If there's one trend I have been absolutely loving over the past year, it's cozy hobbies. As a mom who prioritizes slow, intentional motherhood, I've found that having a few cozy hobbies keeps me off my screens when my toddler is with me, gives me something to "play" alongside his explorations, and often offers something for us to do together.

Cozy hobbies are gentle, enjoyable activities that don't necessarily require a ton of effort to start or have on hand. They're typically offline, creative, and mentally stimulating activities, and as they are often project-based, they can scratch the accomplishment itch so many busy moms feel.

For moms, cozy hobbies offer an opportunity to engage in creativity alongside your little one, or an alternative for free mornings, evenings, and nap times that might otherwise add to your weekly screen time.

If you're new to cozy hobbies, or if you're just looking for another to integrate into your life, pick one of these ideas to try and observe whether it transforms your down time and play time with your littles.

Cozy Hobby Ideas for Busy Moms

1. Crocheting and knitting

Creating with yarn is such a versatile hobby and you can keep it as simple or complex as you'd like. Patterns can be printed out for easy, screen-free reference, and you can hand-select pieces to create heirloom items you actually need in your home and wardrobe.

I learned to crochet using The Homemade Mothers Crochet Your Way to Calm course and am currently working on the gratitude blanket pattern. I selected colors that match our living room, and the blanket will live on our couch there. I carry this hobby around the house in a little project basket and work on my current round while my toddler plays. He's taken to calling it my "BIG blanket," which of course makes me feel wonderful about it!

2. Cross-stitching and embroidery

Like crocheting and knitting, cross-stitch and embroidery patterns can be printed for easy reference. It's an inexpensive but rewarding hobby, and you can select patterns to create for wall art or to add to directly to linens you use every day, like towels, clothes, and sheets.

My grandmother taught me to cross-stitch, so I always have a project going. I love to print out the pattern and keep all the embroidery threads for the project in a pouch devoted just to cross-stitch projects. Last year, I opted to purchase a beginner embroidery kit from Clever Poppy so I could learn some different stitches. This kit included videos as part of the learning demonstrations, so I watched those while my son was sleeping or otherwise not with me, but worked on the project itself both with and without him present.

Remember with cross-stitch and embroidery that those needles are sharp! Be sure to tuck them safely away when not in use, especially if you are doing this cozy hobby around your kids.

3. Reading

While difficult to do alongside your kids, reading is an excellent escape during nap times, for early mornings, and for post-bedtime evenings. Fiction offers a true escape, but non-fiction can serve the dual purpose of expanding your knowledge base, including potentially about another cozy hobby you're interested in trying.

I love to have a fiction book and non-fiction book checked out from the library at the same time. I read fiction (usually fantasy and romantasy) right before bed, and fill down times during the day with non-fiction. You can see my reading lists and TBR (to be read) lists for nature books and yoga books on the blog!

Always check your local library for books. Libraries have an incredible array to choose from, but they can also often use an inter-library loan process to find a book for you at another library. Their e-book and audiobook options are immense, and if they don't have what you want, they may even consider buying it for you to check out (really!). You can also buy books secondhand or from your favorite local bookshop if you really want a copy for your shelf at home. I love to use PageBound to track my reads!

4. Coloring

Coloring feels like the ultimate cozy hobby for sharing with your kids. They love to color and with the plethora of adult coloring books available these days, we can color right alongside them. Just be careful about teaching boundaries if you don't want them coloring in your book!

As a slow living mom, I recommend purchasing just one coloring book at a time. The number of options on the market makes it easy to load up your cart and fill up your shelves, but if avoiding overconsumption is important to you, thoroughly using and enjoying an entire coloring book before moving on to the next is the right move.

5. Junk journaling and record-keeping

Junk journaling is exactly what it sounds like - using all the little remnants you collect in your day to day life to put together a collage or scrapbook-like journal that celebrates the moments you've experienced. Another cozy version of journaling may include record-keeping for specific activities you or your family do, such as documenting your favorite weekend activities, tracking your gardening progress, or note-taking as you experiment with baking.

I've collected some "junk" to apply to this cozy hobby, and would also love to start documenting my crafting and baking journeys in a record-keeping manner where I can track my progress and learnings. I'm still daydreaming about these hobbies, but I will update if I dive in!

6. Baking and cooking

Baking and cooking may be one of the more practical activities in this list, but if you're doing it anyways, why not transform it into your new whimsical, cozy hobby? Sourdough is a classic for baking cozy hobbies, but you could pick literally any baked good and start experimenting. The same goes for cooking; pick a cuisine or an ingredient and become your family's expert on making it taste amazing! These cozy hobbies are perfect for little ones, too, because they love to get involved in what you're doing. Inviting them into the kitchen is such a fun way to play and bond together.

