15 Fun, Feminine Activities You Can Do Tonight Instead Of Scrolling Your Phone

Not only are you giving up valuable time that you could be devoting to kids, friends, or your man, but you’re most likely contributing to poor sleep patterns, stress, increased levels of anxiety, and even headaches and stomach problems.

Developing an actual hobby outside of refreshing your Instagram feed might seem like a daunting thought, but you really just have to find something that appeals to you as an individual. Your girlfriends might rave about yoga or Pilates, but if you don’t even like those activities, you won’t be motivated to give up something as precious as your phone to spend time doing it.

But it’s important to have a creative outlet, and you don’t have to be perfect at a hobby to enjoy doing it or find something fulfilling in it. Put your phone down for an hour or even half an hour (and silence those notifications if you have to), and discover what you truly like doing in your spare time. If you don’t know where to start, here are 15 fun, feminine activities you can do tonight, instead of scrolling on your phone.

Bake Something Delicious

We might have it in our heads that making intricate cupcakes is better relegated to competitive baking shows, not our own kitchen. But when it comes to food, your only limit is your imagination. 

The internet has countless amazing, beginner-friendly recipes. But remember, it’s a phone-free activity. Go to a local bookstore or even an antique store and find an intriguing looking cookbook, and bake the first thing that catches your eye. You’ll satisfy your womanly need to create, as well as your stomach.

Learn To Crochet or Knit

This isn’t just your grandma’s activity anymore. With the holidays approaching, you’re probably racking your brain with what to give family members. Why not give them something you made? Many hobby shops or local craft stores have classes that teach you how to crochet or knit. It’s a pressure-free environment, and you have experts on hand who can help guide you through tricky stitches or patterns. It’s also a hobby you can pick up relatively quickly and pass the time while watching TV or during those never-ending work calls. And your loved ones are sure to appreciate the hats, blankets, scarves, and socks you’ve created.

Do Your Nails

If painting your nails one color is all you need to feel satisfied, then go for it. But to step it up a bit, try watching nail design videos and changing things up. You can use stencils, nail brushes, glitter, dip powder, or stamping plates to really elevate your home manicure game. You’ll cut out an expensive nail appointment and have beautifully designed nails to show off to friends and strangers alike. 

Calligraphy

Not only is it mesmerizing to watch, but calligraphy or hand lettering is a stress-free activity to get you into your creative groove. You can try learning from tutorial videos or from craft store books, or even try your own hand at it on a blank sheet of paper and create your own font. Look in magazines for inspiration, and create a cute print for your own house or to give as a gift.

Watercolor Painting

Unlike using oil paints or gouache, you don’t have to be Monet to create a beautiful watercolor landscape or portrait. Watercolor painting has a simple, straightforward approach with inexpensive tools, and you can start out easily by painting what you see, whether it’s from your window or your furry friend next to you.

Make Reading Your Entire Personality

Don’t wait to be invited to your coworkers’ elitist book club – create one of your own, or make a Goodreads account where you can document your reading process and review your favorite (and least favorite) books. Read what interests you, or venture out of your comfort zone into a different genre. Thanks to the beauty of library cards, you’re only out the cost of a potential late fee.

Start a Scrapbook

Scrapbooking might not be the most popular hobby at the moment, but it’s a timeless, classic way to get crafty and to commemorate a special time in your life, whether it’s your best friend’s wedding or your most recent vacation. 

Design and Make Your Own Jewelry

Have you ever been the target of an Instagram ad with a beautiful piece of jewelry…only to discover that it’s hundreds of dollars? Many such cases, as they say. Making your own jewelry sounds intimidating, but it all starts with a design. Though the clean girl aesthetic is all the rage currently, there’s still room for intricate, truly unique, and eye-catching jewelry, and all of that starts with a design. 

Once your design is finalized, you can take classes at your local crafts store to get started, or even ask local jewelers for their help in making your design a reality. Not only are you wearing something you made, but something that came from your imagination.

Look Through a Telescope

Maybe the fault is in our stars, but we’ve never bothered to look. Even if you live in a crowded, urban area, there are ways to explore the solar system, whether that’s through a planetarium or with your own eyes through a telescope. Buying companion books on astronomy or doing your own research can help you connect what you’re seeing IRL to what’s in a book, all of which you can document. There’s so much to explore in the night sky that’s just waiting for us to look up and notice it. 

Start Journaling

Most of us hear “journal” and think ugh, something else I have to do during the day. You probably don’t want to journal about your day when you’re on the brink of sleep, so starting your day with writing can be a good way to mitigate this. 

Staying consistent in journaling is all a matter of finding what works for you. Two methods that you can use, for example, are the timer method or the three pages method. Both are self-explanatory. Set a timer for 10 minutes or even five, and see how much you have to write, or, write until you’ve filled three pages. You’ll most likely have more to write than you initially thought. It’s just a matter of putting pen to paper.

Re-Organize Your Life

Maybe organizing your life won’t solve all your problems, but it certainly won’t hurt. The guest bedroom where you throw everything you’ll “get to eventually” or even your closet might seem like an impossible mess, but nothing’s impossible when you put your mind to it. 

If the Marie Kondo method doesn’t “spark joy” with you, then try Swedish death cleaning, a method introduced by Margareta Magnussen in 2017. The principle of this method relies on having the mindset of what your family would keep or donate of your possessions if you passed away. This might sound extreme, but it works. 

Attack your most cluttered space, keeping only what fits or what you actually wear and need, and donate the rest. You’ll feel satisfied and more at ease in your space, even if you’re not HGTV material right away.

Make Candles

It might look complicated, but candlemaking is actually one of the easiest and most rewarding activities out there. All it takes is the necessary tools (which you can find easily in-person or online) and the proper safety. This kind of activity is also really enjoyable as a group, so get your girlfriends together, mix and match your scents – you can even use teacups and mugs to pour wax into – and give a prize for the most unique creation.

Become a Film Aficionado

Everyone’s an expert on movies these days, and now you can be one too. Whether you document your watchlist in ratings in a notebook or on a popular site like Letterboxd, the film world is your oyster.

Arrange Flowers

What’s more feminine than flowers? Not much. Floral arranging is a romantic pastime that can take you back to the days of Jane Austen heroines and staring longingly out windows, not to mention giving you a beautiful arrangement to accent any room. It’s simple, easy, and inexpensive, and you get a touching reminder of the season to keep for yourself or give to someone you care for.

Write a Novel

Have you ever closed a book and thought I could’ve done that so much better? Even if you haven’t, you probably have at least 30 ideas in your head right now for something that could turn into a story. We think of writing as something only very well-connected or professional writers do, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any place for the story you want to tell. 

Much writing advice is complicated and over-blown, so start with this: Write for yourself, and tell the story you want to tell, with the characters you have in mind, however unlikable they may be. Write the plot that you have in mind, and commit to finishing what’s inside your head, instead of leaving it there forever. Even if no one else reads it, you still committed to a creative project and finished it, however imperfect it may be. You’ll be glad you did.

Closing Thoughts

Chances are you’ll spend many nights scrolling through X and wishing you weren’t. Don't let that night be tonight! Instead, do something fun and enjoyable, phone-free. For too many days, the extent of our creativity is what kind of Instagram caption we come up with, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Give these a try, see what you enjoy and what you don’t, and make something of your night besides stress, worry, and constant scrolling.

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