Top 45 Activities & Hobbies Trends (November 2026)

Activities & Hobbies: 2026's Defining Movements

CAGR = compound annual growth rate

We rebuilt this list on October 27, 2026 from our live trend database, the same feed that powers the table above. The headline: the generic squishy terms finally caught the branded ones. Squishies is now level with dumpling squishy at 673,000 searches each, while NeeDoh has handed back -70% over six months. Two other searches took the air at the top of the table. E bikes is the second-largest term on the page at 1.83 million, and 3d printer crossed 1.5 million. Summer is over rather than cresting: water parks, splash pads and public pools fell between -75% and -87% over the last three months, and santa tracker is already up +172%. Dragon Ball LEGO is the quarter's breakout at 135,000, up +812% over three months. Every search-volume and growth figure below comes from that live data.

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1. Sensory Toys Go Stratospheric

The sensory-toy split we flagged last quarter has finished. NeeDoh is still the anchor of the entire page at 3,350,000 monthly searches as of September 2026, a breakout on the year, but it has given back -70% over six months and -18% over the last three. The branded dumplings turned with it: dumpling squishy sits at 673,000 after -45% over both six months and three, squishy dumpling at 368,000 after a -45% quarter, and glitter dumpling at 40,500 after an -80% six months. The plain category terms are the ones that kept climbing. Squishies has reached 673,000, level with the biggest branded term on the page, up +174% over six months and +50% over the last three, and squishy toys is at 246,000, up +82% and +49% across the same windows.

What began as a self-regulation tool for neurodivergent kids became a mainstream desk-toy habit, and has now done 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 again this quarter while the generic terms caught up to them
• 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, down -70% over six months and -18% over the last three. Schylling makes them.

Squishies (673,000 searches, breakout): The plain category term has drawn level with the biggest branded one, up +174% over six months and +50% over the last three.

Dumpling Squishy (673,000 searches, breakout): Soft silicone dumplings you can squeeze and pop, down -45% over six months and the same over three. The same wave shows up in mental health trends, where these are searched as sensory regulation rather than as toys.

Squishy Toys (246,000 searches, breakout): The other generic phrasing, up +82% over six months and +49% over the last three.

Taba Squishy (135,000 searches, +23% YoY): One named design still holds a six-figure base, though it has eased -33% this quarter.

Squeezy Squishy (27,100 searches, breakout): The newest phrasing on the board, up +22% over six months before easing -45% this quarter.

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

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

The umbrella term has stopped growing and the licences have taken over. LEGO commands 2,240,000 monthly searches, level on the year and down -18% over both six months and three. Everything moving sits underneath it. Dragonball LEGO is the breakout of the quarter at 135,000, up +812% over the last three months and 25x over six. LEGO X Mansion is at 74,000, up +647% on the year and +400% over three months, and lego book nook has reached 27,100 after +516% over six months and +402% over three. The Rayquaza set is still on the board, with lego rayquaza and the reversed rayquaza lego carrying 40,500 each after an 11x six months. Resale cooled hard: bricks and minifigs holds 246,000 and +49% on the year but gave back -84% 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, and this quarter the licence is doing all the work.

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: Dragon Ball, 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 went flat while single sets swing hundreds of percent
• Display furniture: Book nooks and mansion sets sell the finished object, not the building of it

What's Gaining Momentum

LEGO (2,240,000 searches, flat YoY): The umbrella term held its volume on the year and eased -18% over six months and three, the steady floor under everything else here.

Dragonball LEGO (135,000 searches, breakout): The licence that ran away with the quarter, up +812% over the last three months. We traced the gap between the search volume and the shelf in the Dragon Ball LEGO trend.

Bricks and Minifigs (246,000 searches, +49% YoY): The buy-sell-trade resale chain is still the clearest sign that LEGO is a secondary market, though it cooled -84% this quarter.

LEGO X Mansion (74,000 searches, +647% YoY): A single display set carrying +400% over the last three months.

LEGO Rayquaza (40,500 searches, breakout): The Pokemon set that came from a standing start, up 11x over six months and +49% over the last three.

LEGO Book Nook (27,100 searches, +235% YoY): Shelf dioramas are the slowest-looking riser here and up +402% 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

3. 3D Printing Crosses Into the Mainstream

Desktop manufacturing cleared another half million. 3d printer pulls 1,500,000 monthly searches at +123% year over year, up +50% over both six months and three, and the parallel term printable 3d carries the same 1,500,000. What owners search next has not followed: 3d print files holds 90,500 at +22% on the year but -18% over six months and three, and 3d printing filament is down to 90,500 (-18%). The beginner default, bambu lab a1, is level at 49,500. Alongside the machines, the analog making terms are the ones adding volume: handwritten is at 40,500 and up +124% over the last three months, with alcohol markers at 40,500 (+22%), pottery painting at 40,500 (+22%), film camera level at 60,500 and chalk markers at 27,100 after a +50% six 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 machine is growing faster than the ecosystem around 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: Handwriting, alcohol markers and pottery painting are growing in the same table

What's Gaining Momentum

3D Printer (1,500,000 searches, +123% YoY): The umbrella term cleared 1.5 million and is up +50% over six months and three alike, the clearest sign the hobby has gone mainstream.

