Fun things to do with friends when all of you are stuck at home
Have you ever found yourself looking for exciting things to do with friends when you are all bored at home? If you cannot leave the house due to the weather, government regulations, or any other reason, there are numerous fun activities that can help you pass the time with your friends. Some of the activities can even be quite beneficial to your personal growth.
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What should I do with my friends this weekend? If you are having your friends over on the weekend, resist the temptation to spend that time browsing social media feeds on your smartphones. Instead, engage in fun activities that require each person’s input. Which are some of the best things to do with friends at home?
Exciting things to do with friends on the weekend
What fun things can you do with friends? This is probably one of the most common questions among people who find themselves bored at home. Here are ten of the most fun activities to do with friends.
1. Play board games
Playing board games is arguably one of the most fun things to do with friends at home. Here is a look at some of the best ones.
Chess
Chess is a fascinating game that dates back to several centuries. The game gives each player 16 pieces and those pieces have special moves that need to be learned. The game ends when one of the players captures their opponent’s king, or both players get into a stalemate.
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Pictionary
A Canadian named Robert Angel invented Pictionary in 1985. It is a word guessing game in which you must move around a board by winning rounds based on the ability to guess a word that a teammate has drawn.
The worse you are at drawing, the funnier this game can be.
Checkers
You can take an opponent’s pieces by jumping over their piece with yours. When a player loses all of their pieces, the game is over.
Backgammon
This game is 3000 years old and is somewhat similar to checkers. Each player moves their pieces according to the result of a dice’s roll. By rolling the dice, one can move their pieces in a circular path to get them all in the last section of the board
Scrabble
Originally called Criss-Crosswords, this game was invented in the United States by Alfred Butts in 1938. In Scrabble, each player is given random letters, and these letters must be placed on a board to spell a word in the language that is used in that country.
Monopoly
Monopoly was initially called The Landlords Game. An American woman invited the game in 1903 to educate the public on the negative aspects of private monopolies.
Game of Life (LIFE)
LIFE was invented by Milton Bradley in 1860. The game has car pieces that go on a track. Each square has a reward or a punishment in terms of winning or losing money. Each player spins a wheel to determine which square they will land on.
2. Learn a new language
Learning a foreign language may sound like a difficult task for most people. However, it can be fun, especially in the company of friends. Here are a few tips on what to do when you're bored with a friend and need to learn a new language.
Think of a new language as a gateway to new experiences
Think of language-learning as your avenue to a world of new experiences. For example, learning Spanish will allow you to enjoy some unique elements of Spanish culture that are otherwise unavailable to those who do not understand Spanish.
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Make the language part of your conversations
By incorporating a language into your normal conversations, you can master it faster. When you are with your friends, try to put across a few sentences in the language you are trying to learn.
Interact with native speakers
You and your friends can get a native speaker online and interact with him/her. This will help you get accustomed to expressing your thoughts intuitively and not have to mentally translate each statement before you say it.
Be consistent
Learning a new language can be significantly hard. The key is to be consistent in your method. Find an aspect of your lifestyle into which you can incorporate the new language on a daily basis.
Make use of technology
There are numerous apps, websites, and gadgets that can help you learn a new language. For example, you and your friends can make use of language apps on the Play Store or App Store to learn the basics of a new language.
Create simple goals
To avoid getting overwhelmed by the words of a new language, break the learning into several easily-attainable objectives. You could start by picking 20 words and using them in your conversations.
Embrace the mistakes
Do not expect to speak a new language as fluently as native speakers. Keep in mind that mistakes are part of the learning process.
3. Equipment-free workouts
Since you may not have gym equipment at home, here are a few equipment-free workout challenges to do with friends.
Yoga
While Yoga is mostly known as a means of meditation, it can also come in handy as a workout routine. If you are aiming for gentle stretches, you can try a calm, relaxed style like Hatha or Yin. If you’re looking for something a little more intense, try a power yoga session.
There is a lot of useful information regarding the various poses and routines online. Feel free to try these routines on a carpet or a soft towel.
Barre
Barre is an intense workout that focuses on strengthening your core muscles, improving your cardiovascular endurance, and boosting your balance.
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If you are worried about balance and want some support, a dining chair or counter can take the place of the wall-mounted barre. For parts of the workout that call for small hand weights, you can swap in canned goods or just do without the weights.
HIIT (High-intensity interval training)
High-intensity interval training (HIIT), is perfect for the person who wants to make the most of their workout in the least amount of time. During a HIIT workout, you go super-hard and fast for a short period, then take a break.
For example, one does as many jumping jacks as they can for 60 seconds, then take a 30-second pause before moving onto a series of pushups or squats.
Planks
The plank is a deceptively simple-looking exercise that does wonders for your core and upper-body strength. It is also an exercise with a lot of variations based on your goals and your current physical strength.
If you are just getting started, try a plank with your knees bent and on the floor rather than with your legs straight. Some people find it easier to bend at the elbows and rest their forearms flat on the floor rather than do a plank with their arms straight and hands on the floor.
Kickboxing-themed workout
These workouts combine movements from boxing and martial arts such as taekwondo and can be challenging and fun. The results of such an exercise include improved heart strength, balance, and flexibility.
Lunges and squats
If planks are the best exercises for developing core strength, then squats and lunges are the gold standards for developing lower-body strength. Like planks, squats and lunges are more challenging than they look. Just try to do 10 squats in a row. You will likely be huffing and puffing by the end, even if you are in good shape.
Make use of the stairs
When you cannot leave the house, feel free to try some cardiovascular exercise by walking up and down the stairs at home or in your apartment building.
You can also spice things up by doing a step aerobic workout. Step up and down from the landing to the first step, trying to see how quickly you can go. Mix things up by turning to one side or the other as you step up and down.
