5 Things to Do With Friends

5 Things to Do With Friends

As highly social beings, we thrive from being around others. Socialisation is an innate part of being human and meeting up with friends on a regular basis is important for our mental wellbeing. In fact, psychologists suggest that face-to face contact essentially acts as a vaccine to stress and anxiety, sending a cocktail of neurotransmitters around the body to protect it.

Yet today, it can often be difficult to arrange meetings with friends at a time that suits everyone and once you have, it can be tricky to organise something to do that everyone will enjoy. If the main thing you do with friends is go out to pubs, clubs, and bars, then it can be nice to switch it up for a change. Below are some activities that you can do with even the pickiest of friends.

• Playing Bingo

Bingo is a classic game that has been around for a number of years. Traditionally, it was associated with older communities that would visit the local bingo hall as a way to socialise and stay entertained in their retirement. Yet today, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Playing bingo today is much more exciting. If you fancy attending a bingo hall then you’ll be greeted by an exciting atmosphere where there’s live entertainment, music and importantly, a bar. Book a table for your friends and order in the cocktails while you look out for all the eights! It’s sure to be an enjoyable venture out for everyone.

Got the kids in tow? Why not invite the girls round for a game of online bingo? Leave the kids to play while you turn the lounge into a slumber party for the adults and settle in for a few hours of entertainment. Online bingo sites like 888ladies offer a great variety of themed games, with even more great bonuses and prizes than playing in a bingo hall.

• Host an Afternoon Tea

Nothing will make you feel more British than hosting an afternoon tea with friends. Afternoon tea was introduced to the United Kingdom as far back as 1840 when Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford became hungry in between lunch and dinner. In her household, dinner was served elegantly late at around 8pm in the evening, leaving a large gap between the two meals.

Anna began requesting for tea and some small treats including bread and butter and cake to be brought to the drawing room around 4pm, in which she would sometimes ask friends to join her. Over the years, this evolved into a tradition where ladies would get together on long gowns and elegant accessories to enjoy afternoon tea together in the grand drawing room.

In modern day England, not many of us have time to have afternoon tea every day, yet it’s the perfect activity for a social occasion. Pull out your best table runner and fine china to host an afternoon tea with friends; a perfect occasion to catch up on each other’s news and busy lives.

A traditional afternoon tea is served with finger sandwiches, scones and clotted cream, little cakes like French fancies or angel cakes and of course, earl grey tea.

• Host a Spa Day

A day out at the spa can often be quite expensive and may not be something that everyone in your friend group can afford. A more viable option that suits everyone is to host a home spa day. While you may need someone to look after the kids for this one, if you’re feeling brave, you could always have them join you!

Home spa days are a great way to get creative. Instead of purchasing face masks from the store, why not whip up your own organic face masks and beauty treatments with natural ingredients that are easily sourced from the store? Alternatively, shops like lush or the body shop do some great home beauty products that are made from natural ingredients.

It’s also a chance to try out those amazing cocktail recipes that you’ve been sending to each other on Instagram for the past 6 months! Why not try making your own cosmopolitans, mojitos or even a Colin the Caterpillar. Find recipes for these and laphroaig cocktail recipes online.

• A Writing Session

Got a group of creative friends? Why not invite them over for a creative writing session. Give everyone a pen and notebook and time 60 minutes for each person to have a go at writing their own mini novel. You could set a themed topic for each week, from romance to murder mystery to science fiction.

Once everyone’s done, swap books with the friend to your right and read everyone stories. It’s a great way to find out what goes on in your friends’ minds and get those creative juices flowing. You never know, you may discover the next J.K Rowling in the process, or you could be horrified by what goes on in your friend’s mind.

Either way, it’s sure to be an entertaining few hours.

• A Puzzle session

A puzzle session is a great way to hang out with your friends at home while also getting the kids involved in your activities – don’t worry, they’ll soon get bored and run off to do something else. It may sound like a childish activity, but you will be surprised at how challenging a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle actually is.

In fact, cancel your plans for the day, you and your friends are going to be here for a whole lot longer than a few hours…

So, there you have 5 great activities to break up routine while enabling you to at long last, enjoy the company of your friends.

In Collaboration with Chloe Marchbank. Contains a sponsored link.