Winter Pastimes: 40 Creative Ideas to Do in January

Last year, Eppie wrote the first Winter Pastimes article, all about finding joy in January after the chaos of Christmas. This is a follow-on from that article with a new bumper list of ideas for things to make, do, watch and enjoy in January – this time a full team effort!

It’s not about New Year’s resolutions or magically becoming a new and improved version of yourself; it’s simply about making January a little nicer, with no pressure, and making the most of this time of year.

• Curate a recipe book - we have a vast collection of gorgeous recipe books, but probably less than 10 go-to recipes that we rely on time and time again on lazy weeknights. It would be handy to have them all organised in a little handmade folio or scrapbook for when you just want a foolproof, easy dinner.
• Covering storage boxes with patterned paper - inspired by Joanne on the team, who’s a master at this! I’m a bit of a hoarder and have a lot of random, unattractive boxes that store all my art supplies & scrap yarn. I’ve been meaning to cover them in some decorative papers for a long time. January is the perfect time to do this craft with all the discarded wrapping paper accumulated over Christmas.
• Marbling candles - Jen taught us how to marble using inks at one of our team craft clubs last year. I enjoyed it so much and have been scratching my head ever since, looking for something other than paper to marble, until I spotted someone on Instagram using the same technique to marble candlesticks. You just need some plain shop-bought candlesticks in a light colour, a vessel deep enough to submerge them in, water and some marbling inks. This would also make a brilliant and easy gift for anyone in your life unfortunate enough to have a January birthday!!
• Make a mini book library - earlier in the year, I bought a plain wood dish rack from Ikea, painted it a cheerful hot pink and very simply fixed it to my bedside wall. It fits slim paperbacks and is a great visual motivator to finish all the books on your 2026 to be read list. It’s so rewarding to refill your upcoming reads when you’ve finished a few!
• Use your family members for life drawing practice - I really love drawing figures, and it’s an integral part of my drawing practice. Sketching friends and family members who are visiting over the festive period is a great way to do this if you feel intimidated by an instructed life drawing class. People are more relaxed in their home environments, and it’s much easier to capture a likeness if dad has fallen asleep on the sofa after too many beers on Christmas Day!
• Make a miniature matchbox shrine - I love making miniature shrines in ode to my favourite artists that can be cherished forever. It’s a simple craft requiring an empty matchbox, drawing materials and some card, but there are endless hours of joy and escapism to be had here! I made one for my favourite outsider artist, Henry Darger, but next on my list is a Frida Kahlo one. They also look so special when mounted into a box frame or propped on a mantlepiece as a charming little curio.
• Collecting motifs with putty stamps: This is a fun accompaniment to a long wintery walk and a great way to build up a sketchbook of motif and pattern references. You just need some putty (sold in most art shops), an ink pad and your sketchbook. On your walk be on the lookout for intriguing textures, motifs, patterns in buildings, brickwork or nature. Press the warmed-up putty on the subject and then dab it on your ink pad to collect a print. Graveyards are a great place to find interesting fonts and symbols.

• Go to a museum - if you’re in London there are some great exhibitions on at the Tate Modern gallery - I highly recommend the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition which is on until the 11th January (I’ve already been twice!), and I’ll definitely be going to the Nigerian Modernism and Theatre Picasso exhibitions. The cafe also has excellent banana bread and hot chocolate if you want a little treat after looking round the artworks!
• Join your local library - I joined the library and can’t believe I hadn’t joined before! You can request books they don’t have, and it saves so much money and bookshelf space. Most libraries also host free events such as book groups, craft activities, and events for toddlers and babies, so they’re a great way to get to know people in your local area.
• Learn a new creative hobby - if you’re a studio member, have a look through our creative craft guides and try something new. I particularly enjoyed the yarn painting process, which is a great way to use up any small pieces of thread you have leftover from kits or projects. If you’re not yet a member, you can see a little bit of the process on our Instagram here.
• Liven up your furniture by doing some decorative painting - we’ve put together an article full of tips for painting your furniture, helping bring colour and pattern into your home.
• Put away your phone - my partner and I have started trying out phone free evenings, and it feels like we suddenly have so much more time. If you put your phone in another room, it makes it a lot easier to forget about checking your notifications, and I’ve found that it makes me feel a lot more present, giving me time to read or craft or just chat to the people I’m with without any distractions.

