50 Things to Do With Your Friends When Everything Costs $100
There is a very specific kind of adult friendship problem that nobody warned us about: everything costs $100 now. Want to grab dinner? Somehow that’s $80. Want to go to a cute little activity? Add tickets, parking, drinks, and a snack, and suddenly you’ve spent $100 without even trying. Even “just grabbing coffee” can turn into an expensive afternoon.
And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with spending money on your friends, you shouldn’t have to spend a small fortune every time you want to socialize. In fact, some of the most memorable days with your friends can cost very little.
Elegance isn’t about constantly spending money or proving that you can afford expensive things. It’s about the way you approach your life—and that includes knowing how to turn ordinary moments into something special. Put on a pretty outfit, make a pitcher of lemonade, light a few candles, and suddenly a simple evening with your friends feels like an occasion.
If you’re tired of spending $100 every time you leave the house, here are 50 fun things to do with your friends instead.
1. Have a themed dinner party
Pick a theme and fully commit to it. You could do an Italian night, a French-inspired dinner, a 1970s dinner party, or even a “dress like you’re going somewhere expensive” night. Everyone brings a dish and you create the atmosphere yourselves.
2. Do a Sunday Swap
I (unfortunately) spend a lot of time doomscrolling on tik tok and I’ve seen a cute little event called Sunday Swap. This is where you get together with all of your friends and everyone brings something. Then everyone takes one of each item and so you all get to leave with many different items. This is inexpensive and so much fun!
3. Have a PowerPoint night
Everyone creates a short presentation about something completely ridiculous. Rank your friends’ celebrity crushes, explain your most controversial opinions, or make a presentation about why a fictional character would be your perfect boyfriend. The sillier, the better.
4. Have a book swap
Everyone brings books they’ve already read and wants to pass along. Trade books, talk about what you’re currently reading, and make snacks to enjoy while you browse.
5. Have a little-luxuries night
You don’t need a spa reservation to have a spa night. Put on robes, do face masks, paint your nails, make fancy drinks, light candles, and play relaxing music. The goal is to make an ordinary night feel luxurious.
6. Go on a picnic
Pack sandwiches, fruit, cookies, lemonade, and a blanket. If you want to make it extra pretty, bring flowers, a little basket, and actual plates instead of disposable ones.
7. Have a movie marathon
Don’t simply “watch a movie.” Turn it into an event. Pick a theme, make themed snacks, wear matching pajamas, and watch several movies in a row.
8. Do a thrift-store challenge
Give everyone a small budget and a challenge. Maybe you have to create the best outfit, find the weirdest item, or put together an entire look for under $20.
9. Have a worksheet night
I also found a tik tok where people get together and do middle school worksheets and have a spelling bee. This is extremely inexpensive and would be a lot of fun to do! Have everyone bring something to eat and turn it into a pot luck! I absolutely love this idea.
10. Go on a scenic drive
Make a playlist, grab inexpensive coffees, and choose a town, road, park, or viewpoint you’ve never explored. Sometimes the best plans are simply getting in the car and seeing where you end up.
11. Have a cooking competition
Choose a few ingredients and challenge everyone to create something with them. You can even pretend you’re contestants on a cooking show and have someone act as the judge.
12. Have a vision-board night
Grab old magazines, scissors, glue, poster boards, and snacks. Spend the evening creating vision boards for the lives you’re trying to build.
13. Have a craft night
Paint, make friendship bracelets, decorate journals, create collages, or try one of the crafts you’ve been saving on Pinterest forever.
14. Have a tiny gift exchange
Set a $10 limit and challenge everyone to find the most thoughtful gift possible. A small budget can actually make gift-giving more fun because you have to get creative.
15. Have a takeout night
Everyone pick up their favorite takeout. Enough for them and maybe a little bit more. Lay it all out on the table and treat it like a buffet. Everyone gets a little taste. Nobody has to cook and you get a nice variety of food.
16. Have a mocktail night
Everyone creates their own signature drink. Give them ridiculous names, decorate the glasses, and have everyone vote for the winner.
17. Have an adult sleepover
There is absolutely no reason sleepovers need to end when you’re a teenager. Put on pajamas, eat snacks, watch movies, gossip, do face masks, and stay up far too late.
18. Visit a free museum or gallery
Look for free museums, galleries, exhibitions, or community events in your area. You can spend hours exploring without spending much money.
19. Dress up for absolutely no reason
Wear the outfit you’ve been saving for “somewhere special.” Do your hair and makeup. Put on perfume. Then go get coffee, browse a bookstore, or simply hang out together.
20. Go antiquing
You don’t have to buy anything. Give yourselves a mission to find the strangest object, most beautiful piece, or funniest piece of home decor.
21. Have a baking competition
Choose cookies, cupcakes, brownies, or cakes and let everyone create their own version. Then have a very serious judging ceremony.
