Grandma Hobbies for Your Senior Year
On one hand, everything feels like it’s happening all at once your senior year: applications, games, last-firsts, the general chaos of being a senior. On the other hand, there is this quiet pull to actually slow down and do something that feels good just for the sake of doing it. That is where the grandmacore trend comes in, and honestly, the timing could not be better.
Grandma hobbies: crochet, baking from scratch, journaling, thrifting, pressing flowers, reading actual physical books. They have been taking over TikTok for a reason. They are hands-on, screen-free, and the kind of thing that leaves you with something at the end of it, whether that is a blanket, a loaf of bread, or just a brain that got to actually rest for a minute. Here are some worth trying this year.
Crochet
Crochet is probably the biggest grandmacore hobby right now, and for good reason. You need a hook and some yarn to start. That is it. TikTok is full of beginner tutorials, and there are crochet kits at craft stores that come with everything you need to make your first project.
The learning curve is real but not steep, and once you get into a rhythm it is one of those activities that completely quiets your brain in the best way. Crochet bookmarks, bags, tiny frogs. You can make basically anything once you have the basics down.
Baking From Scratch
There is a real difference between making cookies from a tube and making them from actual ingredients but honestly? Make them how you want when you want. This is a fun time in life to learn to make some things from scratch though so I think you might have some fun putting some things together in the kitchen.
Start simple: chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, a basic biscuit. The 417 is full of people who grew up in kitchens that ran on scratch recipes, and if someone in your family has one they have been making for decades, this is the year to ask them to show you. Baked things are also one of the best things you can bring to a last game, a friend’s house, or a teacher on the last day.
Journaling
Not the “dear diary” version if that is not your thing. Just writing things down. What happened today, what you are thinking about, what you want to remember from this year. Senior year goes fast and a lot of people wish they had documented more of it. A cheap notebook and a pen is all it takes, and you do not have to be a writer for it to be worth doing. Some people go full grandma-era with pressed flowers and washi tape. Others just write a paragraph before bed. Both work.
Thrifting
Thrifting is already a hobby for a lot of seniors in the 417, but if you have not really leaned into it, senior year is the time. Springfield has some solid thrift stores, and Bolivar has options worth checking out too. The move that makes it a real hobby rather than a quick trip: go without a specific goal, give yourself real time to look, and treat it like a treasure hunt. Bring a friend and see who finds the best thing for under five dollars.
Embroidery
Embroidery has had a serious comeback and it is one of the most portable hobbies on this list. A hoop, a needle, some floss, and a piece of fabric. You can do it on a car ride, at a bonfire, while watching something on TV. Embroidery kits for beginners are easy to find and come with the pattern printed directly on the fabric so you just follow the design. The finished product is something you can actually hang on your wall, and the process is one of those things that is quietly satisfying in a way that screen time never really is.
Growing Something
You do not need a garden for this one. A pot on a windowsill works. Herbs are the easiest entry point: basil, mint, and chives all grow with minimal effort and you can actually use them when you cook. Succulents are even lower maintenance if keeping something alive feels like a stretch right now. There is something about having a plant that you are actually responsible for that makes your room feel more like yours. If your family has a garden and you have never really been involved in it, senior year is a good time to ask if you can join in on the fun.
Bracelet Making
Friendship bracelets are better when you make them yourself. Beading and bracelet making have been huge for Gen Z, and the supplies are cheap. A pack of beads and some elastic or string from a craft store is a few dollars. Make one for every person who has mattered to you this year, give them out at graduation, or just make a pile of them for yourself. It is one of those hobbies that is easy to do with other people, which makes it a good option for a slow afternoon with friends when nobody can decide what to do.
Reading Physical Books
Rereading a book you loved when you were younger is one of the more unexpectedly good grandma hobbies to try in high school. Going back to something you read in middle school or even elementary school and seeing what lands differently now is a good feeling. If you have not been a reader, senior year is actually a nice time to try it because you can read whatever sounds fun without it being assigned. The library in Bolivar is free. A good used bookstore in Springfield will get you ten books for what a new one costs.
Pressing Flowers
This one sounds more involved than it is. You pick a flower, put it between two heavy books for a week or two, and then you have a pressed flower you can use for basically anything: journaling, framing, card-making. The 417 has the perfect wildflower situation for this in spring and summer. It is the kind of hobby that sounds like a lot until you actually do it and realize it took about four minutes of active effort. It is also a nice way to remember specific places and times, which feels right for senior year specifically.
Morning Walks
This one is on every grandmacore hobby list for a reason. A walk without a destination, without headphones if you can manage it, just to be outside for twenty minutes before the day starts, is one of those things that sounds small and turns out to matter. Bolivar is actually a good town for this. The neighborhoods off the main roads are quiet in the morning and the 417 seasons give you something different to look at all year. If you can get a friend to do it with you once a week, even better.
Senior Year Is a Good Time for Slow Things
The grandmacore trend landed hard with Gen Z because it gives permission to slow down and actually enjoy something rather than just consuming it. Senior year is one of the best possible times to try that, because you will not always have a long summer ahead of you or a free afternoon on a Tuesday. Pick one thing off this list and actually try it. The rest of your senior year content is at the fun things to do your senior year post if you want more ideas.
And when you are ready to document this year with photos, senior sessions at Jordan Brittley Studio in Bolivar, MO are open to book here.
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