Six Ideas To Help You Start Making Get-Together’s With Friends Happen
There’s nothing quite like meeting your friends at a restaurant and enjoying the pleasure of catching up with one another’s lives. Drinks start flowing —and soon after that, you’re in full swing for an enjoyable and memorable evening. However, there is one caveat: the price tag. Pretty much everyone has to tighten their belts a little these days, so how can you still enjoy your friends’ company without breaking the bank? It’s much easier to manage when you plan your budgets properly. From scheduling and planning for balloon deliveries to serving up a potluck dinner feast, you can ensure that everyone feels excited about getting together. Making it cheaper? Let’s take a look.
You can start by taking turns hosting game nights!
While getting dressed and going out is part of the whole evening, it doesn’t mean you have to flash the cash at a restaurant or on expensive cocktails. Instead, why not take turns hosting game nights? You’ll still be able to dress up but without the price tag. When it’s your turn to host, focus less on the food and drink you’re putting out for your guests and more on the entertainment.
Take turns inviting your friends to your home. Playing card games or trivia games to test each other’s knowledge, none of you will miss being in a busy bar or spending more than you could afford. If you really want to save money, ask everyone to bring the drink they’d like to enjoy so that you all have to focus on the food. And food doesn’t have to be flashy either; a budget meal or some nibbles to pick on is all that’s needed.
Enjoy the Great Outdoors together!
Spending time with your friends doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to meet up in a bar at night. Instead, why not arrange whole days together where you can get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air? Whether you decide to hike on a nearby forest trail or take a trip to the nearest beach is completely up to you. All you need to pack are refreshments to make sure you’re well-hydrated and not going completely hungry. Then again, if you are heading to the beach, you could easily buy a cheap corndog to tide you over until you get home! Not only is it a cheap day out with your friends, but it also gives you the chance to get outside and get moving!
Stream shows and watch them together.
While arranging days out together seems like a good idea, sometimes your schedules simply won’t line up because of work or other commitments. You can still enjoy each other’s company whether you’re in the same room or not. When your schedules don’t allow for an excursion, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy some time together. Thanks to technology in this day and age, you can video call each other and catch up on your daily lives. You can even spend some time watching Netflix with friends. You are relaxing in some downtime and enjoying a movie; no need to be alone; just call a friend who is free and watch together. Even if you’re not there in person, you could spice things up by creating bingo cards and asking people to predict what’s going to happen in the film. Distance shouldn’t stop you from catching up with your friends!
Potluck dinner parties are back in style.
If catching up with friends over dinner is something you all enjoy doing, then you still don’t have to miss out. You don’t have to make it fancy; make it impromptu instead. Relying on one person to buy, prepare, and serve the food puts all the stress of entertaining on one person. A potluck leaves everyone free to only bring one thing. You can even ask your friends to bring their own plates and utensils, so you have no cleanup. By making this kind of get-together uncomplicated, you can enjoy catching up with friends more often. You can even plan a Potluck monthly rotation among your group of friends. Planning an easy get-together like this means your social calendar is planned, and you don’t feel left out or alone.
If you feel like you want to turn the Potluck into something more, why not set food themes according to seasons or other things? You can turn it into a party or tone it down; it is your choice. Organize the menu so that your food and what the others are bringing will make up a complete meal instead of, by chance, having all desserts, for instance. But sometimes, it is fun not knowing what everyone is bringing. Whatever happens, you can have a good laugh or try some fantastic new foods you had never thought of.
Potluck meals with friends and family can take place anywhere: in your home, in a park, or on a hike. A potluck picnic or cookout is a lot of old-fashioned fun!
We are social creatures, and we need to plan more get-togethers that allow us to catch up with each other, work on a project, or enjoy each other’s company over a good meal.
Have you ever been to a DIY Spa Day?
If you’ve ever had a spa day out with your friends, you’ll know that there’s nothing quite as relaxing as being pampered while having people you care about around you. However, spa trips can be expensive, so why not do it yourself?
A spa day party is a lot like hosting a potluck dinner party, so consider hosting a DIY spa day. Have one person bring all of the hair products, another nail product, and someone else’s skincare products. All you need to add for an inexpensive yet fun day with your friends are some delicious snacks, drinks, and the perfect romcom.
Volunteer together!
Finally, if you’re looking for a truly free way to spend the day together as friends, then you might consider volunteering. There’s a good chance that you have a lot in common (we should hope so, being friends and all), so why not find a common ground and volunteer your time to help others?
Different people find various activities more fun than others, and volunteering is the icing on the cake for some of us. Yes, it is work, but you feel good about what you do. Sometimes, doing something that makes you feel good is better than any rest you might get just staying home.
I know someone who started volunteering as a part-time job to contribute to a worthy cause: rescuing animals. She loved the work so much that she changed her career and couldn’t be happier!
Volunteering will give you a great sense of well-being, and while it is a very noble thing to do, you may even end up having fun, too!