I've been baking sourdough for a couple of years (there are literally hundreds of recipes online as well as library books to get you started) and recently started branching out into flavored loaves that my family loves to have on hand. For added cooking fun, we've been making a point to cook out of the cookbooks we already own and checking out others from the library to explore new cuisines.

7. Puzzling

Puzzles are mentally stimulating and accomplishment-oriented. They can be left out for easy access, and depending on your child's age, could be a great activity to involve them in. Check your local library and thrift stores for puzzles you can borrow or buy secondhand. You may also have friends with puzzles they've completed that are now just sitting on their shelves - offer a trade!

I've found over the course of the past year that puzzling really feels like a fall and winter activity for me, when my energy is lower and the days are darker. Try it out and see how it feels for you during different times of year.

8. Mending and sewing

Another practical skill set, mending and sewing offer both creativity and usefulness. If you're focused on living a slower lifestyle, mending is a critical skill that honors your belongings and rejects overconsumption culture. Similarly, learning to sew is a pathway to creating a wardrobe you absolutely love, that fits perfectly, and that is made out of the materials you want on your body. Quilting and other forms of creative sewing are also options for this versatile cozy hobby.

I am still learning to mend and to sew, and therefore rely primarily on YouTube videos and blog posts to grow my skill set. It also requires a lot of focus for me to implement these growing skills. I hope that in time I will be able to mend ripped and worn clothing or use a sewing pattern without resorting to another review of the same how-to video, but for now, I do these activities away from my toddler so he isn't engaged with the screen as well.

9. Gardening

From pollinator plantings to cut flowers and vegetables to herbs, gardening is an incredibly wide world of outdoor fun. With simple, repeatable tasks like planting and watering, you and your kids can embrace this cozy hobby together. If you've been looking for an outdoor activity that can keep you engaged all year, look no further than gardening.

There are so many options when it comes to gardening that it can feel incredibly overwhelming at first. I recommend deciding on one type of garden to have - maybe it's a container herb garden on your porch or maybe it's a pollinator garden in that one spot in your yard that's super annoying to mow.

Start small and start narrow with your focus. In the winter, plan out what you'd like your garden be and do the research you need to do to decide on which plants you'd like to use (another shout out to the library here for gardening books!). In late winter to spring, prepare your gardening activities by purchasing what you'll need to get started and perhaps beginning to plant, depending on your research and selected plants. In summer, turn to maintenance and harvesting as applicable, and in fall, continue the harvest before getting the garden winter-ready as needed.

10. Learning an instrument

Music-making stretches your brain in wonderful ways. If your instrument is sitting unused, bring it back to life by committing to practicing with it a little every day. Even if you're brand new to an instrument and prefer to take actual lessons, you'll still need to practice every day. Playing an instrument yourself is also a great way to get kids interested in exploring music, too.

In our house, my husband's guitar hangs in the family room and he frequently grabs it to fill our home with a little music. Sometimes my toddler stops everything to listen, sometimes he tries to strum along, and sometimes he lets the music just fill the space while he's playing with his own toys. We also recently acquired a piano, so my husband is rekindling his abilities on that instrument as well. It's one of my goals this year to start playing ukulele again. Remember, you don't have to be good at a cozy hobby to enjoy it!

Cozy hobbies are the ideal match for moms seeking a slower lifestyle, as they pull you away from time-sucking but unproductive activities like doom-scrolling and bring you into the present moment. They exercise your mind in new ways, offer opportunities to connect and play with your kids, and many may even be hyper-practical to a slower lifestyle, like mending and baking. Try one out and notice whether it changes the way you live your day to day life or the way you mother.

More Ways to Slow Down as a Busy Mom

• The online yoga studio for busy, working moms seeking a slower way of life offers monthly pre-recorded yoga and meditation you can use to sink into a slower pace, plus a slow down framework where you can restructure your most overwhelming challenges into peaceful, rhythmic routines that support you and your family.

• Two-minute Reset Meditations for Routine Calm Days includes ten completely free two-minute meditations for you to capture a moment of calm right now, without spending an hour at the yoga studio or taking paid leave.

• The Mama Naturalist on my website and Substack is a space where I share both conceptual and practical guidance on slowing down, connecting to nature, and living seasonally.

• Mindful Moms Digest offers exclusive yoga and meditation classes, nature stories from a wildlife biologist (me!), and free, supportive resources including links back to every blog post for busy, working moms journeying toward a slower, more seasonal way of life.

• Cultivate Calm Mornings is a structured series of three yoga workshops that supports you in transforming your morning routine from chaotic to calm.