• One of my favourite things to do at the start of each year might sound unhinged, but it's to get out my entire fabric and yarn stash (yes, all of it), take over the whole living room with the chaos of it all, and catalogue it. I’m a serial list maker and love nothing more than collating myself a massive list of plans for the next few seasons. It’s arguably an unachievable amount of ideas for one person who works full-time, but I love to have options! I use a fashionary journal that I got from the V&A Dior exhibition a few years ago to draw out my ideas. I really like looking back at all these ideas from past years and comparing them to what the fabrics actually became. This Fashionary looks similar to the one I have.
• Visit a tourist attraction that, at other times of year, might be unbearably busy - but in January is wonderfully quiet. For example, I’ve just booked to go to the Tower of London on the first weekend in Jan.
• Go for a massive walk - somewhere you wouldn’t usually go. Pack a huge flask of coffee, some soup, get your hiking boots and waterproofs on and set off! I use AllTrails to plan my routes - it’s great, and I like that it tells you how long the routes take and what sort of terrain to expect. This again goes with the above, as sometimes trails can get busy with people enjoying the spring/summer weather, but not in January! Winter lovers rejoice!
• Although two of my January plans are outside the house, I do actually love spending most of my time at home. I try to get the majority of my creative projects (always too many at once) finished by the end of the year, but some inevitably roll over into January, so I use those long dark evenings to finish up all of the languishing ones before starting anything new. It makes me feel much more relaxed, like I’ve got a clean slate for my next project without the guilt of abandoning older unfinished ones.
• Practice a new skill. Mine is going to be getting comfortable with drawing. I’ve made a self-imposed plan to do all of the sketchbook challenges to help loosen me up.
• Set up a virtual date with your best mate. If you don’t fancy leaving the house (bonus if you’ve got an indoor hobby), pick a film or series to watch at the same time as a friend and FaceTime - or just text - throughout… all while getting on with your project

• I know, I know, we’ve just had Christmas, but this year, inspired by all the wonderful handmade presents gifted by team members from The Fabled Thread - in particular, my equally fantastic crafting apron from G and my zipped supplies pouch from Jen, I’m determined to make some of my Christmas gifts early - to think about the person I’m making it for, enjoy the process and revel in the joy of giving the handmade!
• I would love to take the time to sort through all my treasures and memories that are shoved in drawers and cupboards, and organise them so that I can enjoy them. I ordered some Kraft boxes last year, which I want to cover in pretty papers and label - I do love a labelled box, as the team will attest to!
• I’m sorry, Eppie, but I am inspired by everyone at work who is learning to knit and crochet. My mum tried to teach me to knit many years ago, but I was so bound up in the rules of it all that I never progressed. Working at The Fabled Thread has encouraged me to just have a go, and if it’s not perfect, it doesn’t matter - just keep going and progress will be made!
• 2025 was a very exciting, but busy year. With lots of fantastic family celebrations, including my son’s wedding, which was wonderful. Over the Christmas period, my husband fractured his spine, which made us step back a little bit, and this has made me realise that, ‘without my twirling it, the Earth still spins’ (a little adaptation from one of my favourite musicals, My Fair Lady). So, this year I am going to take time to enjoy the simple pleasures - such as sewing, copious cups of tea and an audiobook!
• Did someone mention musicals? I think I am alone in the team at absolutely loving a musical, and living in London gives my husband and me ample opportunity to pop to the theatre. On my immediate Wishlist are The Producers and Paddington.

