Kick Boredom to the Curb Thanks to These 75 Creative Things To Do With Friends

Stephanie Osmanski

January 7, 2023 at 2:00 AM·23 min read

Plenty of ideas to answer the question: "I don't know, what do YOU want to do?"

Ironically, being alone doesn't have much to do with being bored. You can be bored even in the presence of other people—even in the presence of friends!—and research shows that boredom is a stark reality for most Americans. According to a Carnegie Mellon University study, 63 percent of adults in the U.S. feel boredom at least once every 10 days. But the next time you're feeling listless or lonely amongst loved ones, flip the narrative by staving off boredom with these 75 things to do with friends.

From fun, unexpected activities to in-depth conversations that allow you to get to know each other better, you'll never find yourself playing that annoying "IDK, what do you want to do?" game ever again. And you know? Your friends will probably thank you too.

Whether you're looking for the younger crowd, or adults, we've got plenty of options for everybody. Keep reading for the ultimate brainstorms for things to do with friends.

75 Things To Do With Friends

1. Start a podcast.

Across the globe, there are more than 2.4 million podcasts, but hosting an audio show isn't a business venture for everyone. Plenty of people do it just to do it! No matter the content or format of your podcast, getting together with a friend a few times a month to record—either virtually or physically—can lead to some fun moments and memories, not to mention a shared purpose.

Interested? Check out free recording platforms like Buzzsprout, Podbean, and Spreaker.

2. Make your own karaoke night.

Or you know, book a studio at a real karaoke place! But in the interest of keeping your plans as cheap as possible, you can always do a makeshift karaoke night at someone's home. Just pull up instrumental versions of your go-to songs on YouTube and sing your little hearts out. No mic? No problem. Sing into a hairbrush or a turkey baster if you have to!

3. Take a mixology class.

Don't sleep on the unparalleled fun that is a mixology class. Uncommon Goods offers tickets to virtual ones that you can do from home—which are so worth the $$—but there are plenty of in-person experiences to check out too.

If you're close to New York City, sign up for Regarding Oysters, a unique shucking-and-shaking experience from the party host, cocktail expert, and oyster enthusiast behind the bestselling book Regarding Cocktails, Georgette Moger-Petraske.

Down south? Check out the key to crafting the perfect cocktail at the speakeasy-esque Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia.

Or if you're headed to the Caribbean, stop by Casa Bacardí in Cata?o, Puerto Rico, where you can tour the property, learn about the history of rum, and shake and make two delicious cocktails like a pro.

4. Visit a local museum.

When in doubt, see if any of your friends want to visit a local museum. Sure, the standard fare—art and historical relics and whatnot—are always interesting, but sometimes museums even host events like VIP tours, open art nights, parties and more.

5. Play bingo.

Did you know that millennials play bingo more than any other age group? Not your grandmother's Tuesday night anymore, playing bingo with your friends is a hotter activity than even trivia right now!

And if you can't find a local watering hole that's putting on bingo—no worries. You can always play bingo virtually too.

6. Take a virtual cooking class.

Just as exciting as mixology experiences (albeit a little less boozy), virtual cooking classes can be a cool thing to do with your friends. If you bond over food or are always trying each other's signature dishes, sign up for a virtual cooking class through Cozy Meal, where international recipes from international chefs reign supreme.

7. Buy tickets to the filming of a show.

Hotspots for show filmings include New York and Los Angeles, so kudos if you live there or are traveling nearby. But no matter where you are in the world, there's always a chance that something is filming nearby. Use On Camera Audiences to get more info on audience opportunities near you!

8. Go thrift shopping.

Thrift shopping definitely had a moment back when Macklemore famously rapped about it in 2011, but popping some tags and wearing your grandma's coat has always been a thing. Hitting the local thrift stores is universal and particularly adventurous (and cheap!) if you and your friends only have $20 in your pockets. Who says you can't have fun on a budget?

9. Take a hike.

Literally, take a hike. It doesn't have to be warm to hit the trails but even if it's cool, hiking with a few extra layers will only make a bond even closer. New to hiking? Download the AllTrails app to see maps of nearby trails.

