This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.
As we are experiencing the world changing around us and as physical hangouts are socially unacceptable, it’s proving to be difficult to have a good time. However, there are still fun activities that you can do together, all while being warm and cozy from the comfort of your home. I don’t know if anyone else had overly strict parents, but I have been training for the first 18 years of my life for an event like this. After years of training, as well as trial and error, I have found a few ways you can continue to be a social bee and be in your pajamas. If you have had one too many hangovers from virtual happy hours from the first two weeks of shelter-in-place, here are some creative ways to spend quality time with the ones you miss without the banging headaches.Â
1. Cooking Competition
Coordinate a bake-off or cook-off with your besties! If you have went through five seasons of Chopped during the shelter-in-place before the extension like I did, then you’re in luck. Gather a few friends and pick four pantry ingredients, and everyone starts cooking over Zoom or Google Meet. The judges will be scoring based off of presentation and creativity, and to bring more people into the mix you can post a poll on Instagram so more of your friends can be the judge.Â
2. Cyber Sweat
After enjoying the delicious meal you and your friends just battled out, how about a virtual sweat session? Working out at home is great and all, but being home could make you feel lazy and unmotivated. FaceTiming your gym buddy or besties could revive the social aspect of working out again. Not only are you holding each other accountable, you are boosting your mood and relieving tension during this stressful time.
Thinking about watching Tiger King on Netflix again? Instead of being tempted to buy a bobcat cub, how about giving your brain some TLC and being social at the same time? Get a few friends and an agreed upon novel and schedule time where you and your friends are available to discuss the book. Since you all are at home, why not pop a bottle of vino to get the discussion heated.Â
All of this change is stressful as you may know, and all we can do is try to get past the old and work with the new. As the shelter-in-place has been extended, try new and creative ways to maintain social distance while enjoying your life at the same time. As we all, as a nation, try to slow the rate at which the infection spreads, don’t forget that you are not alone. We will all get through this together, all we have to do is stay inside.Â
