25 Best Retirement Hobbies For Couples: A Quick Rundown

Retirement: it’s the one word that scares many people, and the same word that keeps people pushing on everyday for the sweet relief from work. And it is true: there are people who like to work, like to go out and be productive, and then there are people who just want to wake up late, no worries in life, and just kick back and relax.

For both of these types, retirement is a frontier that everyone goes through, and it’s really how you spend that time of your life. So, if you are fast approaching that age, and your significant other is also there with you, right on the teetering edge, here are some retirement hobbies for couples and seniors. If you’re not one of those and just want to show some old couples’ hobbies that they can enjoy so they can get out of the way, well, here’s the deal. 

For starters, we’ll list down a few hobbies for senior couples, and maybe you can try them out and find a new way to deal with this new, big change in your life where working now means something a whole lot different than what it used to be. 

Retirement Hobbies For Couples: A List

Here is a quick rundown on a couple of pastimes, including some really good active games for seniors, that can help you pass the time and feel healthy and useful at the same time. Lets get on with it.

Play Games

One of the most common and engaging pastimes are games, fun little games that can be played by anyone, anytime, anywhere. And who better to test it out than the senior citizens, the people looking for an activity to spend their time on, one  that doesn’t wear them out and keeps them engaged for several hours at a time.

Board games are always fun: games like Scrabble, checkers, or the many other games available on Amazon or your local Target are a good choice for older people to relax and just have a good time. 

Teach kids or Even Elders

Another great activity for older people to do, one which could give them an even better sense of utility and of them being useful would be teaching. As we all know, older people simply have a lot to offer to the world in terms of their experience, what they know about the world or certain industries and how to spend your life.

They can be great motivational teachers and can even teach basic stuff like Mathematics and whatnot. And considering what the alternatives are, we are pretty sure many will prefer to teach as a pastime. 

Swimming

One of the more physically intensive activities on this list, swimming is something that many young people struggle with owing to its requirement of a physically sound body and healthy muscles, but as senior citizens go, swimming is the one activity that can really help their bodies.

Especially for people living in hotter climates, swimming can be a great daily activity that helps older people spend their time, all the while making sure their bodies are getting the requisite amount of exercise they require for a healthy living. 

Pet-Sitting

A lot of older people might have had dogs, cats or any other pets during their time, and considering they by default know more about it than you do, well, here’s something for you to do and feel good about, gramps.

Pet-sitting is something that people will very gladly pay for, and some older people just love being around animals (although not like that crazy old cat lady that lives in every neighborhood). Plus it isn’t really all that intensive, you just have to babysit an animal which can basically look after itself, except that you don’t want them getting into the treats cupboard. Simple. 

Learning Origami

Origami is essentially paper art, art that you can create by simply folding paper. This seemingly simple task is something that older people, especially women, will certainly appreciate and enjoy.

Learning origami is fun (at least for the retirement community), inexpensive, will not and does not cause a mess, and is genuinely an activity that older people can take part in and appreciate a lot.

There are even art centres which teach dedicated origami for senior citizens, so they can spend more time there, getting out and getting to know people, which is always good for the mental health of a person just coming to terms with the fact that retirement isn’t all that rosy as they say it.

Learning and Doing Photography

Photography is another skill that can be learned, and with the advent of modern, relatively inexpensive but easy-to-use cameras, photography has now become an acceptable pastime for older people. No longer will you hear the grunts of old people when they start this hobby: it’s fairly tame now, this camera technology.

Plus it’s really fun, and the fact that you are producing something of value will really give a big boost to the older people who are learning this art. Doing photography will also allow the older crowd to really appreciate the leaps and bounds we’ve achieved in the realm of technology.

Playing Golf

Golfing is an activity that really bridges the gap between sports you can play and the sports your grandpa can play as well. There are not many sports that can lay claim to this feat, but golf is one of them and you can really count it as a pastime for old people. Ordinarily, women aren’t too much into it, but for older guys, golf is definitely something that they can see themselves playing down the retirement line.

However, this is one activity that you need some money for, preferably income that doesn’t come out of a savings account for a specific purpose like education or anything else. If you’re all set on that front, well, golf is a great way to spend time, meet new people and have some fun.

Practising Yoga or Other Types of Meditation

Yoga or any other sort of meditation is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about retirement, or old people in really any sort of situation. And there is a good reason for that: meditation, yoga, tai-chi or whatever it is that these people do really helps a person relax, kick back and think about things that won’t perturb them in this old age of theirs. And so, for older people, yoga or meditation will always be a good pastime, something that will keep them busy and engaged in a relaxing sort of way. 