10. Bingewatch a show that aired when you were younger.

What's more nostalgic than taking a trip down memory lane? With so many "old" shows now experiencing a renaissance thanks to streaming services—we see you, Laguna Beach, now airing on Netflix—it's the perfect opportunity to go back, back to the beginning and remind yourselves who you were when the show first launched. Did you watch it back then together too? Even better!

11. Host a seed swap.

If you live in a warm climate year-round or it's almost Spring, hosting a seed swap is a meaningful way to take an interest in each other's gardening hobbies. Take the seeds you have from leftover gardening seasons (or purchase new ones!) and compare what you and your friends have. Hey, maybe you have one BFF who hasn't gardened at all! Start 'em strong with a few of your favorite seeds and maybe next year, they'll repeat the favor.

12. Take a day trip.

Anywhere! You can literally go anywhere. Drive an hour away, drive three hours away. Take a ferry, ride a train or pay for an Uber. Maybe there's a nearby place you've always wanted to take a day trip to but just haven't had the time for it. Make the time! Or if you live a few hours away from a friend, you can both meet somewhere in the middle.

13. Write a fictional book.

Like, together. You can write a book of short stories, switching on and off you write one, a friend writes one, and then back and forth. Or you can write one fictional story, taking turns writing each chapter in different third-person perspectives.

14. Make a collaborative playlist.

If your playlist is feeling a little dull, sharpen it up by investing the help of your friends! Chances are you're on the pulse of different songs worth being shared, so if you make a collaborative one, you can all enjoy each other's taste. Sharing a playlist may even make a good conversation starter at other events with your friends too.

15. Shop each other's closets.

Have you ever envied your friend's style? Treat each other's closets like they're your local Anthropologie and go shopping! Rules are up to you: You can borrow, you can swap, you can donate to one another. Either way, you'll somehow leave feeling like you have a totally new wardrobe!

16. Try your hand at a Paint and Sip.

Paint-and-Sip events had an iconic moment in the 2010s but they're not dead yet! (TBH, we don't think they ever will be.) Try a local studio for an in-person night or opt for a BYOB virtual class like Paint Your Pet or Paint Your Home with Uncommon Goods.

17. Catch flights at a local brewery.

No, not the kind in which you leave on an airplane—the kind in which you drink brews! Even more so than say, stopping by a bar for a quick beer, sharing a flight or two at a local brewery can create a more social atmosphere. A drink is a drink but a flight is a shared new experience!

Want to log your findings? Download the app Untappd.

18. Set up a photoshoot.

Want awesome pics but without paying the price? Be each other's photographers and capture as many great snaps as you can.

19. Attend a local trivia night.

Bingo might be the "IT" activity of the moment, but trivia is still a fan favorite. Local bars, restaurants, and other types of venues almost always have a trivia night at least one night a week, but if you can't find one at a nearby haunt, you can always play virtually or set up shop at someone's house. (Just whip out your Trivial Pursuit board game from the 90s!)

20. Host a sleepover at a Getaway cabin.

The adult version of a sleepover is renting out a Getaway location—a two-hour drive from most major cities—and spending the night in a tiny cabin together. Stays start at $79 per night and all you need to bring with you is some wine and pizza (IMHO).

21. Attend an open mic night.

Just like how bingo and trivia are big draws to bars, open mic nights happen all over town. Whether you sing or perform spoken word poetry or just want to watch, an open mic night is always a light, social environment with low stakes.

22. Take a dance class.

You can book a variety of experiences on Viator, a booking platform from Tripadvisor, but one fave go-to is dance class. While salsa dancing and merengue are more of a date night kinda thing, classes like Bollywood or line dancing make a great event for friends.

23. Join an amateur sports league.

Whether it's a volleyball team or a cornhole league, joining an amateur sport gives you an "excuse," if you will, to see your teammates on a weekly basis. The stakes are low but the fun is high!