4. Dancing
Whether it is a free-form movement to your favourite pop song, a tightly choreographed hip-hop routine, or waltzing around your living room with a partner, dance does wonders for your physical and mental health.
One can easily lose hundreds of calories per hour dancing, depending on the style. When with your friends, create a playlist with your favourite upbeat songs and get onto it. If you want some instruction or want to dance a particular style, you can try taking online dance classes through online programs.
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If you are willing to pair up, you can try partner dances like salsa or swing. You can also have an elimination-style dance competition in which the last two contestants battle it out for the winner’s title.
5. Photography
Photography is right up there among the best things to do when bored with friends. Here are a few ideas to try out.
Make photo clones of each person
This involves photographing a person in different parts of a room and then merging the photos into a single one. The final product looks as if the subject is posing with several ‘clones’ of themselves.
Mirror photography
This creative indoor photography idea is perfect for Instagram, YouTube, and other social networks. Use a longer lens with a wide aperture to achieve the best result.
To start, set your black background as far as possible. Place the subject in front of the mirror and make sure you light them from the sides. Use a side lighting with a strong, diffused light or an external flash.
Splash photos
Another fascinating indoor photography idea involves indoor splash shots. This requires a flashgun, which can be fired remotely, transparent container for water, coloured background and a tripod. First, set your container and a background. Then, place the flash above the container.
Put your camera on a tripod and use the fastest shutter speed possible with your flash. Finally, drop your object into the container with water and take pictures when it falls.
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Kitchen closeups
One of the best macro photography ideas indoors can be realized in the kitchen. Reflections from shiny kitchen surfaces can create nice backdrops for your pictures. A shallow depth of field can turn any regular object of the kitchen into something interesting.
6. Cooking
In this digital age, most people have easy access to thousands of recipes from all over the world. You can decide to try and make something from every continent on earth. You can have everyone choose what they would like to try.
To make the activities easy, divide the kitchen into sections where each task is carried out. Every person should then pick a section and work on the task it represents. Have people alternate stations with every different meal you try.
Alternatively, have a cooking competition. Each person cooks a meal which is then rated by the rest of the friends. Whoever ends up with the highest scores is crowned the winner.
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Since you will have a lot of food after such a competition, the homeowner should wrap it up for the guests to take home with them. Feel free to try numerous recipes involving frying, grilling, baking, steaming, or boiling.
7. Night-time activities
Here are some interesting things to do with your friends on a night at home.
Bonfire songs
Create a lively bonfire outside the house and engage in a singing competition. You can try ideas such as having a person start a song using the last word sung by the previous person.
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Roasting marshmallows
What is a bonfire without roasted, toasted, and even burnt marshmallows? Before you pack up for the big day, be sure you have got the big bag of marshmallows all secured.
Storytelling
Telling scary stories around a bonfire sets an amazing outdoorsy mood. You will be shocked at how some of your friends are easily startled. Try some well-known stories such as those about Bigfoot, scarecrows, or genies. They are classics that just never grow old.
You can also browse online for the best stories to tell in the dark.
Barbeque
Whether it is steak, chicken, pork, sausages, or hot dog barbecue, lay them all out in the fire to grill. With the night-time environment, bonfire activities, and the fresh outdoor air, you will all start feeling pretty hungry.
Make sure to throw in some healthy fruits and vegetables to balance everything out. You may also want to check these campfire recipes for a delicious variety.
Stargazing
When was the last time you gazed up at a night sky and appreciated the stars, constellations, and all? Sadly, it is not possible in a well-lit night in the city or even in the suburbs.
Make sure one of you has sufficient constellation expertise so that you can barrage them with questions about the fascinating stars.
8. Other indoor games
If you and your friends are not fans of the previously-mentioned board games, here are some other excellent games you can try out.
Truths and a lie
This game is usually an icebreaker to get to know someone new. It can, however, be just as exciting when playing with friends as you get to see their hidden depths unfold.
Each person must give three statements; two truths and one lie. Everyone else must guess which statement is false.
Truth or dare
Truth or dare is the classic party game of embarrassment. Two or more people take turns asking each other “truth or dare”? When someone chooses truth, they must answer the question truthfully regardless of how embarrassing it is.
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When someone chooses dare, they are given a task to complete. If they do not like the first dare, they can choose to be given another dare, but they must complete the second dare. You cannot dare someone to answer a question.
Murder mystery games
These are generally party games in which one of the partygoers is secretly playing a murderer, and the other attendees must determine who among them is the criminal.
In some styles of game, the murderer may be aware that they are the killer, and in other games, the murderer discovers this along with the other participants.
Murder mystery games may involve the actual ‘murders’ of guests throughout the game or may open with a ‘death’ and have the rest of the time devoted to investigation.
9. Art activities
Are you wondering about what to do with friends who love art? Well, there are numerous activities
Draw or paint
Have a mini-competition to see who among your friends can draw or paint the best. Feel free to explore various methods such as water painting, oil painting, pencil drawings, and even charcoal painting.
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Sing
Join a virtual choir with your friends. This is a global phenomenon, which involves creating a user-generated choir that brings together singers from around the world and their love of music through the use of technology.
Singers record and upload their videos from locations all over the world. Each one of the videos is then synchronized and combined into one single performance to create the virtual choir.
10. Watch movies
This is probably one of the first ideas that will come to mind when people are bored at home. Have everyone choose a genre and title to watch and embark on a movie marathon. Prepare home-made popcorns beforehand to eat during the binge-watching.
Have you been looking for things to do with friends at home? The list above contains a wide range of activities and certainly has something for everyone.
Source: Legit.ng
