Fun and Cheap Date/Group Ideas
Revised 2/11/2023
“Everything fun costs so much money!”
I have heard this complaint throughout my life, especially when I was in college. But this statement is a LIE! You just have to learn to play differently and tap into your creativity. Growing-up in the middle of nowhere taught me to play creatively.
Remember the scene from Forrest Gump where he is running in the middle of the desert and suddenly stops and says, “I think I’ll go home now?”
Well, that was my back yard. And my front yard was equally beautiful but desolate.
It still takes 4 hours to get to the closest mall from my home-town and 1.5 hours to the closest Walmart. That reality mixed with our small recreation budget and our drug/alcohol-free, sexually abstinent choices, we were motivated to get REALLY creative.
I have heard this complaint throughout my life, especially when I was in college. But this statement is a LIE! You just have to learn to play differently and tap into your creativity. Growing-up in the middle of nowhere taught me to play creatively.
Remember the scene from Forrest Gump where he is running in the middle of the desert and suddenly stops and says, “I think I’ll go home now?”
Well, that was my back yard. And my front yard was equally beautiful but desolate.
It still takes 4 hours to get to the closest mall from my home-town and 1.5 hours to the closest Walmart. That reality mixed with our small recreation budget and our drug/alcohol-free, sexually abstinent choices, we were motivated to get REALLY creative.
Tight budgets force you to think about the core motivators of everything you do.
When planning anything worthwhile, even recreational activities for alone time, socializing, and dating, it is important to ask yourself, "What is the purpose, and why will it bless my life?"
If you turn into a three-year-old and ask yourself enough why's, you'll likely find you're looking for recreation that:
- Stimulates and challenges your mind and body.
- Improves your understanding of yourself and your world.
- Reduces stress and rejuvenates your soul.
- Enables you to enjoy someone's company and get to know them better.
Your tight budget is not as much of a limiting factor as you think. In fact, it could be the reason you have such great memories! Christ turned a few loaves and fishes into enough to nourish a crowd. Likewise, when you tap into your own creativity, talents, and positive attitude, your limited funds will always be enough for positive bonding and silly fun. AND, if others show up the same way, the collaborative effort will bring even better rewards.
Tight budgets also serve as natural filters for deciding in whom you want to continue investing your time and energy. Just like a singer's true vocal talent is revealed when the drums, lights, and dancers are traded for an acoustic guitar, likewise a tight budget reveals the true values, creativity, humor, attitude, and character in you and your date or friends. Good friends and good life-partner candidates make anything more fun, and they will respect and support your boundaries whether they be physical, fiscal, moral, or otherwise.
Tight budgets also serve as natural filters for deciding in whom you want to continue investing your time and energy. Just like a singer's true vocal talent is revealed when the drums, lights, and dancers are traded for an acoustic guitar, likewise a tight budget reveals the true values, creativity, humor, attitude, and character in you and your date or friends. Good friends and good life-partner candidates make anything more fun, and they will respect and support your boundaries whether they be physical, fiscal, moral, or otherwise.
I have compiled a list of my favorite date/group fun ideas that you can do on any budget and most anywhere.
Many of these ideas are a little (or a lot) out of the traditional dinner-and-a-movie routine. However, don't knock 'em 'til you try 'em! Creativity, originality, humility, generosity, humor, and people skills are essential for an abundant life, and these ideas will cultivate these characteristics in you and your people. I have done and enjoyed every single one of these things, most of them many times, and they were all a blast.
Fun ways to feed people:
- Stone Soup Hunt – plan a simple meal together and do a scavenger hunt for all the ingredients. Make the meal/treat and invite or take some to those who helped you out.
- Go to your local grocery store and let everyone pick out their favorite can of soup. Go home and heat them all in the same pot. Bon Appetite!
- Do a mystery box challenge - gather random ingredients from around the house(s) and see what you can come up with. For groups, each give pair a different course to make.
- Go to the local grocery store and designate a budget amount ($3-$30 depending on group size and actual budget) and a time limit (10-15 min). Each person or pair needs to plan and grab ingredients for a meal/dessert within the designated limits. Meet back at meeting spot and vote on whose idea is best without going over budget. Go home and cook together.
- Do a traveling food night. Make an appetizer at one house/apartment, main dish at the second one, and dessert at a third. The food does not need to be elaborate. Jalapeño poppers for appetizer. Grilled chicken, rice, and canned beans or bagged salad for dinner. Pudding or chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
- Pick one random appliance and make a meal using only that appliance. See Tasty's youtube clips for ideas.
Do a scavenger hunt:
- Grab a souvenir (napkin, take out menu, business card, etc) from a list of local places. First one to complete the list wins.
- Natural items – make a list of local nature items. Go find them.
