Winter is here. And as the unpredictable winter weather wreaks havoc, you scaling back your social plans seems tempting. As much as you’d like to retreat indoors, you need to combat the desire to become a hermit. To help you, we’ve found some weather-proof and cheap activities worth trying!
Related: Four Top Tips To Help You Save For Summer
Start a culture club
We know this sounds fancy, but a “culture club” could be almost anything you do with friends and family. You could start a regular movie night, or a book club. Or even a “lunch club” where your group takes turns to cook for each other. These are perfect cheap activities for dull winter days and nights! Clubs like this are definitely a case of ‘the more, the merrier’. If four of you each host one week, it’ll seem like it’s Spring before you know it!
If having your friends over is a bit of faff, why not take your culture club on the road? Libraries are great venues for a book club. Or instead of hosting a movie night you could look for cheap cinema tickets in offers like Meerkat Movies. Time Out and Trip Advisor are great sources of low cost events and eateries.
See if you have a new talent
One of the benefits of winter is that you feel less FOMO when you decide against joining your friends in the pub. Staying at home in the warm is preferable to going out most of the time! However, there are only so many box sets you can binge on, so why not use some of your winter “me time” to pick up a new skill? Learning the basics of a new language is a great one to tackle. Especially if you have a summer trip planned where knowing a few useful phrases will come in handy!
Alternatively, you could get crafty. Whether in the kitchen or out of it, by brushing up your culinary skills learning some new recipes or trying your hand at something more artistic, like restoring worn-out furniture, or even making your own clothes.
Museums
Heading to a museum is always one of the cheap activities to keep in the bank for winter weekends. Especially since there are a lot of free ones around the country. They’re an especially good idea when you do dare to venture out and the weather turns on you unpredictably. You can even turn a visit into a game by setting challenges for your friends. How about 2 minute drawing competitions to draw the paintings and statues you see?
A quick search online should turn up the best museums in your area. You can make a mental note of where they are so, if you get caught out by a rain (or snow) storm, you can take refuge!
Take the indoors, outdoors
It’s lovely to snuggle up in front of a roaring fire in the winter, and you may well be thinking that nothing could be more unappealing than setting up a campfire outside! But, with a little imagination, some comfy floor cushions, a pile of blankets or throws and a small fire pit, you could create the perfect winter campsite. To complete the toasty vibes, bring along plenty of hot drinks – hot chocolate is a definite winner here – and marshmallows to toast on the fire. You could even make S’mores!
Join a class
Joining a class can be a great way of keeping active through the winter, when maybe it’s easier to hibernate! Whatever you want to learn, you can safely bet that someone out there somewhere will be teaching it, from Zumba to life drawing to pottery to yoga!
Related: Four Cheap Ways To Get Fit
Work your way round local cafés
Independent cafes are making a comeback, and are becoming increasingly quirky as a way to appeal to prospective customers. There are board game cafes, cat cafes, and loads of other novelty themed cafes – even cafes where you pay for the amount of time you’re there, and can have unlimited refreshments during that time! Cafés and coffee shops are a great away-from-home oasis to chill out or catch up with friends, without spending a fortune.
What are your cheap activities to keep you active, entertained and social when your instincts are screaming at you to hibernate until Spring? Let us know!
