We can’t say it enough. Our friends are everything.
The people that weather every storm with us and celebrate our success. The ladies responsible for our laugh lines and keeping us in youthful spirits no matter how old we get.
A great support system is a key ingredient for a fulfilling, joyous life. Knowing someone has your back makes you walk through the world with your chin up a little higher.
Good friends are crucial to our well-being. Let’s celebrate them.
This weekend, grab your girls and take them out (or stay in) for a good time. Show them how much you love them with one of the friend dates on this list. We’ve also included COVID-friendly alternatives for each one.
These friend dates will have you whooping, hollering, laughing, and living your best life.
Unforgettable Friend Dates You and Your Gal Pals Will Love
Painting With a Twist
Painting with a twist is one of the best inventions ever made, especially for women. It takes the seriousness out of painting and brings us together in a creative manner.
You’re encouraged to chat with others as you work. In between the quick instructions is space to discuss your artistic process or catch up on recent events. In the end, you all walk away with a fun memento that commemorates the night. Talk about a fun friend date, right?
COVID-Friendly Alternative: Host An Art Class in Your Living Room
Instead of painting with a twist, paint with your favorite comforter.
Most dollar stores have easels for less than $5 dollars. Stores, like Joann’s Fabric, sell inexpensive acrylic paint and brushes. Round up these items, lay down some newspaper, and host a private party for your girlfriends.
You can give your guests the option to free paint; putting anything on their mind onto the canvas. This can lead to some interesting discoveries about one another.
If your group wants something more structured, head to YouTube University and find a tutorial.
Move Your Body, Dance!
Dancing has such a releasing quality to it. You get to burn energy in a fun, light-hearted way. All while expressing yourself.
Most dance groups host free nights at local establishments. Look up a teacher in your area and see when they’re hosting intro-lessons. These are typically offered at the start of the night before the floor opens up for free-movement.
In the course of 30 minutes, you can learn the basics to dance styles like Salsa or Tango. Then spend the rest of the night practicing your skill together, dancing the night away.
These dances tend to have a lead and follow, which makes partnering up with your friends a fun experience. Even if you both happen to have two left feet. This is one of our absolute favorite friend dates.
COVID-Friendly Alternative: Dance Like No Ones Watching
If you can’t get out and dance, don’t feel weird about doing it at home. Go to the friend’s house with the largest living room. Move all the furniture out the way and blast a shared playlist.
These sorts of nights take you back to childhood. Sleepovers spent dancing to the hottest song of the year. Moments of dramatic moves and impulsive group choreography. Bonus, there’s no pressure to look cool for strangers.
Find the Best Food Item In The City And Go
Every city is known for something. Philadelphia is famous for Philly Cheesesteaks. Montreal for its Poutine. Chicago for its style of deep-dish pizza. Find out what food is special to your city and grab the girls for a bite to eat.
It’s a fun-spin on eating out. Most restaurants that serve the city’s best tend to compliment it an experience that’s authentic to that city or state.
COVID-Friendly Alternative: Try A New Recipe
Good food isn’t limited to restaurants. Some of the best recipes come out of our kitchens.
The kitchen tends to be a sacred space. One filled with happiness, love, and satisfying food. Share that space with your girlfriends by trying a recipe none of you have eaten before.
Once you decide on the recipe, split the ingredients evenly among each participant. It’s also helpful to designate different tasks to different people. One person can cut the vegetables while someone else cleans up the dishes. This gives everyone an active part in the creation.
We also recommend to try recipes from different cultures. Challenge your palates together and learn new tastes.
Eat at a Restaurant with Games
Eating out is an easy go to when we’re looking for something to do, but it can feel repetitive. Connection occurs in relationships due to spontaneity and consistency. We’re able to see different facets of people when they’re in different situations.
A great way to see your friends in an unpredictable, but controlled, manner is playing games together.
It’s becoming increasingly popular for bars and restaurants to keep an abundance of board games for its patrons. It’s also becoming more common to see activities like axe throwing or foosball.
Find one and spice up your outing with some friendly competition.
COVID-Friendly Alternative: Host A Board Game Night
We’ve found that a lot of disconnect occurs between people when they have nothing to do together. If you invite all your friends together and find that they pay more attention to their phones, it helps to give them something to do.
Before your girlfriends come over, choose a selection of board games to bring home. Some of our personal favorites are Clue and Monopoly. There’s also conversation stimulating games such as Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity.
Find a Karaoke Lounge
What better way to bond with your besties than shared public humiliation?
Karaoke is the only time we feel comfortable belting our hearts out to a room full of strangers. Part of that is due to the people who stand besides us while we’re doing it.
There’s nothing like letting go with the people you love. If there’s a song that you and your friends are always rocking out too, give them a mic and give it a try. Even if you’re incredibly tone deaf (like most of us) karaoke always offers a lot of laughs and shared connections.
COVID-Friendly Alternative: Watch 90s Music Videos
Save your voice and learn from the professionals. There’s nothing like reliving the golden era and jamming out to the artists we grew up on.
Watching music with video is very entertaining. Style has changed drastically over the years, especially in terms of cinema and fashion. It gives everyone in your group a chance to relive nostalgic moments while graciously forgiving themselves for rocking oversized jeans.
If you’re not into the 90s, no worries. Pick your favorite era and do a deep dive on all the songs you used to love. If you want to sing along, belt your heart out together.
Just like any relationship, it’s important to water friendships so they can continue to grow and thrive. Nurture your friendships with these friend dates for more love, laughs, and memories.
For more on friendship, check out this article on how to maintain friendships from college when life gets crazy.
