Friday is the best day of the week. It’s the day when you are finally done with your classes and can start enjoying the weekend. Students often spend their Friday evenings going out to celebrate the end of the week.
However, not everyone can go out every Friday night. Sometimes you want to do something fun on Friday but find yourself stuck at home. Whether it’s because you don’t have enough money to go out, too much studying or you just chose not to, it’s fine. Trust me, we’ve all been there. But, just because you're stuck at home on a Friday night doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Spending time at home can actually be more relaxing and less stressful than going out. Sometimes it’s good to spend a day at home alone to relax rather than go out all the time. Here are eight ways to spend your Friday nights that are better than going out.
1. Binge watch the latest shows on Netflix
If you have tons of shows to catch up on, this would be the best time to start! There are tons of shows to watch whether it’s on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime or on cable. There are shows like "Stranger Things," "The Handmaiden’s Tale" and "Riverdale" that you can binge watch. You could spend an entire night watching shows! Staying home on a Friday is a great time to relax, wear your PJs, make popcorn and catch up on a lot of the shows that everyone is raving about.
2. Catch up on reading
If you’re a bookworm like me, then spending your Friday night at home is a great time to catch up on reading some of those books that are still sitting on your shelf untouched. If you’ve read all of your books, you could find something that you haven’t read in a long time to read over again! Reading is a great way to relax after a long day. There are also a lot of good books to read that you don’t get the opportunity to read during the school year. It’s the perfect thing to do when you want to relax and catch up on all of your reading material.
3. Have a movie night
Just like with binge watching shows on Netflix, you can spend the night watching movies. You can make it a movie night! You can take out the candy and popcorn and watch any movies that you haven’t seen on demand. If you don’t have on demand, there are plenty of movies on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. There are also movies on Redbox that are only a dollar. Watching movies can be just as good as going out on a Friday night.
4. Catch up on sleeping
If you barely get any sleep during the day, now is a perfect time to start! Sleeping in on a Friday night may not sound ideal, but it’s better than staying up on a Friday night. The one negative side effect of going out on a Friday night is that you lose a lot of sleep which can be detrimental to your health and can affect your studying or homework during the weekend. Therefore, it’s best to put aside staying up and catch up on all of the sleep you lost during the school year.
5. Pamper yourself
The ultimate way to enjoy being home on a Friday night is to get out the candles, the cucumbers, mask and other spa supplies. Staying at home means that you can relax during the long day by taking a hot bath and treating yourself to a spa night. And taking a bath is especially more relaxing if you have a bath bomb! If you don’t have a bath bomb, it’s fine. You can still enjoy taking a hot bath and relaxing during your Friday night at home.
If you don't like baths, there are other ways to create a spa at home. You can do other things like making a facial mask. You can also treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure at home. You can choose whatever relaxes you the most.
6. Have a party for yourself
Who said that you need to have friends or go out in order to have a party? You can always enjoy your Friday night indoors by having a party by yourself! It may sound silly, but it’s actually not that bad. You can always try the recipe that you’ve always wanted to taste and turn up your music. Having a party yourself is the best way to enjoy your Friday night at home!
7. Do something creative
If you find yourself bored on a Friday night at home, you can always find something creative to do at home. If you’ve always wanted to start painting, you can take out your brushes and canvas and start painting. If you’ve always wanted to try some sort of arts or crafts that you saw on Pinterest, you now will have plenty of time to try it! Nobody said that arts and crafts weren’t for adults too! So, go ahead and try to do something creative.
8. Learn a new song for an instrument
If you know how to play an instrument, then you can spend the day searching for a new song to play or learning a new song that you just got. I play the piano, so I’m always searching for new songs to learn. Learning new songs helps you focus better and helps keep you calm from a stressful day (most of the time). When you finish learning the new song, it can make you feel proud of what you were able to accomplish!
And if you have just picked up an instrument, you can spend the day practicing to learn how to play. The more practice you have at playing an instrument, the better your performance will be. So go ahead and practice or learn a new song for your instrument! It can be a lot more calming than going out on a Friday night.
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So, if you find yourself bored on a Friday night, you don’t have to be! There are plenty of things to do that are a lot better than going out. Sometimes, it’s nice to just stay home and have time set aside for yourself.