Top 50 Activities & Hobbies Trends (October 2026)

Activities & Hobbies: 2026's Defining Movements

CAGR = compound annual growth rate

We rebuilt this list on October 4, 2026 from our live trend database, the same feed that powers the table above. The headline: the squishy wave split in two. NeeDoh is still the biggest search on the page at 3.35 million, but it has gone flat over six months and down -45% over three, while the plain category term squishies climbed to 550,000 and kept rising. Two hobbies crossed a million searches this month, Pokemon cards and 3D printers. Summer is cresting rather than climbing: water parks, splash pads and public pools all sit far above where they were six months ago, but their three-month curves have flattened or turned. World cup stickers, last quarter's breakout, fell -87% once the tournament ended and dropped out of the table. Every search-volume and growth figure below comes from that live data.

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1. Sensory Toys Go Stratospheric

Sensory toys are no longer a niche, and this quarter the category split in two. NeeDoh is still the anchor of the entire page at 3,350,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, a breakout on the year, but it is flat over six months and has given back -45% over the past three. The branded dumpling terms turned hardest: dumpling squishy sits at 673,000 and is down -63% over three months, squishy dumpling at 450,000 after a -33% quarter, and glitter dumpling at 60,500 after an -80% one. The generic terms are the ones still climbing: squishies is at 550,000, up +508% over six months and +22% over the last three, and squishy toys at 165,000, up +307% over six months.

What began as a self-regulation tool for neurodivergent kids became a mainstream desk-toy habit, and is now doing what every toy craze does next: the branded designs hand volume back while the plain category term outlasts them.

What's Driving This Shift

Sensory toys are exploding because:

• Texture is the product: The whole appeal is tactile, and short-form video sells that feeling better than any ad
• Impulse-buy pricing: Most squishies and stress balls sit between $5 and $15, perfect for add-to-cart moments
• Collectibility: Seasonal designs, glitter variants, and rare drops turn a toy into a set to complete
• Brands peak, categories keep: Every dumpling variant fell this quarter while the generic terms kept adding volume
• All ages, all offices: Adults now buy these for stress and focus, not just for kids

What's Gaining Momentum

NeeDoh (3,350,000 searches, breakout): The squeezable stress ball is the category's Kleenex, flat over six months and down -45% over the last three. Schylling makes them.

Dumpling Squishy (673,000 searches, breakout): Soft silicone dumplings you can squeeze and pop, down -63% over the last three months. The same wave shows up in mental health trends, where these are searched as sensory regulation rather than as toys.

Squishies (550,000 searches, 24x YoY): The plain category term is the one still growing, up +508% over six months while every branded variant falls.

Squishy Toys (165,000 searches, +812% YoY): The other generic phrasing, up +307% over six months and +22% over the last three.

Taba Squishy (135,000 searches, +49% YoY): One named design still holds a six-figure base, though it has eased -33% this quarter.

Water Wiggler (27,100 searches, +124% YoY): The slippery tube toy is the small riser underneath the dumplings, flat over six months.

Key Players

• Schylling makes NeeDoh and its expanding family of variants
• Squishable produces premium plush and squishy toys for all ages
• Five Below turned value-priced squishies into a retail search phenomenon
• Pop It remains the silicone fidget toy that launched the modern sensory craze

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One named design keeps outlasting the wave around it. Our breakdown of the Taba squishy looks at why the slow-rising stress toy still holds 135,000 searches a month while the dumplings give volume back.

2. LEGO and the Brick-Building Boom

Brick building is still one of the biggest hobby stories of the year, and this quarter the base grew. LEGO commands 2,740,000 monthly searches, up +22% year over year and flat over both six and three months. The movement is in the licences and on the resale floor. Resale chain bricks and minifigs is up +50% at 301,000, though it has given back -63% over three months after a strong spring. On the licence side, lego pokemon is up +309% at 74,000 and +83% over three months, and lego rayquaza went from nothing to 60,500, up 13x over the last three months, with the reversed phrasing rayquaza lego carrying the same 60,500. Mattel's brick line is on the board for the first time: mattel brick shop supra is a breakout at 40,500, up 16x over three months.

