Everyone needs a break — something to help blow off steam from their day-to-day routine. And one of the first things that come to mind is hanging out with your friends.
But getaways and dining at fancy restaurants can get costly. When you’re on a budget, it feels like you have only a few affordable options. But is it really that expensive to hang out with your friends?
Absolutely not! In fact, there are plenty of budget-friendly activities that you can do with your friends at home.
To save you the trouble, we have narrowed down 115 things to do with friends at home without breaking the bank:
Fun & Awesome Things to do at a Friend’s Home
1.) Play Video Games
We know video games are fun, but they can become boring when played alone. Here’s something you could do to make it interesting; play them at your friend’s home. Playing video games with your buddies, especially during sleepovers, has been a tradition for decades. While it’s an excellent remedy to reduce stress, gaming is also scientifically proven to help people in their day-to-day lives by providing healthy mental stimulation.
2.) Cook A New Recipe Together
We all need snacks at our friend’s house, so why not try cooking something delicious? The best way to start is by making simple finger-licking that doesn’t cost an arm and leg. Cooking together is a fun activity that brings friends and their families together while taking off the burden on hosts. Make sure to play some music and have lots of laughter in the kitchen.
3.) Host A BBQ Night
Who doesn’t love the smell of burning charcoal and tender ribeye steaks on the grill? Pick a summer evening and plan a barbecue night with your friends. Bring some hamburgers, steaks, and an icebox full of chilled beer to have the perfect party. If you want to kick things up a notch, set up some speakers or bring a projector to watch a game or movie as you cook away!
4.) Have A Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunt is a fun game for all ages, whether you’re in your teens or an adult. Create a chain of clues and hide them around the house until they lead the winner to the end prize. Making the riddles rhyme will add loads of suspense and thrill in deciphering the message. If you live in the same block, expand the scavenger hunt to multiple houses to make the game even more exciting!
5.) Binge Watch Movies
No sleepover is truly complete without binging movies till six in the morning. Having a movie marathon while munching on snacks can be an ideal way to relax and spend time with friends. Spice things up by putting up nostalgic movies from the 80s and 90s or switching to a horror film.
6.) Have A Dance Party
Had a hectic week at work and want to cool off? Invite your friends over and host a dance party to recharge your energy. Put on the top 20 hits of the week and dance your stress away. You can also arrange an open bar with drinks on the house to give your friends a party they will remember for months!
7.) Host A Photoshoot
Photoshoots can be the perfect way to make your Instagram profile shine, especially if you’re the non-photogenic type. All you need is a cellphone and some nice backdrops where you can take cool pictures of each other. Try playing around with props such as flowers, guitars, or lights to add some glimmer to your photos. A pro tip; install a retro camera app on your smartphone and take pictures during sunset/sunrise!
8.) Make A Playlist With Your Friends
Some of the most vivid memories in our life are attached to music. So why not create a playlist with your buddies? Get all the friends together to add their favorite songs to a playlist and take one copy each to your home. You can put these playlists on a road trip or on special moments like graduation, marriage, and housewarming parties.
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9.) Make A Bucket List For This Year
Grab your pens and papers and start making a list of all the things you want to do this year. Whether its places you want to visit, adventures you want to go on, or any personal goal you want to achieve, write it all down. Then, set up designated dates for each item on the list and try your best to stick to it. While ‘to-do lists’ help you feel more organized, they also uplift your spirit and motivation.
10.) Gardening
Gardening can be a great way to connect with nature and tidy up a friend’s lawn. Set up plants of your choice in small pots and grow them till they are ready to be transferred to the ground. Gardening not only creates a sense of calmness but also makes a person feel happier as they are exposed to fresh air. Plus, there’s no feeling better than eating fresh fruits and vegetables right off the plants/trees.
