writer to start blogging and in fact, thousands of people all around the world do just that when they talk about their passions such as traveling or cooking.

Plus, the older you are, the more you have to write or talk about — even simple things like wisdom nuggets or answers to unusual questions can be really helpful to someone.

28. Crochet

Crochet is a form of textile work whereby you’ll weave yarn into different types of garments such as hats, scarves, jumpers, and even wooly toys.

It’s satisfying and relaxing, furthermore, once you get good at it you’ll be able to do it from muscle memory alone meaning you can chat and watch television.

29. Weightlifting

Never has it been more apparent in our society that exercise is one of the most important hobbies to engage with. Most people think of it as a chore, however, it can actually be very fun and a great way to meet people if you join an exercise class or group.

Even as a woman over fifty, there are plenty of classes specifically designed for your age group to allow you to keep up with everything that’s going on.

In the case of weightlifting, most classes will focus on easing you into the movements before attempting to lift heavier weights. This gives your body time to adjust and means you’ll learn to feel more comfortable about doing it.

30. Drone Flying

Drones are one of the coolest advents of the modern age and are something that basically anyone can enjoy playing with whether for fun or perhaps for more serious purposes such as taking aerial photographs.

In fact, the popularity of drone flying has been increasing pretty much every year and we don’t see it slowing down any time soon.

Heck, even drone flying leagues exist now and they’re something that anyone of any age can participate in — get your flight suit on!

Relevant Articles

• The Biggest Informational List of Hobbies on the Internet: 300+ Hobbies to Ignite Your Passion
• 50 Life-Expanding Hobbies for Men Over 50 (Broaden Your Horizons Now)
• 19 Satisfyingly Unusual Hobbies for Seniors (Never Too Old For Something Different)
• 14 Stimulating Hobbies for Seniors With Limited Mobility (Feel More Untethered)
• 6 Reasons Why Life Doesn’t Have to Get Boring as You Get Older

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