Most of us constantly overwhelm ourselves with the amount of classes, clubs, and other commitments we seem to find ourselves swamped in. Yes, these are all extremely important as they equip us with knowledge and skills to succeed. However, still finding the time to have fun with our friends is so important to achieving balance.
Working hard throughout the week calls for at least one day or a few hours of the weekend to breathe and take a break. At the beginning of the semester, I don’t need to feel burnt out already. My friends are my support system, and spending time with them can be that motivation to get through a difficult week, especially if I have exciting plans to look forward to.
While I do enjoy a casual hangout or a night out with my friends, I think there are plenty of ways to spice up any get-together!
A Dainty, Little Picnic
Do you ever want to feel like a character from Little Women or Pride and Prejudice, and just frolic around in a flowy dress? Just me? Well, this get-together idea is for those whimsical girls who want a relaxed, yet playful afternoon with their friends outside.
First, choose a location. For this, I love large, open greenery spaces. This could be on campus or a local park of your choice. Towards the end of winter and into early spring is the perfect opportunity for an outdoor hangout. The afternoon’s cool breeze brings a welcome respite, and honestly, some of us (including me) don’t take advantage of it enough!
Now that there’s a decided location, I always designate someone to bring a blanket, or for everyone to bring their own towel to lie on. In the past, I have even brought little cushions for everyone to sit on. The great news is that it doesn’t take much to throw a picnic together.
The next thing that I do when planning picnics is to figure out what food to bring. Everyone can bring their favorite food and dessert. To be even more on theme with whimsical period movies, everyone could make a recipe influenced by a movie and bring it. Desserts could include an apple pie or apple dessert, like the one seen in Pride and Prejudice, or plum pudding like the one seen in Little Women.
After picking out a floral dress, or simply just a flowy one, my favorite thing is to decide on an activity to do! A painting swap is always fun, where everyone brings a canvas, and each person paints on it for ten minutes. At the end, everyone has a canvas that the whole group has pitched in to make.
For an activity that also counts as an inexpensive gift exchange, I have seen on Instagram where girls bring different types of flowers, and then everyone uses some of each flower to create their own unique bouquets. Try to channel your best Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott and have a peaceful picnic with the girls!
A Silly, Engaging Night Out
Relaxing hangouts with the girls can be so much fun, but sometimes we’re just in the mood to go out. However, at college with large social scenes, going out can feel like the same old, same old.
Strap on that “you only live once” mentality and just live in the moment! Some themes to amp up the night are everyone dressing up as their favorite movie character, favorite meme, favorite decade, fancy dresses, and my personal favorite, everyone dressing up as the elderly. Rummage through your closet and find either a humorous outfit that fits one of the more playful themes or find a showstopper, fancy outfit.
If you want to go a bit further than one of these themes, everyone can participate in a gift exchange. Before going out, everyone is assigned one person in the group to get a gift for. My favorite gifts to give for this are crazy wigs, t-shirts, or outfits. The only rule is that everyone has to wear whatever gift they were given for the whole night out.
While out, everyone can be assigned a “challenge” to complete that night. (Of course, the challenges have to be safe, legal, and doable). Some of these include taking a picture with a stranger, finding someone who speaks another language, complimenting five people’s outfits, acting like you are a part of a group, etc.
Other challenges can include selecting a winner instead of focusing on completion. For example, the first to convince the DJ to play a song or the first to find someone who is wearing a hat wins. What do they win? That’s up to the group, but it could just be pride, or it could be something like they get to choose where everyone goes to lunch the next day, or everyone pays for their meal.
Whether you choose to have a pleasant and creative picnic with your friends or a night full of silliness, spending time with friends is so important. The week can be so draining, and having time, even just once a month, where my friends and I all get together and do an event such as the ones presented, can give us a much-needed break from the stressors of life.
So, every time I feel myself in the depths of an extra stressful week, I promptly think about planning a fun time with my friends — it gives me something to look forward to!
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