After a long and stressful week, most people would love to meet up with friends to hang out and unwind from demanding tasks. While a night out with friends typically involves alcohol, wouldn’t it be nice if you and your group could do something different for a change? A sober night out, for instance.
Planning the perfect night with your friends minus the drinking might be a bit challenging, especially if drinking is what you usually do. And regardless of what other people may say or think, you and your friends can still have tons of fun even without alcohol.
To help you gather some ideas, below are some ways how to have fun without drinking when out with your friends:
1. Explore The Interests Of The Group
One of the keys to having a fun and successful night out is planning an activity that everyone in the group enjoys. For instance, if you and your friends enjoy a good movie, you can look up what’s currently showing in theatres and ask the consensus of the group whether or not they’re up to seeing a movie. Or perhaps, suppose you and your friends enjoy doing interactive activities. You could try indoor mini golf in Melbourne or from whichever city you’re in and let yourselves enjoy the experience of golfing without travelling too far or getting away from the city.
Alternatively, if you and your friends opt to have a quiet or relaxing night, you could propose calming activities, such as going to a spa and getting a body massage. You could also host a cooking party at home and turn it into a competition on who’s the best cook in the group. Or suppose your friends are into games. You can hold a game night at home featuring board games or video games.
Generally, you’d want everyone in your circle to enjoy and feel comfortable during your night out. And one of the best ways to ensure this is by exploring everyone’s interests and taking into consideration their opinions or suggestions.
2. Set Your Location
Location is extremely important when planning the perfect night out with your friends. As much as possible, the location should be within a reasonable radius for everyone. Moreover, to guarantee more attendees for your night out, you should choose a place that’s easily accessible for everyone. This means that you also need to accommodate those who may need to commute and don’t have a car to bring with them.
3. Send Out Invites
Even if you’re going out with your friends, it’ll be more fun and exciting if you could send out invites for the big day. Although, this is most applicable and enjoyable if you haven’t seen your friends for quite a long time or it’s been ages since you’ve tried something new and exciting. Sending out invites can help hype up the upcoming get-together and make the event feel more exciting.
As you create invites, be as creative as you can be. You can even create an event name to make the night out more interesting and exciting. Don’t worry if you’re not too familiar with creating e-invites or posters, as there’s plenty of free software online that allows you to use their template for free. Moreover, you also don’t have to worry about printing since e-invites are more economical, as you can send them out to their emails or your group chat without spending for prints.
4. Create A Countdown Timer
After sending your invites, it could also hype your group if you create a countdown timer or reminder about your upcoming night out. Depending on how soon you’ve planned it, you could create a weekly update or daily, especially if the special day is getting near. The countdown timer doesn’t have to be too extra, as it can be as simple as sending a photo about the countdown or sending a simple text with plenty of emoticons around it.
5. Eat Somewhere New
When planning fun-filled activities with your night out, don’t forget to look for places where you can refill your appetite and eat something scrumptious. And since you’re planning for a perfect night out, it may be good to consider eating somewhere new. For instance, you could explore cuisines or dishes that no one in the group has ever tasted, but also somewhere that can keep you away from drinking. This means staying away from resto-bars or establishments that are just a few steps away from bars, for that matter.
Before your night out, you can vote out which type of food you crave. Are you looking for something Italian? American? Japanese? Or perhaps, a buffet seems more enticing, so you could get the best of both worlds.
In addition, the restaurant you choose should also be somewhere near where you’re planning to go, so you won’t have to waste time travelling from one point to another. You can also try doing a food truck or street food party wherein you look for a night-time street food area and let yourselves eat as much food as possible with your friends and try something new and exciting.
6. Look For A Drink Substitute
Even if you plan to stay sober all night, it doesn’t mean that water is the only thing you can drink. Apart from alcohol, you can look for a different drink substitute you could enjoy. It can be a cup of coffee, a milkshake, or a soda and lime. This way, you can make your night out a bit more alcoholic-friendly and tasty at the same time. You’d be surprised by how much fun you can have, even without the presence of alcohol to keep you up all night.
Moreover, it’ll be nice if you could remind everyone that you’re hosting a non-alcoholic party and they shouldn’t bring up alcohol during the event. You can also inform them that while alcohol can make everything feel elevated, it’ll be nice to try something new.
Takeaway
Planning the perfect night out with your friends without any alcohol can be challenging, especially if this has been a part of your routine or habit. But with the right planning and fun-filled activities, you should be able to allow the day to be extra special and exciting, letting yourselves have fun and go crazy without drowning yourselves in alcohol. Who knows, this might be your go-to activity instead of always hanging out at the bar.
