Friendships stay strong despite all odds. That said, the imposed restrictions of Covid-19 don’t allow us to do much these days, resulting in repeated plans that have gone stale. If you are running out of social plans, here are some creative budget-friendly ideas for you to spruce up your social activities from home!
1. Glamping at home
Glamping outdoors has always been a common fancy activity. However, in recent months, glamping indoors is gradually becoming a trend. Considering how indoor glamping scores higher on the comfort scale and isn’t affected by rain or shine, it’s not hard to see why people choose to bling it up indoors instead.
It’s well known that the fees of glamping can get hefty even with DIYs, so we’ve sourced an affordable option for you. We chanced upon BUM OUT SPACE which offers affordable and gorgeous packages from less than S$20 per hour.
As each session accommodates up to 5 pax, it totals to an approximate of S$4 per hour per person only. You can choose shorter packages that last 4 hours, or 8 hours for a full-day experience.
If you’re feeling fancy, a full high tea ala-carte set is also available from just S$45.
For those who glamp for the ‘gram, you’d be pleased to know that there’s also a complimentary photoshoot session (15 minutes). All photos will be sent to you in digital format, so you can freely duplicate those pictures and send them to your friends for keepsake.
You can find BUM OUT SPACE’s booking form here. However, if you wish to browse around a little, you can check out their Instagram or TikTok page.
2. Portable party game night
An all-time classic idea for parties. Nothing beats huddling around for games together at a social event. Here are some top picks that you can consider.
Card party games
Card games are easily portable which makes them perfect party games. If you’re not well acquainted with card games, we picked out some popular ones in Singapore that’ll fit right in your deck.
Singaporean Dream – Each player gets a personality card that comes with specific perks and bonuses. Personalities include Ah Beng, NSF, Influencer, Aunty, High Flyer and PSLE Top Scorer. Each character has different dreams. Your goal is to fulfil their Singaporean dreams, and the fastest one wins the game.
Monopoly Deal – This card game requires you to own 3 full property sets and manage your finances. There are plenty of action cards, property, and cash cards that you have to manage strategically. Lots of screaming is guaranteed when your friend throws out the notorious deal-breaker action card which steals your completed set.
Limpeh Says – Singapore’s version of Cards against Humanity. Unlike the western version, you’ll have a lot more relatable cards. Limpeh Says comes with a deck of question cards and answer cards. Every turn a player gets to pick the best answer among everyone’s, and the funniest friend wins the round. It’s by far one of the best card games to create inside jokes that’ll last for a while.
Real-time party phone games (Android and iOS)
Although most multiplayer games can be played at any distance, some phone games are designed to play with each other in real life. If you don’t own any card game and have a serious case of FOMO-ing, consider downloading some of these phone games.
Psych! – This is a game where you try to outwit your friends. The game starts by asking a question. All players have to key in an answer that is wrong, but seemingly convincing. Within these answers, one of them is the correct answer. Every player will have to pick what they think is the correct answer. If you get the wrong answer, you’ll see who was the sneaky champ who fooled you. Psych your friends or pick the correct answers to win points.
Heads Up! – The guessing player puts the phone on their forehead and their friends have to try and get them to guess the word on-screen. Others can give hints on what the word is, but you have to guess it correctly to score points. If a word is too hard, you can also skip it, but you won’t get points. The player who guesses the most words correctly wins the game.
Reverse Charades – A reverse charades game where you have to act out as many words as you can in 60 seconds. You might get some strange combinations that make this game so hilarious. It is a simple but competitive game where you get to challenge each other in teams. Surely, you can expect a lot of shouting and laughter from this intense game.
If you don’t wish to download more apps on your phone, check out our article on 8 online Telegram games to play with friends to access more options.
3. Art Jamming with friends
If you like creating art, this will be a fun idea for you. We’re so accustomed to going to art workshops for its convenience, but it’s actually not hard to set up an art jamming session from home.
All you’ll need is your favourite coloured paints, pencils, paintbrushes, paint palettes and some canvas or watercolour paper. Although canvas has a better quality for painting, the watercolour paper makes a much cheaper alternative if you’re just painting for the experience.
To tune into the mood, just pop on some LoFi music from YouTube or Spotify and you’ll be ready to unleash your inner Picasso!
4. Sing your hearts out with Karaoke at home
Whether your voice attracts nightingales or ends up shattering glasses, I’m sure most of us will agree that karaoke is a fun thing to do with your besties.
Every karaoke needs a trusty microphone. With less than S$10, you can get a Bluetooth karaoke microphone that comes with in-built speakers — talk about being budget-friendly.
You can also reuse the microphone, which averages the cost over time. This means that the more you sing karaoke, the more money you save! Since it doesn’t come with all the wires and clutter, the device is portable and can be carried around easily.
To set up your karaoke session, all you have to do is search the song of your choice on YouTube using your platform device and connect your microphone via Bluetooth. It comes with reverb and echo, simulating the experience of your favourite Karaoke outlets. It’s time we hit the high notes of “Titanium” and “Rolling in the Deep” again.
5. Plan an indoor photoshoot
Love taking pictures? Host an indoor photo shoot with your friends! There have been so many ideas circulating online that you could reference for cool photos on the ‘gram.
Some of the best places to find photo ideas are on Pinterest, Tiktok and YouTube. There are communities of online creatives sharing ways on how to turn affordable props like newspapers into cool photo backdrops. Most photos are also taken on phones, so you don’t have to splurge for great pictures.
Hosting a photoshoot at home can be plenty of fun if you and your friends are great with art direction. To set up your photo shoot sessions, you can brainstorm a photoshoot theme that you’re interested in trying.
Afterwards, you can pick up props from the nearest crafts store. You can also consider visiting Daiso, Mr DIY or Don Don Donki to stage your mini photo studio as they sell many cheap and pretty items.
We hope that these ideas have inspired you to liven up your social life. To see more indoor and outdoor activities and events, check out our Telegram channel @good2gosg for the latest exciting updates!