Documentaries

Watching documentaries has become a good way to relax, as it is both entertaining and somewhat educational. You certainly learn things you weren’t previously aware of, and nowhere does it apply any better than for the retirement community.

Documentaries on nature, on science, on some things that were their favourite but couldn’t really give any time to it before, these are all topics that watching a documentary on would be really good for Grandpa Joe or grandmommy. And lastly, television is something that retirees really do well, and watching documentaries isn’t really something that’s too far away from TV itself. 

Barbeques 

You would think that barbecues would be the last thing that you could interest old people in (certainly older women), but as grilling goes, apparently it’s your gramps who can cook the best burger in town. And nearly every aspect of a barbecue seems to appeal to the retirement community; you’ve still got something to be responsible for, the meat in this case. Plus there’s people all over the place, relaxing, having a good time, and there’s good food.

We’d say there is all the reason for everybody to be there and like it, but since we’re discussing retirement hobbies for the retired people, this is another good weekly activity that they can take part in, provided there’s a lot of room and you’ve got people who like barbecues and cookouts. 

Grilling

On the topic of grilling meat, how about just including grilling on the list? It certainly is the same kind of effort as barbecuing, but grilling differs in the sense that…. Well, there’s no real difference between the two. But we thought that grilling would be a fun activity for older people to partake in: you know, wearing your shorts, handling that pair of tongs and taking care of that juicy steak: there’s nothing like a Sunday cookout in the backyard, and you can turn this into a fun activity that older people can really enjoy, be a part of, and really get a kick out of it from their boring, retired life. 

Winemaking and Cheesemaking

Cheesemaking and winemaking is something that a lot of people do out in the countryside when they retire, and there is a good reason for that. When you’ve worked your whole life, sitting idly while life passes isn’t really something that elders can do. So what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Wine and cheese, apparently. Cheesemaking and winemaking are both not activities that require a lot of labour, neither do they require a lot of money. Just interest and dedication; and older people seem to have a lot of that for both wine and cheese. Plus there’s the aspect of making something that really speaks to the elders, which is also good. 

Stand-up Comedy

Stand-up comedy isn’t really for everybody, and that is evident enough by the many people who try to enter this cruel space and get chewed up and spit out. But, for an older person, they have usually accumulated enough stories over the years and learned enough to be funny about them that stand-up comedy can be a real possibility, at least at a smaller venue at first.

 

But it is a good way to pass the time nonetheless, following the logic: if you can make your old friends laugh with your stories, why not go for a bigger audience with people who might be from a more different demographic than you and the entire retirement community. 

Theatre Group

For older people who get caught up in the realities of life and miss out on their dream of becoming an actor or something else, well, theatre group is something that can help them sort of inch towards their dream.

It is basically a place for people to just act out some popular plays for an audience composed mostly of people looking to encourage the actors on the stage to follow their passion. It’s also a place where older people and widowers can go to meet new people which can be a change for good in their lives. 

Bird Watching/ Feeding

This is an activity that every movie will showcase: at a busy walkway, an old man sits on a bench and feeds a bunch of pigeons with bread from a pack he has in hand. It’s the most cliched activity that older people can do, but we thought we’d include it here as an activity for old people to do once they retire.

Both bird watching and bird feeding is something that many old people do and enjoy; there’s not much else left to do so why not do the most mundane thing you can think of. But that’s not the reasoning here; it’s the fact that somebody has to do it, might as well be me.

Stone Skipping

Yet another hobby or rather pastime that only old people and monologuing protagonists or antagonists do in the movies. Not really a hobby, but hey, if you live near a pond or a lake and can’t be bothered to fish (which is really what should be done), skipping stones is the next best thing to do when you really need to kill the time.

Building Rockets

Again, some hobbies aren’t really hobbies but recipes for disaster, and this teeters on the edge of being both. If you were a literal rocket scientist before, well, congrats on the trophy for the most realistic looking rocket in the playground or fair. But if you weren’t, a small-scale model rocket should do it, but safety and caution is the word to keep in mind when you combine old people and model rockets. 

Walking

Not really a hobby, but something that can be done to keep the body healthy and to make sure you get plenty of fresh air and meet new people in the park who aren’t looking for anything other than just walking.

Stargaze

Unless you’re an old man or woman who is still nocturnal, stargazing is really for enthusiasts who just never had the time growing up. But with better and cheaper telescopes, stargazing is now an activity that is cheap, easy and really fun as you discover what surrounds you from the sky. 

Dog-Sitting

Pet-sitting and dog-sitting are essentially the same thing; and both are fun, require less physical excursion and can be monetarily beneficial as well.