22. Do a day trip
Last year, my friends and I went to Cape May New Jersey, it is a cute coastal town, perfect to visit in the fall. People pitched in for gas (it was only a 4 hour drive) and we bought our own little souvenirs. All in all, we didn’t spend much and we were still able to have a wonderful day! The weather was perfect.
23. Have a nostalgia night
Watch childhood movies, eat snacks you loved growing up, look through old photos, and tell stories about your younger years.
24. Make a friendship scrapbook
Print out photos, save funny screenshots, write down inside jokes, and create a scrapbook documenting your friendship.
25. Go stargazing
Find somewhere with a good view of the sky, bring blankets and snacks, and spend the evening talking while you look for constellations.
26. Have a Pinterest night
Everyone chooses something they’ve saved on Pinterest forever and actually makes it. It could be a recipe, craft, hairstyle, room decor project, or outfit.
27. Go to a farmers market
Give everyone a small budget and challenge yourselves to create the best picnic basket possible using what you find.
28. Host a backyard dinner party
You don’t need a fancy restaurant to make dinner feel special. Set up a table outside, add candles or string lights, put on music, and make dinner together.
29. Have a photo walk
Put on cute outfits and explore somewhere photogenic. Take pictures of each other, find interesting buildings, and pretend you’re on a little editorial shoot.
30. Have karaoke night at home
Create a playlist of everyone’s favorite songs and take turns performing. Bonus points for dramatic choreography.
31. Have a pancake party
I LOVE pancakes. I also noticed that my friends always get together for lunch and dinner, we never do anything for brunch. There aren’t many restaurants for brunch around here. Since I have multiple pancake recipes that I love, it would be awesome to have a pancake brunch.
32. Have an analog night
Choose a giant puzzle, order inexpensive food, get maze books, board games or something that gets everyone off of their phones. Put on a cozy playlist and spend time tech free.
33. Start a book club
Choose one book and give yourselves a few weeks to read it. Then meet at someone’s house for snacks and a discussion.
34. Have a bad-movie night
The worse the movie, the better. Pick something hilariously terrible and make an entire evening out of making fun of it.
35. Make homemade pizzas
Buy pizza dough and everyone’s favorite toppings. Let everyone create their own signature pizza and then have a taste test.
36. Play childhood games
Go outside and play games you haven’t played since you were kids. Frisbee, hide-and-seek, capture the flag, or even a ridiculous game of tag can be surprisingly fun.
37. Have a favorite-snacks night
Everyone brings their favorite snack or candy. Put everything out on the table and have a giant tasting session.
38. Make homemade candles
Buy a candle-making kit and spend the afternoon creating your own scents. Everyone gets to take home their creation afterward.
39. Have a murder mystery night
Assign everyone a character, dress up, make snacks, and spend the evening trying to figure out who committed the crime.
40. Have a $20 “yes day”
Give everyone $20 and agree that you can say yes to anything fun as long as you stay within the budget. It turns an ordinary day into a little adventure.
41. Spend the day at a lake or beach
Pack your own food, bring towels and blankets, make a playlist, and spend the entire day outside.
42. Have a board-game tournament
Choose a few games and keep track of everyone’s scores. At the end, crown one person the official champion.
43. Make homemade pasta
Making pasta together is half the fun. Once you’re finished, sit down for dinner and pretend you’ve opened your own tiny Italian restaurant. I make homemade pasta every once in a while. It is definitely a labor of love…considering it gets eaten in 5 minutes. Still would be so much fun to do with friends
44. Have a “favorite things” night
Everyone brings a few things they’re currently obsessed with—a book, beauty product, snack, movie, song, or anything else they love.
45. Go on a photo scavenger hunt
Create a list of funny things you have to find and photograph. Split into teams and see who can complete the list first.
46. Have a tie dye event
I’ve been tie dying every year for over a decade. It truly never gets old. A large tye dye kit is maybe $30, but sometimes you can get them on sale. You can also get shirts for very cheap at the craft store.
47. Find a free local event
Check your town’s calendar for outdoor concerts, festivals, markets, community events, movie nights, and other free activities.
48. Have a flower-arranging night
Each person brings flowers from the grocery store. Lay them all out and let everyone create a bouquet! You can also get vases from the dollar store.
49. Make a friendship time capsule
Write letters to your future selves, add photos, predictions, goals, and little memories from your current lives. Decide on a date to open it together.
50. Have a main-character day
This might be the best one of all. Put on an outfit you love, grab coffees, wander around somewhere beautiful, visit a bookstore, take pictures, listen to music, and romanticize your entire day.
Because ultimately, having a fun social life doesn’t have to mean constantly spending money. You can create beautiful experiences with the people you love without booking reservations, buying tickets, or dropping $100 every time you make plans.
Sometimes the best memories are made sitting around someone’s kitchen table until midnight, laughing so hard you can’t breathe. Sometimes it’s a spontaneous road trip with gas-station snacks. Sometimes it’s getting dressed up just to drink coffee together.
You don’t need an expensive life to have an exciting one. You just need a little creativity, good friends, and the willingness to make an ordinary day feel special.