• Make use of any leftover panettone and make a delicious bread and butter panettone pudding
• Go to the pub - Pubs are just so cosy and quiet in January and it's a great time to snug up with a drink by the fire or maybe play some Yatzy (see below).
• Play Yatzy - this little dice game is so easy and fun, and we love playing it in the evening after dinner when we are trying not to turn the TV on!
• Listen to the new Harry Potter full cast Audiobooks - a magical revisiting of our faves - Book 3 is released mid-January, so you've got the first two to keep you busy until then!
• Make an album of last year's favourite photos - Choose some of the best from across each month and either get them printed into a photobook or make one yourself by choosing a nice scrapbook and getting some printed- it's so nice to look back over printed photos!
• Make a homemade face mask with honey, avocado, banana and yoghurt and try not to let your toddler lick your face!

• Start a new knitting project! I’ve just learnt to knit after being a lifelong crocheter and am loving it! For other beginners, I’d recommend the Sophie scarf, it’s very beginner-friendly with plenty of YouTube tutorials. It isn’t too overwhelming as a first project. I’m moving on to a simple jumper pattern that feels more manageable after mastering the basics!
• Make pickles or sauerkraut! One of my favourite ways to use a free afternoon is to make sauerkraut or quick pickles. There are loads of easy pickling recipes out there, and they require ingredients that are usually in the cupboard already, like vinegar and sugar, and you can literally pickle any crunchy vegetable. Sauerkraut needs even less, just cabbage and salt, and it’s so satisfying making your own fermented food!
• Go through old books/second-hand book shops for things to frame. A few years ago, I bought a tiny vintage astronomy book, and it became the source of most of my family and friends’ birthday presents. I found constellations that were relevant to them in some way and then painted frames to put them in. There’s something weirdly thrilling about going through a book looking for pictures or words that have relevance to people you love.
• Tie dye! Do some tie-dying, I did some socks last year and now have become obsessed with doing my socks and pants. You can just need bleach and elastic bands, and you can create all sorts of different patterns depending on how you tie the bands.
• For all the people who crochet or knit, I’d like to make a blanket with all my scraps and half-used balls of yarn. I’d like it to be an ongoing project that I can just keep adding to whenever I have yarn scraps, which makes it very low effort because you can only do a bit at a time! You could also do the same with any leftover embroidery thread - make a new design with your leftovers or use them to embroider little motifs on clothes - I love to add dates or initials onto my clothes.

• Take someone to an exhibition - there are some great ones I'm keen to see (London-based), including Picasso at the Tate Modern, Lee Miller at the Tate Britain, Marie Antoinette at the V&A. If it's a gift, go one step further and make them a fake ticket in the style of the exhibition. My friend did this recently for the Wes Anderson exhibition at the Design Museum, and it was such a lovely way to give something tangible before the experience itself.
• Start a photo album - Now that everyone uses their phone for photos, tangible pictures are few and far between. My parents have stacks of albums that I've pored over, so I'd like to have something physical to look back on. If you have a trip lined up, consider collecting some paper keepsakes such as tickets or beer coasters to add in as a collage.
• Cyanotype - Cyanotype is a really easy way to create prints at home, whether it be on fabric or paper. It does rely on natural light exposure, so do it on a rare sunny winter's day. You can purchase kits like this one, or buy the solution separately and do your own thing.
• Mosaic a frame - I did this for one of the work craft clubs, and it was surprisingly easy. Smash up some old or second-hand plates or tiles and arrange the fragments onto a frame (you can also pick these up in charity shops) with PVA glue. Once dry, fill in all the gaps with multipurpose filler and smooth down with a damp cloth.
• Do 5 minutes of something challenging - I'm sure plenty of people also struggle with a creative rut, especially in the winter months. I was once told to do 5 minutes of something I find hard but want to pursue. In my case, it was drawing, but this year it also applies to reading. Treat it like brushing your teeth. It will feel like a chore at first, then habit, and then eventually you'll surpass 5 minutes and start to enjoy the time without noticing.
• Make a 'To watch list' - this is both a fun activity to do and a practical plan for future TV watching. There are so many streaming platforms now that it can be overwhelming to choose what to watch, and often I end up just picking the first thing Netflix suggests. Find the biggest film buff you know and pick their brains for best watches or things you both want to see. Organise them into categories that are mood-dependent, e.g 'easy feel good' or 'gritty thought-provoking', so that you always have something to reach for. You could go one step further and find out where each film is available, so browsing is made more efficient.