In today’s world, where adults are unabashedly embracing #nostalgiacore, we don’t see any point in putting the ways of childhood behind us. After all, we’re a culture enamored with the adorable yet creepy monstrosity that is the Labubu, going full maximalist with our home decor choices, and some of us are apparently ditching wine for LEGO. Many of the things that brought us joy in childhood — creative play, world building, spontaneous friendships, and comfort toys — should remain in our self care arsenal. One look at the dystopian news cycle is enough to convince us that we need to cultivate more whimsy and play in our lives, not less.
So if you feel like humdrum nature of adult life is dragging you down, we have some ideas for different hobbies, crafts, and media that will take you back to that place of childlike wonder. Here’s what’s taking us back to our juvenile roots these days.
Angie
“I’ve been collaging and scrapbooking with sticker books to keep my inner child quiet and engrossed. Tearing paper, covering my fingertips in glue, staining my hands with ink… it’s all a soothing throwback to elementary school art class.
Ultimately, my childhood and adult selves find joy in taking scraps and detritus and turning them into something beautiful and evocative.”
Teresa
“I’m terrible at pew-pew shooter games, but I’ll spend hours contentedly grinding through a cozy game with beautiful graphics and a unique narrative.
Lately, I’ve been loving Spiritfarer, a game where you play a ferry master for the deceased, helping them complete their final tasks before they move on. It’s adorable, soothing, and oddly poignant.”
Sandy
“What satisfies my inner child the most is watching movies. Growing up mom wasn’t a big movie watcher, and when we did watch movies, they were always serious.
As I got older, I started to pick movies that took me away from real life and gave me a taste of another world. I could pretend I was a witch hanging out with my friends, I could be a master thief, or even a princess for some far-off land. To this day, I get a lot of joy watching movies like Thunderbolts*, Mission Impossible, and Fast and Furious for the pure escapism.”
Sue
“The thing I do as an adult that lights up my inner child is hula hooping which ironically is something I could never actually do as a kid.
The hoop has a mischievous mind of its own, bringing whimsy into the flow zone and regularly creating chaos that requires spontaneity and in the moment presence. When I pull off a hard-to-me trick, like coaxing the hoop back up from my knees, I feel a burst of pride that makes my heart sing.
At music festivals, I love dazzling curious kids with my daytime antics and leaving adults wide-eyed at the light trails from my LED hoop at night.”
Calvin
“I’m a storehouse of useless information. The more obscure, the better: fonts, historical events, TV shows, movies, facts and figures, and B-side songs.
As a kid, I was fascinated with anatomy books, the ones with the transparent pages that showed the layer of the body. I could and still spend countless hours looking at books, the more pictures the better. At 7pm, I should not be bothered. That’s Jeopardy time!”
Kristin
“There are a few things that I do that give me that childlike J.O.Y. One, I like to pedal my bike around the neighborhood with no particular purpose, just like I did when I was a kid. Occasionally, I weave in an adult purpose, like buying something for dinner, but mostly I just enjoy the feeling.
Two, I love playing Supernatural on my Oculus Quest. It feels like a combination of dancing and playing a video game, but you’re actually INSIDE of the game. If you’ve never tried VR and you have a chance, this is the game to try. It’s literally the only thing I do in VR, so if you have other suggestions, send them along (no violence please).”
There are a million ways to cultivate your inner child, and none of them are wrong or embarrassing. We’ve shared some of our favorites above, but we also love trying new crafts (kits like this punch needle one or this metal space rocket model set are a fun way to get started), diving into board or role playing games, or picking up a new sport like pickleball.
So, take this as your permission slip (not that you ever needed one) to embrace your inner child. You don’t need to relive the middle school indignities of being mocked for having interests, like Maya and Anna from Pen15 were for their Sylvanian Families Hamburger Wagon.
We’re very pro Calico Critters (or any hobbies and collectibles of your choice) here, and if you enjoy making up fanciful tales while playing with your adorable animal figurines? We salute you and your beautiful, strange mind. You’re one of us.
