Week six of the (BA) Creative Mind series, brings to you a guide on two different ways that you can have a cheap and creative night in as a university student. These ideas are inspired by various games that friends of mine have played, as well as the interactive social media platform TikTok. Recreations of fancy dress cocktails and āBring a Boardā nights are constantly flooding my For You page, so I thought Iād talk you all through my spin on them and hopefully inspire you to make your ownā¦Ā
Iāll start with my personal favourite and in my opinion, the most imaginative activity out of the two: Fancy dress cocktails! The more the merrier is the standard for all of these activities, but they can be done with as many or as few friends as you like. Picture this: dress a drink up as your ex-partner – Iām envisioning playing-card garnishes on the sides of your glasses for āthe big playerā, red cocktail umbrellas for āthe red flagā, baby bottles as glasses with jelly shots for āthe childish onesā and so many more! The idea is that everyone makes their own round of a specific cocktail, hence if you can gather a big group of people, youāll be drunk enough to forget your exās name by the end. Unless of course your drink revolves around the ex you just canāt let go ofā¦ Iāve not seen this done before, so Iāll let you get imaginative on that one. There are so many possibilities for this theme, so allow me to run you through some of the best Iāve seen: green apple sourz and test tube glasses for the ātoxic waste of spaceā, giant sharer pitchers or fishbowls for the ones that were āfor everyoneā, and basketball themed for āthe reboundsā. Who needs Ā£30 bottomless brunches when you can club together your funds to split cheap spirits and get creative with the rest? Of course, if your student loan isnāt really āstudent loaningā, you could play the āno exesā card and bring nothing to the table at all! If you want to take the antics a step further, Iād advise putting together your own costume to match your drinkā¦ the best outfit wins a prize while the worst must let someone else text their ex! The theme variations of this activity are endless: movies, job / employment role, personalities, celebrities and whatever else you can think of. Whatever you do, donāt forget to film a Tik Tok at the end to look back on your creations!Ā
The second activity I want to talk about is called āBring a Boardā. This one is great for more chilled entertainment, especially if there are members of the group who donāt fancy an alcoholic drink. Quite simply, each participant is allocated a different cuisine for their board and must bring a selection of different foods arranged on a sharing board that fit this category. Make sure to nominate a few people for starters and dessert themed boards, whilst everyone else contributes to the mains. For example, Mexican boards may include nachos and quesadillas, French boards may take the form of a cheese board, Italian could boast homemade pizzas or doughballs of course, and so on! The idea is that when put together, the boards will collectively create a multicultural, global-cuisine style buffet. As a foodie, I enjoy all three courses equally, but I have to say Iāve seen some impressive dessert boards – bowls of melted chocolate surrounded by fruit and marshmallows, homemade churros with caramel sauce, ramekins filled with all different confectionaries, and so much more. In terms of pricing, this challenge is once again cheap and affordable, as the ingredients you buy only need to cover a portion size for one or two people.Ā
Creativity takes form wherever you are willing to look for it and is not always directly related to artistic mediums or places. This article provides insight for students on how to unleash their creative side through food and drinks, as well as giving ideas for cheap and wholesome nights in!Ā
Written by: Ella GaleĀ
Edited by: Eloise Barnes