The adult LEGO fan is still the center of gravity. Display-worthy sets, resale value, and blockbuster licences have turned a childhood toy into a premium collecting hobby.

Why Brick Building Is Surging

Brick building is booming because:

• Adult fans lead: Grown-up builders drive demand for large, intricate, display-first sets
• Licensed blockbusters: Pokemon and Rayquaza sets create event-level search spikes, then recede
• Resale and scarcity: Retiring sets appreciate, and chains like Bricks & Minifigs built a whole market on it
• A meditative build: Hours of quiet, screen-free assembly is a genuine wellness draw
• The licence carries the growth: The umbrella term added +22% while single sets swing thousands of percent
• Competition arrives: Mattel's licensed car kits now pull searches of their own

What's Gaining Momentum

LEGO (2,740,000 searches, +22% YoY): The umbrella term added volume on the year and sat flat over six and three months, the steady floor under everything else here.

Bricks and Minifigs (301,000 searches, +50% YoY): The buy-sell-trade resale chain is the clearest sign that LEGO is now a secondary market, though it cooled -63% this quarter.

LEGO Pokemon (74,000 searches, +309% YoY): The Pokemon crossover is back up +83% over three months after a soft spring.

LEGO Rayquaza (60,500 searches, breakout): A single set from a standing start, up 13x over the last three months.

Mattel Brick Shop Supra (40,500 searches, breakout): Mattel's licensed car kit is the newest thing on the brick shelf, up 16x over three months.

Key Players

• LEGO Group anchors the category with blockbuster licensed and display sets
• Bricks & Minifigs powers the resale and trade market with a growing store footprint
• BrickLink remains the primary marketplace for parts, sets, and retired inventory
• Premium Bandai competes for the builder's attention with model kits and figures

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3. 3D Printing Crosses Into the Mainstream

Desktop manufacturing crossed a million. 3d printer pulls 1,000,000 monthly searches at +82% year over year, though it has eased -33% over the last three months, and the parallel term printable 3d carries the same 1,000,000. What owners search next has cooled with it: 3d print files holds 90,500, up +22% on the year, while consumable demand has turned, with 3d printing filament down to 90,500 (-18%). The beginner default, bambu lab a1, holds 49,500 (+22%). Alongside the machines, the table is filling up with analog making: film camera at 74,000, chalk markers at 49,500 and up +234% over six months, pottery painting at 49,500, handwritten at 33,100 and snail mail at 27,100, up +50% over three months.

3D printing has crossed the threshold from expensive nerd hobby to accessible creative tool, thanks largely to plug-and-play machines that print well straight out of the box. What is new this quarter is that the hand-made searches are growing beside it.

Why 3D Printing Is Booming

Consumer 3D printing is surging because:

• Price collapse: Capable printers now start near $150, down from well over $1,000 a few years ago
• The Bambu effect: Fast, reliable, nearly foolproof machines removed the biggest barrier to entry
• Practical output: Custom parts, organizers, phone cases, and gifts make the hobby genuinely useful
• A shared library: Printables, Thingiverse, and Thangs put millions of free designs one download away
• Making by hand rides along: Film cameras, chalk markers and pottery painting are growing in the same table

What's Gaining Momentum

3D Printer (1,000,000 searches, +82% YoY): The umbrella term crossed a million this month, the clearest sign the hobby has gone mainstream, even after a -33% quarter.

3D Print Files (90,500 searches, +22% YoY): What owners look for once the machine is on the desk, and the steadiest term in the section.

Film Camera (74,000 searches, +22% YoY): The analog counterweight grows +22% on every window we track, year, six months and three.

Chalk Markers (49,500 searches, +22% YoY): Hand lettering and sign making, up +234% over six months and +123% over three.

Bambu Lab A1 (49,500 searches, +22% YoY): The machine that reset expectations is still the beginner default.

