Soft Hobbies & Cozy Rituals to Carry Into 2026: Winter Lifestyle Favorites

Welcome back to Bri Books — the podcast that educates, encourages, and inspires by exploring ideas both on and off the page. Today’s episode is about winter lixfestyle favorites: the soft hobbies, rituals, and everyday comforts that carried me through 2025 and that I’m intentionally bringing with me into 2026. You’ve heard a lot about the “soft life” and the “soft girl era.” I want to offer a reframing: your grandmother may be the softest woman you know. Softness isn’t new. It’s inherited. It’s practiced. It’s slow. If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Please tell me where you’re traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter. 

This episode isn’t about hustle or optimization. It’s about winter evenings, quiet joy, and choosing process over productivity. Last winter, I noticed myself reaching less for outcomes and more for ways of being — warmth, texture, ritual, and time that felt expansive rather than efficient. These are the lifestyle favorites that came out of that season and are staying with me.

1. Embroidery

Embroidery is the ultimate soft hobby. It’s tactile, forgiving, and slow in the best way. You can pick it up for ten minutes or lose an entire evening to it. Best of all, you always have something to show for your time: a few stitches, a pattern emerging, a garment mended. It requires no screens, very little space, and pairs beautifully with audiobooks, podcasts, or quiet TV. On dark winter nights, embroidery feels deeply grounding.

2. Popcorn From the Cob

This was a surprise favorite of 2025. Popping kernels directly off a dried corn cob feels old-fashioned and ceremonial. It turns a snack into an event. Pop it on the stove, finish with butter and flaky salt, and eat while reading or watching snow fall. It’s nostalgic, humbling, and cozy: and it happens fast enough that it asks for your full attention.

3. Candle Making & Light as Ritual

I’ve been making candles for years, but winter 2025 made it a true ritual. Choosing the scent, wax, and vessel is an act of intention. I make candles in batches early in the season and burn them slowly throughout winter so my home smells familiar and grounding. In long, dark months, light matters. So start making your candles.

4. Gardening (Even in Winter)

Gardening doesn’t stop in winter; it changes form. Winter gardening looks like planning, seed sorting, journaling, and tending indoor plants. It’s a reminder that growth doesn’t always look active. Winter is when I reflect on what I want to grow — literally and metaphorically — in the year ahead.

5. A New Duvet from Culver

One of my most meaningful upgrades of 2025 was investing in better sleep. A Cultiver linen duvet changed how winter nights felt. Linen regulates temperature beautifully, feels lived-in, and makes your bed feel like a destination. When nights are long, rest should feel intentional.

6. A Beautiful Cup from Jinen

This may sound small, but it isn’t. A really good cup changes how you experience mornings. Texture matters. Weight matters. A ceramic or natural-finish cup slows you down and makes tea or coffee feel ceremonial. Winter mornings deserve softness. This cup from Jinen porcelain Hasami cup has become my absolute favorite porcelain cup for everyday use.

7. Instant Pot (and Instant Pot Culture)

In 2025, I leaned into comfort cooking: soups, stews, beans, and broths. The Instant Pot makes nourishment accessible without urgency. Batch cooking on Sundays meant weekday dinners felt cared for instead of chaotic.

8. Farmers Markets (Even in Winter)

Winter farmers markets are quieter, more intentional, and deeply communal. Root vegetables, bread, eggs, preserves. Shopping local in winter feels like an act of care — a reminder that provision exists in every season, just in different forms.

9. Painting

Painting returned to my life without pressure to be good. Winter painting is about mood, texture, and emotion — not outcome. Paint in low light. Let it be messy. Let it exist just for you.

10. New Boots & a New Coat

A good pair of winter boots grounds you — literally. Practical, wearable winter clothing makes cold weather feel intentional instead of inconvenient. Winter style should support your life, not complicate it.

These favorites aren’t about consumption. They’re about attention. Soft hobbies teach us to stay. Winter rituals remind us we’re allowed to move slowly. As we head into 2026, I’m choosing warmth, intention, and creativity — and leaving urgency behind.

 

If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Please tell me where you’re traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.