When you imagine someone who loves needlepoint, Mahjong, and spending a day in the garden, you likely picture your grandmother — not someone who’s fresh out of college, job hunting, or swiping on Hinge. But according to the Etsy Trend Edit for 2025, “nonna core” is officially appealing to everyone, including Gen Z and Millennials.
Grandma hobbies are everywhere on social media, too, like on TikTok, where the search term brings up over 11 million posts. In the past few months, creator @giftofgabryel talked about the whimsy and allure of assembling puzzles, while @alexadevirgilio showed off her latest sewing project. Others have been baking muffins and planting flowers, like @nicoletetrault1, who said, “Sorry, can’t hang out. Busy doing granny stuff.”
One of the biggest fans, however, has got to be Kenzie Elizabeth, a lifestyle creator and host of The House Guest Pod, who spends a good portion of her day needlepointing, which she was even doing while chatting on the phone for this story.
“I've always been a grandma at heart,” she tells Bustle. “It started with cooking, and then it was a slippery slope into more grandma hobbies.” Elizabeth got into needlepoint, thanks to her actual grandma. “She asked for a needlepoint to craft for her birthday, and so I started doing it with her.” The rest is history.
Here, Elizabeth talks about the joy of grandma hobbies and how to start one of your own.
The Joy Of “Grandma Hobbies”
If you’ve always wanted a hobby, but can’t quite get into Saturday morning kickball, rock climbing, or photography, then you might enjoy the slower pace of a true grandma hobby. According to Elizabeth, there’s a difference between everyday hobbies and grandma hobbies, and it’s that the latter have genuine geriatric vibes.
By that, she means they’re leisurely, relaxing, grounding, as well as time-consuming in the best way. When you’re older, you often have more freedom to sit with a project that takes weeks — and sometimes even months — to complete, and that’s exactly the type of energy you should be going for. It’s a treat to tear a page from the gamgam handbook and slow down.
For Elizabeth, the cozy-core lifestyle is half the appeal. “With these hobbies, you're obviously learning a new skill, but you're also committing to spending time alone or just developing a new craft,” she says. “You’re showing yourself that you’ll show up for yourself... It’s all about building more of the life you want.”
Grandma hobbies also have a special way of bringing people together. “It’s an amazing thing, especially in your 20s, because it’s the first time in your life when your friendships aren’t just who you were surrounded with at school,” Elizabeth says. “It’s much easier when you have some sort of common interest.”
It’s why she hosts Mahjong meet-ups for her friends and also goes to tournaments with her grandma, where she rubs elbows with people of all ages. “I like spending time with older women because they obviously have so much wisdom and so much life experience,” she says.
Puzzles and time spent in a garden are also the perfect antidotes to brain rot, which can set in when you spend all your time online. Instead of doom-scrolling, you can crochet. Instead of watching back-to-back seven-second clips, you remember how nice it is to focus.
“I am scrolling on TikTok and social, of course, but now most of my feed is sourdough recipes or needlepoint canvases,” she says. “I’m not really trying to keep up with people anymore. It’s been nice to disconnect. I definitely feel less anxious, and I think that goes hand-in-hand with doing a craft that’s slow and calming.”
How To Start Your Own Grandma Hobby
To find a grandma hobby of your very own, it’s often as easy as going to a craft store and discovering what piques your interest. Walk the aisles and see if you’re drawn to embroidery, sewing patterns, or crochet. Take a stroll down the paper aisle, and think about scrapbooking, or head over to the pottery section and pick up some clay.
If you’re more of a foodie, stop by a grocery store and get ingredients to make a pie, muffins, or chocolate chip cookies. Think about what your nonna would do and do the same. Scrolling TikTok and Instagram is also a good source of inspo. If puzzles keep coming up on your FYP, it may be time to get a 5,000-piece set.
Scrolling social media for meet-ups is a big help, too. Check for local book clubs, Mahjong events, cooking classes, and ceramics workshops. “You could also host a girls' night,” Elizabeth says. “When I learned Mahjong, I had a teacher come over, and we did a whole night together. I think that so much of the fun with these hobbies is learning from women, especially women who are older than you, so I would really recommend trying to take classes as much as possible.”
Once you have your supplies and a few basic skills, you can up the grandma factor even more by setting the mood. Get a warm beverage, play relaxing jazz, and make sure you’re as comfy as possible. “I sometimes like to put on Gilmore Girls,” she says. “I'll have a coffee and sit on my couch bundled up.” With grandma hobbies, the goal is to be as cozy as possible.
Source:
Kenzie Elizabeth, lifestyle creator, host of The House Guest Pod