Makerspaces (27,100 searches, +22% YoY): Shared workshops grow as people try the hardware before they buy it.

Key Players

• Bambu Lab reset expectations with fast, reliable, multi-color printers
• Creality dominates the budget end that pulls beginners in
• Prusa Research anchors the open-source community with a devoted following
• Printables hosts one of the largest libraries of free printable designs

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4. Word Games Settle Into Daily Habit

The daily-puzzle habit is infrastructure now, and infrastructure does not grow. Classroom quiz game gimkit is the largest search on the page at 6,120,000 monthly searches, down -18% on the year and -55% over three months, which is a school calendar rather than a collapse. Wordle hint pulls 3,350,000 and nyt connections holds 2,740,000, both settled back as the frenzy turned into routine. The small puzzles fell hardest: mini crossword is at 450,000 (-80%) and nyt mini at 246,000 (-84%), though the Mini has turned back up +22% over both six and three months. What is growing instead is the daily lookup: life path number calculator is up +173% at 74,000, with +233% over six months, and fantasy calculator holds 33,100 after +513% over six months.

The novelty has faded, but the habit has not. These games are a fixed part of millions of morning routines, which is exactly why the volume stays enormous even as growth cools, and why the fastest risers in this part of the table are calculators rather than puzzles.

Why Puzzles Are Permanent

Word games and puzzles endure because:

• Ritual formation: One puzzle a day builds a habit loop that outlasts any viral spike
• Social sharing: Those colored result squares turn solo play into a daily group conversation
• Bite-sized time cost: Five to ten minutes fits any schedule, so the habit is easy to keep
• The NYT bundle: Wordle, Connections and the Mini pull each other into one subscription
• In-app, not in search: As the habit hardens, players open the app directly instead of searching, so volume drifts down

What's Gaining Momentum

Gimkit (6,120,000 searches, -18% YoY): The classroom quiz game is the highest-volume term on the page and down -55% over three months, the sharpest school-calendar curve in our data.

Wordle Hint (3,350,000 searches, -33% YoY): Years after going viral, Wordle is still a daily habit for millions, and the hint query shows people want help without giving up.

NYT Connections (2,740,000 searches, -18% YoY): The word-grouping puzzle is the second pillar of the NYT Games habit, flat over six and three months.

NYT Mini (246,000 searches, -84% YoY): Far off its peak on the year, but back up +22% over six months and three.

Life Path Number Calculator (74,000 searches, +173% YoY): Numerology lookups are the fastest-growing daily habit here, up +83% over three months.

Fantasy Calculator (33,100 searches, +22% YoY): Fantasy sports math is the other riser, up +513% over six months and +83% over three.

Key Players

• NYT Games owns Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword
• Hasbro holds Scrabble and the classic word-game catalog
• Mattel owns party word games like Apples to Apples
• Merriam-Webster runs its own daily word games and quizzes

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5. Collecting Becomes a Search Economy

Collecting is still its own search economy, and the money moved again. Pokemon card crossed a million at 1,000,000 monthly searches, up +49% on the year, and live-shopping app whatnot is up +50% at 823,000. Cardboard is where the new growth sits: sports cards is at 110,000 and up +49% on every window we track, and perfect order chase cards is a breakout at 40,500 after 16x over six months. The blind-box shelf is still the outflow, with popmart down -80% to 450,000, though sonny angel has turned back up +22% over three months at 550,000. Last quarter's event riser is gone: world cup stickers fell -87% over three months to 14,800 once the tournament ended.

Whether the item is a graded card, a sticker, or a blind box, buyers treat collectibles like assets, and assets rotate. The event-driven stickers were this year's inflow and are already this quarter's outflow; the trading cards are what stayed.