3D Print Files (90,500 searches, +22% YoY): What owners look for once the machine is on the desk, up on the year but off -18% over six months and three.

Film Camera (60,500 searches, flat YoY): The analog counterweight holds its volume on every window we track.

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

Handwritten (40,500 searches, +22% YoY): Writing by hand is the fastest riser in this part of the table, up +124% over the last three months.

Alcohol Markers (40,500 searches, +22% YoY): Illustration supplies grow alongside the printers, up +22% over the last three months.

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

4. Word Games Settle Into Daily Habit

The daily-puzzle habit is infrastructure now, and infrastructure moves with the school calendar rather than with fashion. Classroom quiz game gimkit is the largest search on the page at 13,600,000 monthly searches, down -18% on the year but up +306% over the last three months as term started. Wordle hint pulls 3,350,000 and nyt connections holds 2,740,000, both level on the year as the frenzy turned into routine. The small puzzles have stopped falling: mini crossword sits at 450,000 (-45%) and nyt mini at 201,000 (-45%), both flat over the last three months. What is actually growing is the lookup rather than the game. Fantasy calculator has reached 110,000 after an 11x six months and +809% over the last three, and into chinese is a breakout at 90,500, up +83% over the quarter.

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 and translators 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
• The classroom is the calendar: Gimkit swings hundreds of percent on term dates, not on interest
• 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 (13,600,000 searches, -18% YoY): The classroom quiz game is the highest-volume term on the page and up +306% over three months, the sharpest school-calendar curve in our data.

Wordle Hint (3,350,000 searches, flat 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, flat YoY): The word-grouping puzzle is the second pillar of the NYT Games habit, level on every window we track.

NYT Mini (201,000 searches, -45% YoY): Far off its peak on the year, but it has stopped falling, flat over six months and three.

Fantasy Calculator (110,000 searches, +22% YoY): Fantasy sports math is the fastest riser here, up 11x over six months and +809% over the last three.

Into Chinese (90,500 searches, breakout): Translation lookups are the other daily utility climbing in this table, up +83% over the last three months.

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

5. Collecting Becomes a Search Economy

Collecting is still its own search economy, and this quarter it stopped moving. Pokemon card holds 1,000,000 monthly searches, up +49% on the year and flat over both six months and three. Live-shopping app whatnot is at 673,000, up +22% on the year but down -18% this quarter. Cardboard is where the remaining growth sits: trading cards is at 74,000, up +49% on the year and +22% over the last three, while sports cards carries the same 74,000 and is level on every window. The blind-box shelf is the outflow, with popmart down -70% to 450,000 and sonny angel at 550,000 (-18%), both flat over the quarter. Last year's event riser has finished falling: world cup stickers is down to 5,400 after -97% over three months, and it is off the table.

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 last year's inflow and have now emptied out completely; 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 -97% over the three months after it
• Blind boxes rotate out: Popmart shows how fast a shelf can empty when the novelty passes
• Plush is the new shelf: Jellycat's diner line pulls its own searches now, separate from the toy aisle
• 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 is holding a million, 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 (673,000 searches, +22% YoY): The live-shopping platform is the default venue for card breaks and collectible auctions, off -18% over the last three months.

Sonny Angel (550,000 searches, -18% YoY): The blind-box figure is down on the year and flat over six months and three.

Trading Cards (74,000 searches, +49% YoY): The generic term is the steadiest riser here, up +22% over the last three months. The leagues behind the sports side of it are the biggest story on our sports trends page.

Perfect Order Chase Cards (40,500 searches, breakout): Chase-card hunting came from a standing start and is now cooling, down -45% over six months and -18% over three.

Jellycat Diner (27,100 searches, +22% YoY): The collectible plush line is the newest shelf in this section, flat over the last three months.

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

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

The biggest activity search on the page is now a vehicle. E bikes pulls 1,830,000 monthly searches as of September 2026, up +50% on the year and the same over six months, level over the last three. Underneath it, fast electric bicycle holds 49,500 (+22%) while affordable electric bike has slipped to 90,500 (-18%). Summer handed everything back at once: water parks near me is down to 368,000 after a -75% quarter, splash pad near me and splash pads near me carry 110,000 each after -87%, public pools near me sits at 60,500 after -84%, and summer house has given back -76% to 110,000. Pool noodles is the one water term still rising, at 110,000 and up +49% over the last three months. The venues that do not turn with the weather kept compounding: wellness-driven bathhouse is up +82% at 135,000 and +49% over the quarter, indoor playground near me holds 246,000 (+49%), indoor activities near me is up +83% at 49,500, and the broad weekend query sunday is up +82% at 246,000. Winter is already loading: rv storage near me is up +82% over three months at 135,000, and santa tracker sits at 201,000 after +172% over the quarter. 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, game cafes and racket clubs give people a reason to gather in person
• Seasonality is the whole shape: Water searches peak in August and hand back -75% to -87% 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 and indoor activity searches grow while the outdoor venues turn with the weather
• Winter loads early: Santa tracker is up +172% over three months before December has started
• Storage is a tell: RV storage rising +82% in a quarter is the fleet going away for the season