11.) Listen To A Podcast Together
Podcasts can be a fun way to learn about different subjects in the world with your friends. You can find hundreds of podcasts on comedy, politics, interviews, and many more for free these days. Simply download a podcast of your interest and connect it to a speaker as you educate yourself about various topics. When done, you guys can even exchange your views and find solutions to issues.
12.) Learn To Play A New Instrument
If you and your friends love listening to music, why not learn to play your favorite songs? You can easily pick up a guitar, piano, or drums and learn to play with the help of free courses on YouTube. Learning a new instrument is a great way to be productive in your spare time and you might even end up making a band in the future!
13.) Online Shopping
Shopping online with your friends is a great way to kill boredom. You’ll get free advice on what looks best and might even get a bulk discount from online stores when shopping together. So grab your laptops and start checking out!
14.) Play Dress Up
If you’re constantly needing new outfits for school, hangouts, and work, why not find some cool items in your friend’s closet? We can guarantee that you’ll be able to put up at least a few new outfits. It will also help you save up some money while freshening up your style.
15.) Read Books Together
Reading books with friends can be a great way to spend spare time. Besides increasing productivity, it will also help you relax and release some stress. Reading also has several benefits, such as improved vocabulary, communication skills, and insight into the latest topics. If you find reading enjoyable, you can also start a small book club from your house and invite other people to expand your networks and social skills.
16.) Create A Scrapbook
In this modern era, we usually rely on cell phones to take pictures and photos. However, scrapbooks add another level of excitement and depth to your favorite memories with friends and loved ones. Collect the necessary materials required for creating a scrapbook and pictures from important events like birthdays, dinners, parties, or graduation to start right away.
17.) Have A Spa Day
Spa treatments can be incredibly revitalizing when you’re feeling distressed and overwhelmed. A nice warm bubble bath can set the mood and make you feel alive again. To add some excitement to your spa day, play some relaxing music, light up scented candles, and treat yourself to snacks and a refreshing drink.
18.) Try Crafting New Ornaments
Crafting is a fun way to spend time productively with friends. Start by finding supplies around your house and select a DIY video on YouTube. Hand-crafted items make meaningful gifts for family members and friends. They can also be used for home decoration, school projects, and even for generating some extra income on the side.
19.) Play Truth Or Dare
Truth or Dare is a classic game typically played at parties and sleepovers. It’s a great way to know your friends’ secrets or see how daring they are. If anyone fails the challenge, they either do shots or face elimination from the game. Make it more interesting by asking for thought-provoking questions and difficult dares, but remember to respect their privacy and comfort.
20.) Play Card Games
Card games are a fun way to challenge your brain and can be played by kids, teens, and adults alike. They are portable, easy to learn, and relatively inexpensive. Besides, card games can provide a number of health benefits, including reduced stress, better hand-eye coordination skills, and healthy mental stimulation.
21.) Plan The Perfect Getaway
Want to create memories that last a lifetime? Plan a getaway with your best friends over the weekend. Traveling to the seaside or camping away from city life can be rejuvenating experience and can strengthen the bonds of friendship. Remember to take lots of pictures and listen to your favorite playlists along the way to make the trip even more enjoyable.
22.) Have A Water Balloon Fight
Water balloon fights are the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day. Releasing your inner child every once in a while is quite relieving and you get to spend quality time you’re your buddies. So get started filling those balloons and take positions in your forts.
23.) Host A Costume Party
Who says you can only dress up in costumes on Halloween? Throw a themed party and make it necessary for all of your friends to wear costumes. You don’t have to purchase anything fancy — just wear your funkiest clothes, throw on some makeup, and you’re good to go!
24.) Art / Painting
Doing any kind of art with a group of friends can unleash a whole new world of creativity. You can go for a painting session, papier mache, sketches, or even calligraphy if you want to try something new. Besides being fun, art is also extremely calming, and practicing it with your friends helps you experience their creative sense.
25.) Indoor Camping / Picnic
Who says you need to visit campsites to have a good time? Try camping in the comfort of your home by setting up a tent in your backyard or living room. If you want a true camping experience, make the room chilly and bring some blankets and snacks. You can choose to talk about your secrets, play card games, or munch on some chips while watching your favorite Netflix series.