Why Collecting Keeps Growing

Collecting is booming because:

• Scarcity drives search: Chase cards, rare stickers, and limited runs create constant value-checking behavior
• Live commerce: Apps like Whatnot turned card breaks and collectible auctions into a nightly habit
• Events spike and empty: World Cup stickers went vertical before the tournament and -87% after it
• Blind boxes rotate out: Popmart shows how fast a shelf can empty when the novelty passes
• Community depth: Reddit, Discord, and YouTube give every niche a place to compare and trade

What's Gaining Momentum

Pokemon Card (1,000,000 searches, +49% YoY): The category's largest term crossed a million this month, driven by collecting, grading, and investment interest. The same card economy runs through gaming trends, where the term is one of the largest searches on the page.

Whatnot (823,000 searches, +50% YoY): The live-shopping platform is the default venue for card breaks and collectible auctions, and flat over the last three months.

Sonny Angel (550,000 searches, -45% YoY): The blind-box figure is well down on the year, though it has turned back up +22% over three months.

Sports Cards (110,000 searches, +49% YoY): The steadiest riser here, up +49% over the year, six months and three alike. The leagues behind it are the biggest story on our sports trends page.

Perfect Order Chase Cards (40,500 searches, breakout): Chase-card hunting from a standing start, up 16x over six months before easing -45% this quarter.

Key Players

• The Pokemon Company sits at the center of the trading-card boom
• Panini drives the sticker-album craze around major sporting events
• Whatnot powers live collectible commerce and auctions
• TCGplayer anchors trading-card pricing and marketplace activity

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6. Experiences, E-Bikes, and the Great Outdoors

Off-screen activity is cresting rather than climbing. Water parks near me pulls 1,000,000 monthly searches, up +506% over six months but only +22% over the last three, with splash pad near me at 301,000 (16x over six months, now -18% over three) and public pools near me flat at 165,000. Overhead, the perseid meteor shower sits at 823,000 after a 36x three-month run, the sharpest once-a-year curve on the page. The venues are steadier: wellness-driven bathhouse visits are up +82% at 165,000, hammam holds 33,100 (+22%), and padel, the fastest-spreading racket sport, is level at 110,000. Family venues compound quietly, with indoor playground near me at 301,000 (+22%) and the broad weekend query sunday at 201,000, up +49% across the year and the quarter alike. Gear and storage follow the season: affordable electric bike holds 110,000 (+22%) after a +82% six months, rv storage near me is up +49% over three months at 110,000, summer house has given back -70% to 135,000, and santa tracker is already on the board at 110,000. The e-bike side of that demand is tracked in more detail on our sustainability trends page, where micromobility is its own section.

The through-line is participation over passivity. People want places to go, movement that feels social, and gear that lowers the barrier to getting outside.

Why Experiences Are Winning

Experience and outdoor activity are surging because:

• Third places are back: Bathhouses, hammams and racket clubs give people a reason to gather in person
• Free beats ticketed: Splash pads, public pools and a meteor shower carried the summer curve
• Seasonality is the whole shape: Water searches peak in August and hand it back by autumn, every year
• E-bikes remove the barrier: Electric assist makes cycling accessible to commuters and older riders alike
• Indoors is the hedge: Indoor playgrounds grow +22% while the outdoor venues turn with the weather

What's Gaining Momentum

Water Parks Near Me (1,000,000 searches, flat YoY): The biggest activity search in the table, up +506% over six months on pure seasonality.

Perseid (823,000 searches, flat YoY): The August meteor shower ran 36x over three months, a free activity with a fixed date.

Indoor Playground Near Me (301,000 searches, +22% YoY): Year-round family venues keep adding volume, up +22% over the last three months.

Bathhouse (165,000 searches, +82% YoY): Sauna, steam, and cold-plunge bathing culture keeps expanding into major cities, up +82% over six months.

Rope Flow (33,100 searches, +652% YoY): The rope-swinging movement drill is the fastest riser in this section, up 16x over the last three months.

Run Club (22,200 searches, +83% YoY): Social running keeps compounding, up +124% over six months.

Bodyweight training shows the same seasonal shape: military calisthenics is up +83% on the year at 60,500 but down -63% this quarter, while puppy yoga holds 60,500 (+22%). The mind-body end of that demand sits in our fitness trends report, and the nervous-system framing in alternative medicine trends.