24. Host a roast.

Never forget the hilarity that ensued when Justin Bieber was famously roasted on Comedy Central... But what's to stop you from hosting your own similar event? So long as you and your besties are solid, attempt to joke with each other. Just make sure there's a massive dose of lightheartedness present. It's all in good fun—just ask JB!

25. Visit your local wine country.

Just as beer is more of a social experience in a flight, so is wine! And you don't have to live in Napa to enjoy liquid grapes... Plenty of areas have a local "wine country," which could be anything from two wineries in a row to more!

26. Try cooking each other's favorite meals.

For foodies, sharing recipes or trying to cook each other's favorite recipes could make for some interesting (and probably delicious) results.

27. Go to the local theater (or Broadway!).

If you're in New York, sure, Broadway's always an option. But every town has its local theater and that's an amazing option too.

28. Check local venues for upcoming concerts.

Stay on the pulse of what musical entertainment is coming near you by signing up for Ticketmaster, Live Nation, or StubHub notifications. That way, when something interesting comes up, you can share it in the group text and see who's game.

29. Run a 5K race.

Running isn't for everybody but if you and your friends bond over sweating, sign up for a Tough Mudder or Color Run together. You can even opt to run on behalf of a charity as to raise money for a good cause.

30. Visit a botanical garden.

Botanical gardens are so underrated. Gather up a friend or two and enjoy looking at all the different vegetation together, making a note of which plants you each love the most. If you ever buy your friends a bouquet for their birthday, you'll know exactly which flowers to get them!

Colder climate? No problem. Botanical gardens are hot commodities during the warmer months, but most spots are still open in the winter and they usually offer light shows as a way to encourage people to come in.

Related: Best Friend Quotes

31. Plan a cookie swap.

It doesn't have to be the holidays in order to throw a cookie party. Cookies are delicious all year round—whether they're decorated festively or not. Invite your besties over, swap cookies, and then (if you trust 'em!), swap recipes too.

32. Sign up for a Shakespeare bar crawl.

Shakespeare is universal and you'll find Shakespearan-themed bar crawls all over the world—no matter where you live. It's the perfect activity for friend groups who love literature or a good theme.

33. Hit up a food truck festival.

Every foodie knows that sometimes the best grub is from a food truck! If you're lucky enough to find a festival that several trucks attend, don't even second guess it. Go—and sample all the cuisines you can!

34. Throw a pizza party.

No, don't just order out pizza and eat it together. Throw a pizza party—like the ones from your elementary school days! That's pizza, your best party outfit (or maybe PJs?), a movie or music, and all the soda pop you can find at Costco.

35. Do a high tea.

A tea party is always a good idea—even if you're more of a coffee lover. A good high tea usually consists of multiple teapots, finger sandwiches and scones, and hats—always hats.

36. Take a dinner cruise.

A dinner cruise is also a romantic date night idea, but bring a harem of your closest girlfriends along and it's just any old girls' night out!

37. See a comedy show.

Another underrated activity to do with friends is to go to a comedy show. And no—you don't have to live near Hollywood Improv to get a good laugh. There are good comedy venues all over the country; you just have to find the one that's closest to you.

38. Do a Fantasy draft.

You know how there's a Fantasy Football draft every season? Well, if Fantasy Football is your thing with your friends, then sure, do that. But if the NFL isn't the thing you all have in common, you can play Fantasy- just about anything. Draft the Real Housewives, any other sports, Office characters, Harry Potter, etc.

Even if you don't keep up with the league later, drafting your fictional "team" of ragtag characters could lead to some unforgettable hilarity.

39. Play Dungeons and Dragons.

Even if you don't think it's your thing, give it a go in your friend group. You might just find a new thing.

40. Master meringue.

No, seriously, like the difficult-to-perfect pure-sugar delicacy called meringue? Take a virtual meringue-making class with your bestie, then to make it fun, compete against each other to see how mastered the practice.

41. Attend a clean-up for the environment.

Whether it's a beach clean-up or a park clean-up, you can hang out with your friends and give back to the environment at the same time. You can host, you can join one that's already being put on, or you can keep it even simpler and just take a walk around your community, bagging up litter as you go.