26.) Play Board Games
Everyone likes board games — but they can become twice as enjoyable when played with your best buddies. Fortunately, there are many multiplayer board games that you can start with your friends, such as UNO, Monopoly, Scrabble, Chess, and many more. If you’re in the mood for adventure, raise some bets to make the game even more competitive and thrilling.
27.) Late Night Gossips
When we say that late-night gossips are one of the best parts of a sleepover, we speak on everyone’s behalf. Those talks after midnight when your social boundaries start to disintegrate and conversations start with phrases like, “This may sound crazy, but-” or “swear you won’t tell this to anyone?” is when the good talks begin. You can’t stop until all your weird thoughts are poured out. And perhaps the greatest feeling is when your best friend reciprocates those thoughts or feelings.
28.) Try Yoga
Yoga may come off as a feminine activity, but it’s perfect for people of all genders. The great thing about yoga is that anyone can practice it — no matter if you’re skinny, overweight, muscular, young, or even old. Yoga has innumerable benefits, the most important one being its calming effect on a person and ability to increase their muscular strength. So spread out your mats and start a yoga session with your friends.
29.) Prank Your Friends
Pranking your friends is one of the oldest traditions in the book of sleepovers. It brings out your inner child and helps everyone get a good laugh, even the victim of the prank. Just remember that the pranks shouldn’t be dangerous or demeaning, and they should never put any extra burden on the host or damage their home.
30.) Scary Stories
Telling stories about ghosts and paranormal activities is one of the best things to do at a sleepover. Take turns and see who tells the scariest story, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. If you want to take things up a notch, turn off the lights and tell real-life ghost stories. It will definitely be worth it to see who gets spooked first.
31.) Tell Your Deepest Secrets About Each other
Secrets, confessions, and gossip play an essential role in sleepovers. Confess your secrets to your friends about each other. Maybe it could be a crush, something you may have done to them long ago, or your thoughts about them. Tell all your secrets and get past all misunderstandings between friends so you can become the greatest of friends.
32.) Have A Drink Making Contest
Hangouts are incomplete without a few drinks, so why not have a drink-making contest? Every person will be provided with the necessary spirits and will have to whip up the best cocktail they can. Pick a few friends to become the judge and see who has the greatest bartending skills!
33.) Relax In A Jacuzzi
Spend some time in a bubbling jacuzzi with your friends late at night. Talk about your goals and gossip about the latest rumors while treating yourself with cocktails, mocktails, and snacks to munch on. We can guarantee that everyone will be much more relaxed and in a good mood after getting out of the water.
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34.) Bird Watching
If your friends have a passion for wildlife and have grown tired of watching National Geographic, try watching birds in real life. You can find tons of sources on the internet about different species of birds in your area. Grab a pair of binoculars and witness the sensational features and colors of birds around you!
35.) Write Letters To Your Future Selves
Writing letters to your future selves should be on everyone’s bucket list. All you have to do is talk about your current situation and envision your future self and the plans that you want to accomplish. Once you’re done, give the letter to your friend for safekeeping. Trust me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how much you’ve grown after reading your letter for a couple of years.
36.) Stargaze
Who says partying and Netflix is the only way to have a good time with your friends? Try enjoying the simple things in life for once — such as gazing at the stars in the night sky. Simply get a blanket and a seat to recline and watch the beautiful moon and stars. If you want to elevate your stargazing experience, travel to the outskirts away from city lights where the galaxies will be even more visible.
37.) Make Greeting Cards
Greeting cards are an excellent and personalized way to tell your long-distance friends that you’ve been thinking about them. Walk to the nearest stationary store and get the essential supplies needed to make the perfect card. Besides being personal, greeting cards are perfect for rekindling lost friendships and staying up to date with each other’s lives.
