Make this Weekend a Night to Remember and Wake Up Feeling Great
For many twenty and thirty year olds, barhopping is the go-to activity for Friday and Saturday nights. Young people spend a huge amount of time socializing around alcohol. While there is nothing morally wrong or even unhealthy about moderate consumption of alcohol—in fact a recent study found that young people associate drinking and partying as the second most pleasurable activity (behind sex)—it is worth considering the following alternatives for unique twist on your typical weekend night.
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Go see live music
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Go to a comedy club
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Pull pranks (think of things you might have done in middle school, and see how fun it is to do them as an adult)
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Mini-golf
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Laser tag
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Go camping
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Read a book
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Attend a spiritual retreat
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Get a friend to teach you a new skill
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Do yoga, or acro-yoga
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See a play
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Write a play
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Go to the symphony
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Go to an aerial dance show
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Dance—try something new like Ecstatic dance or Contact Improv
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Find a Hot Tub
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See a movie
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Make a movie
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Play a board game (Try new favorites for adults like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, and Imperial 2030)
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Play Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity
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Play cards
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Organize a Poker Night
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Go to museums
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Buy paints, make art
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Cook a six course meal
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Host a dinner party
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Build a bonfire
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Find a beach
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Play truth or dare
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Find a swimming hole
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Impromptu road trip!
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Play social video games
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Build something out of wood
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Play capture the flag, dodgeball, kickball, or ghost in the graveyard
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Play a sport such as sand volleyball, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee (try a light up frisbee with glowsticks), mud football, or go rock climbing (in a gym or outside with lights)
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Create a photo scavenger hunt
The options are endless; you can refer to this list to spark ideas, search for local events calendars, or check out the posters at a coffee shop for the weird, avant-garde, and underground.
And if you are going to stick with the basics try adding a little spice by getting a group of friends to wear something wacky or pick a completely random theme (bathrobes, superhero costumes, cowboys, etc). Then, let us know how it goes! Did it increase your happiness compared to other nights? We imagine it will.