Fun nights in to save money.

When you have kids, you don’t always have as much disposable cash as you did when you were young, free and single, so big nights out become rarities, things that you plan months in advance and look forward to, rather than weekly events.

But staying in all the time watching TV can become a little tiresome, especially if you’ve got those well-behaved kiddies tucked up in bed by 7pm and therefore time on your hands. The good news is that there’s a compromise to not going out – you can have some cheap and cheerful nights in with your friends.

It’s a lot easier than getting dressed up for a night out, booking taxis and paying for meals and nights in can be just as much fun as going out, as long as you have some activities planned. It’s often also easier to have a decent conversation if you’re in a house than if you are in a noisy bar or pub, so it gives you a great chance to catch up with your pals.

So what to do on a cheap night in? Here are just a few suggestions.

Online bingo

One way to have fun in a group is to get everyone to bring along their tablet or smartphone so that you can all sign in to the same bingo site and play a few rounds of bingo together. All the sites like Winner, Cheeky Bingo and Sky Bingo have round-the-clock schedules packed full of games. At Winner bingo, bingo games are available in a number of different rooms and each room has its own unique atmosphere. 

Bingo is a great game to play with friends as you can all play at once, entering the same games and the same bingo chat rooms. Obviously, if you’re all at a house together you don’t need to use the chat facility, but it’s one to keep in mind for friends who have to stay home that particular evening, but still want to ‘meet’ up with the rest of you.

Have a karaoke night

Another idea is to have a karaoke night for free. There’s no need to book a machine for the night – as long as you’ve got youtube, you have all the karaoke songs you could wish for. Do a search for the instrumental versions of your favourite songs, but make sure you get a version that has the lyrics printed on the screen. Then you and your mates can croon away. This activity is helped greatly by the presence of a few bottles of wine, so you can let go of your inhibitions. You might also want to check that the kids’ bedroom is sound-proofed so you don’t wake them up!

Themed movie night

For old times’ sake, you could also have an 80s or 90s movie night and take a trip down memory lane with your friends, some of whom you may have watched these films with the first time around. Although this choice is perhaps a little lazy, it’s a great option for when you’re all a bit worn out from the stresses of the day and just want to kick back together.

These are just a few suggestions of what to do, and as you meet up with your friends, you’ll come up with new ideas for other ways to have ano-frills night in.

* Written by Lucy Thomas *