From twerking classes to free lunchtime concerts: here’s 10 quirky hobbies to take up in the new year

Unless you celebrate your birthday this month or you’ve won the lottery, January probably isn’t your favourite month.

Christmas is a long way away, the weather is awful and your wallet feels a lot lighter. Unfortunately, you probably don’t.

You’ve probably eaten one too many mince pies over Christmas. And New Year’s Eve was a disappointing disaster of overpriced drinks and bar queues slower than the Manchurian Way in rush hour.

Whilst you thought you’d be ringing in the New Year’s Eve in a style that would make Jordan Belfort jealous, you ended up sobbing over a large wine, wondering why your ex won’t text you back.

The good news is there’s plenty going on in the city centre to kick start January on a high.

We’ve put together some of the quirkiest things to try out that’ll get you out of your comfort zone.

So get yourself out of that rut and get a load of some of the coolest and quirkiest things to try in the new year.

Enjoy.

Planting workshop at Form

If you want to get your hands a little dirty in the New Year, why not head to a pretty plant workshop whilst you’re at it?  This month sees a wonderful Closed Terrarium-making workshop come to Form Lifestyle Store, using ferns and fittonia to make a closed terrarium. Botanical stylist Geo-Fleur will provide everything including the apothecary bottle, grit, activated charcoal, moss, rocks, soil, ferns and fittonia and show you step by step how to create your own ecosystem garden to take home with you. Also there will be advice to maintain your closed terrarium to make sure you’re not left with a wilting mess come February. Click here for more.

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Candlelit yoga at Charnock Farm

Modern life can be exhausting. There’s the rush to finish work before it’s pitch black. The rush to make the train. The rush to beat the downpour. The rush to beat the rush hour. We’re constantly micromanaging our schedules. The new year is the perfect reason to turn off your phone after work and head down to a candlelit yoga retreat at Charnock Farm. It’s every Friday between 5.30pm and 6.30pm and makes for the perfect start to the weekend – and the year. Thumbs up from us. Click here for more information.

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Enjoy a free lunchtime concert at RNCM

The key word here is free. Sounds good doesn’t it? If you’ve spent a little more than you should have, The Royal Northern College of Music hosts free lunchtime concerts on Mondays and Wednesdays during term time. It’s the perfect opportunity to catch a free show. Just make sure you’re a freelancer or student or someone who doesn’t have a 9-5 job. Getting fired for skiving off to watch a lunchtime concert isn’t exactly the best start to the year.

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Twerk it up at Bodybarre studio

What a time to be alive. Twerking and contouring were all the rage in 2017 – one of which we need to leave behind. But if you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to twerking and you fancy giving it a cheeky try yourself, we’ve got you sorted. This class at pole dance, burlesque and aerial fitness studio Bodybarre in the Northern Quarter costs £8 and will have you shaking what your mama gave you a la Nicki Minaj. Not sure if that’s a good thing. But it’s not a bad one.

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Axe throwing at Great Northern

Nothing says you’re serious about your New Year’s resolution like breaking out a chainsaw or axe. Yes, axe throwing a la Game of Thrones is a thing and you can do it in Manchester. Take it a step further and visualise that ex who didn’t text you back whilst you aim.  If you want to spice up your life, we reckon this makes for a pretty quirky option.

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Salsa classes at Revolution de Cuba

Peter Street’s Cuban party palace Revolución de Cuba hosts free beginner salsa classes every Wednesday night at 6.30pm. You don’t need any experience or even a dance partner so if you’re a bit of a loner or broke you still have no excuse not to join in. Afterwards, you can try out your new moves on the dance floor with Spanish hits playing from 9pm to 3am. We can’t promise you’ll be a contender for the next Strictly but we can promise you’ll have fun.

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Putt your best foot forward at Junkyard Golf

Fancy knocking balls into holes in the New Year? Junkyard Golf is boojie and boozy. It takes the golfing concept to the next level, with more courses, bigger and more dramatic immersive environments and a refreshed food and drinks offer. They serve up food for a fairground area – everything from American style hot dogs to salted caramel popcorn. If you fancy trying something a little different, this would be the place to go.

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Breakout

Let’s be honest, the traditional cabin in the woods scenario is a horror movie classic. It’s a theme that’s terrified people for years so if you fancy getting your adrenaline pumping, this is the one for you. Teams of 2 – 5 have 60 minutes to escape a locked room using only brain power. So if you want to test your IQ and dust off those brain cells that have been a little dormant over the festive season, book in here.

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Flip Out UK

This brand new state of the art trampoline and adventure park at Sportcity is home to some of the UK’s biggest and best trampolines spread across 35,000 square feet. There’s an action-packed Ninja Warrior course with awesome climbs, Cyber Towers where you can race your mates to the top, Lazer Maze, and even a Ninja Slide. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get a little fitter, Flip Out will be hosting dedicated fitness sessions and classes. For the record, an hour’s trampolining burns up to 800 calories. Get to it.

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