42. Go to a networking event.

Whether or not you and your friends work in the same industry, your network is much bigger than you think. You have your own career contacts, but then each of your friends has their own career contacts as well. That's a huge network to tap into if you all got together for a networking happy hour event!

43. Write a song.

Even if you and your friends aren't particularly musically inclined, it can still be great fun to get out of your comfort zones, strum a guitar, and see what happens. Something great (or something funny!) might just come of it.

44. Make a scrapbook.

Meet up with your friend group once a week and work on scrapbooking together. But here's the twist: you're not scrapbooking for yourself, but for one of your friends! After a few weeks or months of scrapbooking together (whatever it takes!), swap. Your friend will love seeing what you made them and you'll love seeing what your friend made you.

45. Start a travel bucket list.

Get together and brainstorm: What places do you want to see together with your friends? Maybe you've always wanted to do your bachelorette party in Nashville or your bestie has always envisioned doing a girls' trip to Cabo... Make a list and then slowly but surely, you can get together a few times a year to make those travel dreams a reality.

46. Attend a bouquet class.

Check with your local florist or flower shop to see if they offer bouquet arrangement classes. For you and a few of your pals, learning the art of making a beautiful bouquet will not only include lots of laughs, but will also mean you'll leave with a new skill.

47. Check out a music festival.

Sure, the big music festivals—the Coachellas and Governor Balls of the world—get the most press, but there are music festivals everywhere and some of them are much smaller-scale. Use Song Kick to find an upcoming festival near you.

48. Learn calligraphy.

If you and your friends have always wanted to learn how to do calligraphy, there's strength in numbers (beautifully written-out numbers, that is). A virtual class could be a great starting point for beginners—plus, one person could play the class on the computer and you can all follow along. Check out Written Word Calligraphy for beginner, intermediate, and expert levels.

49. Make your own vision boards.

Do you need an excuse to get together with your friends? Never! But suggesting that you and your friend group meet up to make vision boards together might just be a genius way to lure them in!

50. Take a pottery class.

Have you always wanted to learn the secret behind the art of pottery? There's a vast array of options if it's something that interests you. Some pottery places allow a group to come in, pick their chosen sculpture, paint it, and then the employees will throw it in the kiln for you. You can pick it up at a later date once it's all finished.

Other places offer open pottery nights (usually with a clay-throwing fee) or even instructional classes. Another option for you and your besties is to sign up for the same pottery 101 class at a local college. The friendship group that learns together, stays together.

51. Visit a local farm.

You might be thinking—what is there to do on a local farm? Actually, tons. Plenty of farms offer bookable services like goat yoga or alpaca-petting. You may even get lucky enough to learn how to milk a cow! It's also a great way for you and your friends to support the local farm and/or farmer's stand.

52. Plan a potluck.

Even if your friend group isn't necessarily a band of cooks, a potluck is always a good idea. Have each person bring a dish of their choosing and let the bonding over food ensue.

53. Do a white elephant exchange... no matter the time of year.

Gift-giving doesn't have to be something that only happens in December. Of course, Christmastime is usually when white elephant exchanges are big, but what's stopping you from doing it any time of the year? It's a spontaneous way to share the love between friends and no one will frown upon the idea of receiving a gift (and playing a competitive steal-away game while you're at it).

54. Find a local petting zoo.

For pet-loving friends, a local petting zoo is the perfect place to bond over your shared love of animals. Some sanctuaries or game farms will even let you feed baby goats and cows with baby bottles (!!!).

55. Take a yoga class.

With or without goats, taking a yoga class can be a peaceful way to connect with friends—especially if you're both fitness enthusiasts who appreciate a challenge for both the body and mind.

56. Design an adult scavenger hunt.

Scavenger hunts bring out the best in all of us—no matter our age. Design one yourself or check out preplanned ones in your city with Let's Roam.

57. Plan a game night.

Game night might just be a one-off or your friend group might just have so much fun, you keep coming back for more. Be sure to revisit old board game favorites like Monopoly and Candy Land while also peppering some more modern options like Exploding Kittens or Cards Against Humanity.