What's Gaining Momentum

E Bikes (1,830,000 searches, +50% YoY): The largest activity search on the page, up +50% over six months and level over the last three.

Water Parks Near Me (368,000 searches, +50% YoY): Still well up on the year, but down -75% over the last three months as the season closed.

Indoor Playground Near Me (246,000 searches, +49% YoY): Year-round family venues keep adding volume and held flat through the quarter.

Sunday (246,000 searches, +82% YoY): The broad weekend-plans query is up +82% over six months and +49% over the last three.

Santa Tracker (201,000 searches, +22% YoY): The winter fixture is already up +172% over the last three months.

Bathhouse (135,000 searches, +82% YoY): Sauna, steam, and cold-plunge bathing culture keeps expanding into major cities, up +82% over six months and +49% over three.

Bodyweight training shows the same seasonal shape: military calisthenics is up +233% on the year at 74,000 but down -45% this quarter, while puppy yoga holds 49,500 (+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

Last year's fastest riser is this year's decline. Tai chi walking has fallen to 90,500 monthly searches, down -33% on the year and -63% over the last three months, and we covered the slow-fitness breakout on the way up.

7. Anime, Fandom and Convention Culture

Fandom searches are logistics, and the logistics held while the events did not. The manga reader asuratoons is the largest at 368,000 monthly searches, up +22% on the year and flat over six months and three, with weeb central level at 301,000. Merch is still the money: premium bandai is up +123% at 165,000, with the alternate phrasings bandai premium and p bandai carrying the same 165,000 each. The season's riser is a venue rather than a title: game cafe is up +123% at 60,500 after +173% over six months. Palworld map has come back down to 49,500 (+50%), the sports anime blue lock is level at 246,000, and anime convention has fallen to 33,100, down -45% over the quarter. The aesthetic side of fandom keeps spreading: cybersigilism holds 90,500 (+22%), the tradwife aesthetic is up +123% at 49,500, and etsy witches is up +49% over three months at 40,500.

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 where to go to play.

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 +123% year shows the figure shelf outpacing the show itself
• Conventions cooled: Anime convention is down -45% over the quarter while cafe and store searches climb
• Venues beat events: A game cafe is open every week, which is why it grew +173% over six months
• Game and anime overlap: Palworld sits in both worlds, which is why its map search moves like a fandom term
• Aesthetics travel: Cybersigilism and the tradwife look show fandom spilling into tattoos, craft and lifestyle

What's Gaining Momentum

Asuratoons (368,000 searches, +22% YoY): The largest reader term here, flat over six months and three on a big base.

Premium Bandai (165,000 searches, +123% YoY): The official model-kit and figure store, flat over the last three months after a soft six, with the merch side still outgrowing the media.

Cybersigilism (90,500 searches, +22% YoY): The spiky digital-occult design style that fandom took to tattoo shops, back up +22% over the last three months.

Game Cafe (60,500 searches, +123% YoY): Board-game and gaming cafes are the fastest riser in this section, up +173% over six months.

Palworld Map (49,500 searches, +50% YoY): The in-game map lookup is off its spike but still up +22% over six months and three.

Tradwife (49,500 searches, +123% YoY): The aesthetic keeps pulling searches well outside the fandom it started in, up +22% over the last 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

Summary

The activities and hobbies landscape of 2026 rotated again this quarter, and the rotation was away from the branded crazes. Whether people are squishing NeeDoh (3.35M searches, down -70% over six months), riding an e bike (1.83M, +50%), running a 3D printer (1.5M, +123%), tracking Pokemon card values (1M, +49%), buying plain squishies (673K, now level with the dumplings), hunting a Dragon Ball LEGO set (135K, +812% over three months) or already checking the santa tracker (201K, +172%), the common thread is that single products hand volume back while the category terms, the venues and the seasons keep it.

The winning approaches in hobbies now share these characteristics:

• Tactile satisfaction that a screen cannot replicate, though the brand peaks well before the category does
• Collectibility and scarcity that turn products into sets and assets, and rotate between shelves
• Community connection through cafes, live commerce, and shared fandoms
• Low or no cost, from a splash pad in July to a browser puzzle in January
• Real-world venues and movement that pull people off the couch, indoors when the weather turns

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 e-bikes and the storage that follows 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.