💫 A cozy, chaotic hackathon experience that reminded me why I enjoy building things — even when they’re useless. 💫
Have you ever built something knowing it wouldn’t be useful…
but still felt excited doing it?
That’s exactly what happened when I joined the Code at Christmas Hackathon, organized by Girls Leading Tech.
The theme was simple, yet unusual:
Build something useless, weird, and fun using vibe coding.
At first, that felt unfamiliar.
We’re so used to trying to be productive, impactful, and impressive.
But this hackathon asked us to do the opposite — and that changed everything.
🎅 The Idea: Santa’s Useless Workshop
I decided to build _Santa’s Useless Workshop _
a cozy Christmas-themed web project where productivity goes to hibernate ❄️
Instead of solving problems, the project focused on:
✨ Fun interactions
✨ Absurd mini-games
✨ Cozy visuals and festive chaos
Nothing serious.
Nothing efficient.
Just creativity and curiosity.
And surprisingly… that made it one of my most enjoyable builds so far.
🤖 Building with AI (The Honest Reality)
I used Lovable to build the project, and this wasn’t a “one-click magic” experience.
The AI:
✨ Didn’t always understand what I wanted
✨ Sometimes went in unexpected directions
✨ Needed multiple retries and adjustments
But instead of getting frustrated, I learned something important:
AI is a collaborator, not a mind reader.
Working with AI taught me patience, clarity, and when to step in and guide the process myself.
🎥 The Rushed Demo & Imperfect Voice-over
Because of time constraints, I recorded a quick demo video with a voice-over that wasn’t perfectly polished.
And honestly?
That imperfection felt right.
Hackathons aren’t about perfection —
they’re about decisions made under pressure, learning fast, and shipping something real.
🧠What This Hackathon Taught Me
From a project that was intentionally “useless”, I learned some very real lessons:
✨ You don’t need a serious idea to learn seriously
✨ Shipping imperfectly is better than waiting forever
✨ Creativity flows better without pressure
✨ AI tools still need human direction
✨ Fun projects can be deeply educational
🌱 The Bigger Takeaway
Building something without a clear purpose reminded me that coding doesn’t always have to be about optimization or outcomes.
Sometimes, it’s about:
✨ Curiosity
✨ Experimentation
✨ Giving yourself permission to create
Even if the result exists just for the joy of it.
If you’re curious, here’s the live demo I built during the hackathon:
👉 https://santa-useless-workshop.lovable.app
Not every project needs to change the world.
Some projects change you — and that’s more than enough.🎄✨
Top comments (0)