Dear Confetti: A Relationship & Advice Column
This is an opinion column.
We Swapped Snowboards for Sunshine, and We Need a New Hobby!
— New to Polk and Ready to Play
Dear Confetti,
We swapped snowboards for sunshine, and we need a new hobby!
My husband and I just moved to Polk County from Portland, Oregon. Back home, our hobbies revolved around the weather: ice skating, snowshoeing, snowboarding. Now that we are here in Florida, we are ready to leave the cold behind and find something new we can enjoy together as a couple. Any recommendations? — New to Polk and Ready to Play
Dear New to Polk and Ready to Play,
Couples’ hobbies are so important. They encourage a healthy relationship, build emotional security, and enhance communication. They can reignite friendship, deepen connection, keep the relationship exciting, build shared experiences, and create quality time together. So many couples miss out on the magic a fun hobby can bring to a relationship’s emotional growth.
Start by creating a list of 10 things you both love to do individually. Then, discuss each hobby and how it can be incorporated as a couple. For example, pickleball. Pickleball can be amazing when played as a couple against other couples or even against each other. You could also do Couples Restaurant Rating, which involves going restaurant-hopping for each course, such as Applebee’s for the starter, Olive Garden for the main course, and Glory Days for dessert. Then rate each experience from 1 to 10. Once you have a few ideas, the next step is to choose a date and time to go experience it together.
The most common couples’ hobbies of 2026 include hands-on, physical activities and mental hobbies.
Physical Hobbies & Hands-On Activities
There are so many ways to get moving and make memories together. Think food truck crawls, yoga classes, chef lessons, pizza making, painting, photography, and karaoke. If you want something a little more low-key, try puzzling, poetry, or even starting your own podcast as a couple.
These are just a few to consider. Increasing hobbies inside of a marriage helps strengthen the overall foundation on which the marriage is built. Couples also find themselves yearning for a mental hobby to do together. A real mental connection can help heal past trauma and nurture the bond as a couple.
Mental Hobbies
Mental hobbies are where the real depth happens. Start a book club for two, tackle an escape room, or sign up for a dance class. At home, explore board games, trivia nights, vision boards, or a sip and paint night. And if you really want to invest in each other, try learning a new language together or sitting down for some couples’ financial planning. That is intimacy too.
Mental hobbies are just as important as hands-on hobbies. The mental hobby connects you in the mind while the hands-on hobby connects a couple through shared activity and experience.
With research, time, and healthy communication, you will be able to find hobbies and activities that are a great fit for both of you, and also help build your relationship.
The 777 Rule
64% of married couples (2026) believe shared hobbies are very important for a successful marriage. Incorporating the 777 Rule into your relationship can also help with creating new hobbies within your marriage. The 777 Rule is simple: every 7 days, complete a hands-on hobby together. Every 7 weeks, complete a mental hobby together. Every 7 months, emotionally create a new hobby together, which can include story swapping, scrapbooking old photos, and even couples counseling if needed.
The success of a relationship should not be based solely on which hobbies you can do together, but it can absolutely be built on the energy and safety those experiences provide. It can be hard to find your niche together as a couple, but it is possible. Just remember that what feels great to you may not always feel the same way for your husband. This is a couple’s hobby, not an individual hobby. Do not ride solo. Put your passenger in the seat right next to you and buckle up!
~ Confetti
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