58. Play musical chairs.

Who says musical chairs is just for children? It could be a fun, nostalgic experience to whip out the music and turn the dining room chairs into a grown-up playground again.

59. Attend a silent disco.

It's not that there's no music at a silent disco; it's that it's all in your headphones. The silent disco service Quiet Events puts on its own events that you can attend with friends or you can buy or rent the Quiet Events equipment so that your group of friends can dance, party, or work out with audio that's all in your head.

60. Go ziplining.

Ziplines don't just exist at exotic locations. There's one in Las Vegas, plenty throughout the mountains of Upstate New York, and really, all over the country. Plus, there's nothing that makes a friendship bond grow deeper than a little adventure.

Related: 75 Fun Websites

61. Book a cruise.

No, seriously. If you and your friends have got the budget for it and have always wanted to go on a vacation together, this is the sign you've been looking for.

62. Start a book club.

One person reading alone is reading; two people reading is a book club! It's that easy—just make sure that book club meetings take place around an awesome charcuterie board.

63. Take out the kayaks.

Whether you own kayaks or need to rent them, taking them out to the water can be therapeutic, which can be a welcome activity amongst friends amidst all the stress of everyday life. Plus, it's a real arm workout!

64. Go roller skating at the rink.

Speaking of workouts, there's nothing like rollerskating around and around a rink to really make your calves and thighs sore. All kidding aside, a day at the roller rink spent with friends is a day well spent.

65. Take a scuba-diving lesson.

If you and your friends are up for the challenge, try getting your scuba certification together. Sometimes the town will offer lessons in a public pool for a nominal fee or you might be able to find a scuba school near you. It's definitely an activity that's off the beaten track, but if you come out of it with certification, that's a pretty cool accomplishment for you and your friends to share together.

66. Try your hand at embroidery.

No need for embroidery lessons. All you and your BFFs need to do is search a few tutorials online, check out a few YouTube videos, and get the right supplies at your local craft store. Sometimes Target even sells beginner's kits in their dollar section!

67. Set sail.

Now if your friend group is really adventurous, consider setting sail. American Sailing has sailing schools in multiple locations throughout the U.S. and even if you only ever do it once, it's a bonding experience and something new to try.

68. Take a pasta-making class.

Yeah, like from scratch. There are plenty of cooking classes out there that will walk private parties through the basics of kneading pasta dough and threading it through a pasta machine.

69. Try a tapestry-weaving class.

Airbnb is chockful of all kinds of bookable experiences at varying price points, but a particularly unique one to consider is a tapestry-weaving class. You and your friends will learn the basics of how to weave a tapestry at a beginner level and might even leave the lesson with a new skill or interest. But you'll definitely leave with a lasting memory.

70. Take a camping trip.

It doesn't have to be a multi-day or -night affair, but going camping with your besties (at least once!) could be the off-the-beaten-track thing you're looking for. Make sure to pack plenty of ingredients for s'mores and get ready to have a ton of laughs.

71. Plan a themed dinner party.

It doesn't have to be anything in particular! It can be toga, decade-specific, Met Gala, or whatever kind of themed party that strikes your fancy. It's an excuse for you and your friends to dress up and have a ball.

72. Write each other letters.

No time to meet in person? That's okay—you can still communicate via this antiquated old relic called snail mail! Write each other letters and keep the convos completely different than what you usually engage about on social media or via text.

73. Plant a tree together.

You can visit it separately or together—whenever you miss each other. It's your friendship tree!

74. Throw a murder mystery party.

Every friend group should experience a murder mystery party at least once. It's like Clue come to life and you'll find out which among you is the ultimate detective.

75. Go bourbon tasting.

Wine and beers are surely the more well-known alcohols to "taste-test," but there are flights of bourbon, too. Whether you go to a bourbon-tasting event or host it at your own house with a few of your favorite casks, chatting and catching up over spirits is usually a good time.

Next up, how to make friends as an adult.

News

Life

Entertainment

Finance

Sports

New on Yahoo