Key Players

• Rad Power Bikes is North America's largest e-bike brand
• Lectric eBikes dominates the budget segment driving new-rider demand
• MacFox is a fast-rising challenger brand in affordable e-bikes
• REI anchors outdoor gear retail and community

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Last year's slowest-looking activity still had the fastest year on this page. Tai chi walking sits at 110,000 monthly searches after a 19x year, though it is down -70% over six months, and we cover the slow-fitness breakout behind it.

7. Anime, Fandom and Convention Culture

Fandom searches are logistics, and they keep compounding. The manga reader asuratoons is the largest at 368,000 monthly searches, up +83% on the year, with weeb central at 301,000 (+50%). Merch is the money: premium bandai is up +124% at 246,000 and +82% over both six and three months, with the alternate phrasings bandai premium and p bandai carrying the same 246,000 each. Palworld map is up +306% at 201,000 and +642% over the last three months, the fastest riser here, while the sports anime blue lock holds 201,000 and anime convention is up +49% at 74,000. The aesthetic side of fandom is on the board too: cybersigilism holds 90,500 (+22%) and etsy witches is up +234% at 33,100.

The pattern is that fandom searches are logistics. People are not looking up what a series is. They are looking for where to read it, which figure to buy, and when the convention is.

Why Fandom Searches Keep Growing

Anime and fandom terms hold up because:

• Utility, not discovery: Map, reader, and store searches are things people do weekly, not once
• Merch is the business: Premium Bandai's +124% year shows the figure shelf outpacing the show itself
• Conventions came back: In-person events are up +49% on the year and +49% over the quarter
• Game and anime overlap: Palworld sits in both worlds, which is why its map search moves like a fandom term
• Aesthetics travel: Cybersigilism and Etsy witch shops show fandom spilling into tattoos and craft

What's Gaining Momentum

Asuratoons (368,000 searches, +83% YoY): The largest reader term here, flat over the last three months on a big base.

Weeb Central (301,000 searches, +50% YoY): A second manga reading destination, easing -18% this quarter.

Premium Bandai (246,000 searches, +124% YoY): The official model-kit and figure store, up +82% over both six and three months as the merch side outgrows the media.

Palworld Map (201,000 searches, +306% YoY): The in-game map lookup is the fastest riser in this section, up +642% over the last three months.

Cybersigilism (90,500 searches, +22% YoY): The spiky digital-occult design style that fandom took to tattoo shops.

Anime Convention (74,000 searches, +49% YoY): In-person fandom is up +49% on the year and the same over three months.

Key Players

• Bandai Namco sits behind the figure and model-kit demand driving Premium Bandai
• Anime Expo is the largest North American convention pulling the event searches
• Viz Media publishes much of the manga the reader searches are looking for

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Summary

The activities and hobbies landscape of 2026 rotated again this quarter. Whether people are squishing NeeDoh (3.35M searches, down -45% over three months), building LEGO (2.74M, +22%), running a 3D printer (1M, +82%), tracking Pokemon card values (1M, +49%), driving to a water park (1M, +506% over six months), or looking up a Palworld map (201K, +642% over three months), the common thread is that branded crazes hand volume back while the plain category terms and the places people go keep it.

The winning approaches in hobbies now share these characteristics:

• Tactile satisfaction that a screen cannot replicate, though the brand peaks before the category does
• Collectibility and scarcity that turn products into sets and assets, and rotate between shelves
• Community connection through conventions, live commerce, and shared fandoms
• Low or no cost, from splash pads to a meteor shower to a browser puzzle
• Real-world venues and movement that pull people off the couch

For entrepreneurs and investors, the data points to several high-growth opportunities: generic sensory-toy brands rather than single designs, licensed and display-first building sets, affordable 3D printers and the files that feed them, live-commerce tools for card collectors, and indoor family venues that do not turn with the weather. See how Rising Trends helps you find trending products before they peak.