38.) Workout
Summer coming up and you can’t seem to get rid of your beer belly? Push your friends to join a gym together. Exercising with your friends is not only more enjoyable, but it will also make you more consistent in the long run and bring more change in your physique. Also, you can’t deny the health benefits of exercise on your cardiovascular system and mood.
39.) Pillow Fights
Pillow fights at sleepovers have been a tradition for decades. Trust us, there’s nothing more satisfying than landing a perfect strike on your friends without causing them any physical harm. If you want to make things more interesting, find an empty room and blindfold each other to make the game even more challenging and thrilling.
40.) Learn A New Side Hustle
Who doesn’t likes more money? Whether it’s paying off your student loans, saving up for your first car, or buying a new PC, side hustles can give your bank balance a much-needed boost. Working on a side hustle is the most beneficial way to use your spare time, and helps you meet new people while establishing a brand that gives returns for decades.
More Things to do at Home
41.) Karaoke Night
42.) Role Play
43.) Solve Puzzles
44.) Rearrange The House
45.) Renovate Your Room
46.) Reorganize Your Closet
47.) Watch A Reality TV Series
48.) Write Letters To Other Friends
49.) Learn Origami
50.) Discover New Music Genres
51.) Take Free Online Classes From Ivy Leagues
52.) Create A YouTube Channel Together
53.) Knit Or Stitch
54.) Frame Pictures Of Your Favorite Memories
55.) Bake Cookies/Cakes
56.) Try Wine Tasting
57.) Play “Would You Rather”
58.) Play “Never Have I Ever”
59.) Discuss Everyday News
60.) Play Badminton
61.) Play Table Tennis
62.) Look Through Old Pictures
63.) Try Making Fast Food Or Gourmet Dishes
64.) Watch Classic 90s Movies
65.) Host A Bonfire
66.) Christmas Gift Shopping
67.) Decorate Your Home For Christmas
68.) Spend Time Coloring
69.) Play With Legos
70.) Built A Fort
71.) Build An Obstacle Course In Your Backyard
72.) Declutter A Space In The House
73.) Try Cigars And Hookah
74.) Teach Yourself A New Skill
75.) Learn A New Language
76.) Play Frisbee
77.) Make Care Packages
78.) Flip Through Magazines
79.) Have A Cardio-Dance Workout
80.) Set A Pretty Table And Order Takeout
81.) Do A Makeover For Each Other
82.) Dye Each Others Hair
83.) Cook A Viral TikTok Recipe
84.) Try A Viral TikTok Challenge
85.) Paint Each Others Nails
86.) Learn To Make Jewelry
87.) Watch A Concert By Your Favorite Artist
88.) Carve Pumpkin
89.) Build A Snowman
90.) Have A Dessert Night
91.) Build A Snowman
92.) Play Charades
93.) Start A Digital Netflix Party
94.) Write Your Own Songs
95.) Share Interesting Life Experiences
96.) Play With Your Friend’s Pet
97.) Explore Your Friend’s Home
98.) Sing-along To Songs
99.) Empty Your Friend’s Fridge
100.) Go For A Swim
101.) Shoot A B-Roll Video
102.) Watch The Sunrise Or Sunset Together
103.) Try Meditating
104.) Try Indoor Rock Climbing
105.) Swap Clothes With Your Friends
106.) Try To Break A World Record
107.) Play Darts
108.) Host A Murder Mystery Party
109.) Learn Magic Tricks
110.) Try Making A National Dish From Another Country
111.) Learn Sign Language
112.) Customize A Phone Case
113.) Braid Your Hair
114.) Fly A Kite
115.) Make A Scarecrow
Summary
We hope our list of things to do at a friend’s home helped you defeat boredom. From playing video games to having barbecue nights, each one of these activities will keep you and your friends invested for hours and help strengthen your bond. Fun tip: bookmark this article and scroll through these activities if you’re ever at a friend’s house and find yourself clueless. Good luck and have fun!
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