- Photos – make a list of places, people, or random things. Take a picture of each to prove you did it, e.g. a tree = take a picture of you and your date in the tree, a park bench = take a goofy picture of you and your date with a park bench, etc. Winning team is whomever completes the list first, finishes the most items in the time limit, or takes the best photo.
In the dark:
- Campfires are ALWAYS a good idea! Take a bag of marshmallows and roast them with sticks.
- Play night games.
- Grab some blankets (or a couch if you have a truck in the group) and watch a movie in a random outside location - field, parking lot, roof top, front yard, etc.
- Play hide-n-go seek with cars (NOT TAG! Nobody die or get a ticket) - designate city/neighborhood boundaries. Choose the seeker, and then go hide. Last one found wins. Seeker flashes brights . . .I guess modern technology would allow seeker to text photo of spotted car to spotted driver. Play 20 questions with your date/those in your car as you are hiding. This can also be played in the day time.
Be creative:
- Get some sidewalk chalk. Draw pictures or leave favorite quotes/scripture verses on random sidewalks.
- Go to your local thrift store and create a fashion show of the most random, ridiculous clothing items. See who can make the crazy things look cool.
- Approach strangers and have a conversation with them except you can only reply with lines from a movie or lyrics from a song. Someone can slyly video everyone’s turn. Then go back to someone’s place to eat popcorn and die of laughter as you watch the videos.
- Gather random items from around your place and create a skit/video.
- Go to a junk yard, thrift store, etc., with a designated budget. Find items you can upcycle to something beautiful or useful, and then do the project together. Sell it, gift it, or keep it.
Kindness is fun:
- Heart attack someone who could use some words of affirmation.
- Be the out-of-season Easter bunny - Buy a bulk bag of candy and hide contents around someone’s place/yard. Ring the bell and run.
- Do a service scavenger hunt – write a list of 10-20 little services you could do in your area/season. See which team can complete the most things on the list in the time designated. Use this as an opportunity to get to know neighbors and local business owners. People are usually really supportive if you tell them what you are up to, especially if you are a friendly bunch. Be mindful of people's comfort: college students will probably be grateful to have you clean their toilets but young mothers may prefer you to wash windows outside. Whatever the service, do it well.
Get outside:
- Go to a school playground and play a sport together. Touch football, frisbee football, kickball, jump rope, tetherball, basketball, etc.
- Go for a walk, and talk about how you would spend a million dollars.
- Hike or explore the local natural wonders – You can find something beautiful and unique EVERYWHERE. Google can help you find out what to look for. Or you can just get in your vehicle, drive away from the lights, and explore.
- Practice rock skipping at a lake or pond.
- Build a fort (blankets, wood scraps, trees/bushes, or snow). Have lunch/dinner inside.
- Learn to rope stuff like a cowboy– seriously, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
- Go ice blocking - buy blocks of ice, remove them from the bag, and sit on them to slide down a hill. You'll want a dish towel or something to protect clothing and skin from melting ice.
- Lay on a blanket and find images in the clouds.
Play indoors:
- Play a new or favorite board/card game. Or buy a random one from a local thrift store and play it.
- Go to your local all-purpose store, the biggest one you’ve got (Walmart, Kroger, rancher supply store, etc.). Each pair/team gets a grocery cart and has 15-20 min to gather up 10 of the most random items they can find. Return to the meeting spot to shuffle carts. Each team races to see who can return all items in their new cart to their proper place in the store.
- Find a new recipe and cook it together.
- Do a puzzle and talk.
- Check out your favorite childhood book from the library and read it out loud together.
Seasonal:
- Buy a small tree and make homemade ornaments to decorate it. Talk about family Christmas traditions.
- Have a snowman building race/competition.
- Use large tote lids as sleds and go hill sliding.
- Rake leaves from the neighborhood to make a GIANT pile to jump in. Then gather them up and dispose according to city resources.
- Go Christmas caroling.
- Carve pumpkins together.
- Do a simplified/Americanized Día de los Muertos celebration with homemade tacos and share family history stories with your group.
- Rather than going to an ice cream parlor, go to the grocery store and buy ice cream there. It is a FRACTION of the price, even if you buy a few different flavors.
Other
- Cooking at home will always be cheaper than eating out. Even getting freezer options from the grocery store is a good step down in price, and meal prep is always bonding.
- A tank of gas, a jug of water, a flash light, and a box of cereal is all you need for an adventure.
Did this list give you any good ideas? Which ones are you going to try? Which ones had you never thought about?
Leave a comment on my Facebook page or send me a personal message to share your ideas for cheap, clean fun.
DID YOU KNOW:
The top reason students drop out of school is for financial troubles! Because few high school and college students know how to manage money well, financial coaching is an IMPORTANT addition to your education and will have more impact on your life than any single college class, maybe even your whole degree! AND, 6 months of private coaching is cheaper than ONE college class!! See private and group coaching options here.
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