64 Ways to Have the Most Fun Staying In with Your Friends

I love being social, and I am an extreme extrovert. But the further I delve into my 30s, the more I crave a night spent at home with good company, and a long list of ideas for things to do at home with friends. Under the right circumstances — and with the right people — staying in can be way better than going out. From elaborate games that require planning to last-minute hangs you can quickly throw together, here are 64 of the most fun things to do at home with friends.

These ideas are especially helpful when you have friends in from out of town, because the last thing they may want to do after traveling is get ready for a big night out!

Have some art supplies lying around? Want to try your hand at cake decorating? Invite your friends to join you in channeling some creative energy. 

It’s exactly what it sounds like: a bracelet welded together around your wrist so it never comes off, until you want it to. Find a local vendor who will travel and host a party at your place. Talk about the ultimate friendship bracelet.

If permanent jewelry isn’t for you, why not turn to the original sign of friendship: an old-school friendship bracelet! All you need is some embroidery floss and maybe a YouTube tutorial or few to refresh your memory. Have each friend make one, then swap them with each other — and be sure to leave them on until they’re fraying and falling off. 

Pick up the supplies to make candles of your own at a local craft spot and spend the night mixing up custom scents and pouring wax into aesthetic jars. 

Whether it’s for loaning or for keeps, this is a fun way to spice up your closet without any cost.

What’s cozier than a night in, cuddled up on the couch with a bundle of yarn and some friends? If you don’t already know how, pull up some YouTube tutorials and spend some time learning how to knit or crochet — you can start with something super simple, like a crochet garland, and then decorate your home with the whimsical decor. 

Create your own version of this popular night-out activity. Follow along with a YouTube video to craft a project that’ll add a pop of color to your home.

Buy plain, undecorated cakes from your local grocery store (just ask!) and colorful tube icing, then put your artistic skills to the test. They might not look great at the end, but ultimately, you get to eat a lot of cake, so it’s a win regardless.

You may have already made your vision board for the year, but what about a mood board for an alternate reality? Even if you don’t have plans to pack up and move to the Scottish countryside but that sounds like a dream come true, add that to this pie-in-the-sky mood board. No addition is too far-fetched or silly, and the best part is sharing your wildest dreams with your friends.

Making a bingo card of goals for the year is a fun way to find out what your friends are working toward and looking forward to, and a super simple craft to do together, too. The best part? You’ll have lots of ideas of things to check in with each other about as the year goes on. 

Hands-on hobbies are some of the best things to do at home with friends, and here’s a cool one: Customize a standard deck of cards by collaging them with magazine cutouts, stickers, permanent marker, or whatever craft supplies you have on hand. Then, you can use them to play some card games together.

While a dinner party for one is an excellent way to spend a solo night, there are so many fun ways to snack, nosh, sip, and experience new foods with friends. 

Everyone brings the same item from various fast-food restaurants (e.g., fries, pumpkin spice lattes, burgers). Have a blind taste test to see if you can identify which one comes from where — and put them head-to-head to decide which one is the best.

Have all your friends bring a bottle of vino. Pour tasting portions of wine into glasses for everyone to try, and have someone document on an answer sheet which wine is in which glass. Take turns trying to identify each while blindfolded. You may be surprised which is your favorite. Not a wine drinker? Swap in beers, sports drinks, or nonalcoholic wine.

Let’s be honest: Apps and ‘zerts are usually the best parts of a meal. So why not have a potluck featuring only those courses? Parks and Recreation fans will understand the title, but everyone will enjoy the event. 

Pick a theme: Harry Potter, Disney villains, Sex and the City, anything! Have everyone create a round of drinks based on the chosen topic.

You don’t have to be a mixologist to try your hand at making some delicious drinks. Ditch the booze for a zero-ABV night of mocktails, taking turns trying each other’s and seeing if you can’t just concoct a new favorite beverage. 

One of the yummiest and most luxurious things to do with friends: Instead of going out for sushi or pizza, hire a private chef to prepare a fancy meal at home. 

For a more interactive dinner, find a cooking instructor who will come to your house to teach you and your gang how to make a favorite cuisine.

Write down embarrassing or funny questions, and take turns answering them as you try chicken wings doused in hotter and hotter sauces (à la Hot Ones). If you don’t own an unusual amount of hot sauce, you can usually find a sauce kit at shops like HomeGoods.

No, not board games. Think: charcuterie boards, but mix it up! Have everyone bring their dinner contribution, and it has to be served on a board. You could do sushi boards, dessert boards, or game-day boards. Basically, if it’s finger food, put it on a board.

Does your grandma make amazing cookies? Does your mom crush a potato casserole? It’s time to share those dishes with your besties! Everyone brings something for the meal, but it has to be a family recipe. 

Yes, like when you were a kid.

This is one of those classic things to do with friends for good reason. Buy premade dough and fixings, and let everyone craft their own masterpieces!

It’s called fondo for a reason. Start with a classic cheese version, and close it out with a chocolate sauce you’ll want to dip anything and everything in. 

Present everyone with a mystery basket of items, including something a little out of the box, and see who can create the tastiest treat within a certain amount of time.

Grab some treats from a local market or online, and sample foods like potato chips or different candies from around the world.

It’s the grown-up version of swapping lunches! Everyone brings their favorite candy or snack from whatever year it was when they were in, say, first grade. If you were born in 1990, you’d bring a popular candy from 1996/1997. Pass it around, and rediscover the sweets of your youth. 

Pamper yourself and your friends all at once by trying out some of these soothing and indulgent ideas. 

The idea is simple: Bring travel sizes of your go-to beauty item for everyone you’ll be hanging out with. By the end of the night, you’ll have a bundle of new goodies to try. Plenty of great products like mascaras, dry shampoo, and perfumes come in those little bottles.

Like you’re in middle school … exactly like you’re in middle school. Break out the glitter, butterfly clips, and all the bronzer. The wildest look wins. Please don’t over-pluck your eyebrows for real, though.

All you need are some sheet face masks and a comfy couch to cozy up on. Add on lip masks for extra pampering.

No matter how easy at-home manicures seem, it’s always useful when a friend helps you with your nondominant hand.

Practice some yoga together. YouTube has a ton of free yoga classes, whether you want a 10-minute morning session or a 40-minute full body routine.

Sometimes the ultimate act of self-care is to just get cozy and do “nothing.” Have everyone arrive in pajamas and with their favorite blanket, take a spot on the couch and just relax together. Put on a nice-smelling candle, a nostalgic TV show, or calming music.

If you’re just looking to sit around and giggle with your friends, try one of these just-for-fun ideas — no card games, craft supplies, or ingredients needed. 

Connect a laptop to a TV, and shop for real estate around the world with Zillow. To make it a game, set a budget (say, $1 million), and see what that buys you in different cities. You’ll be shocked at what you can get in New York City versus a smaller town.

Or, better yet, ’90s boy band dances.

Hook up your phone to the TV, and pull up your dating apps (if you’re on them). Let your friends help you sift through the profiles and decide who you should start chatting with!

Bring an artificially intelligent friend into the mix by looking up some questions to ask Alexa that yield silly responses. Even better, try coming up with your own weird prompts!

If you and your friends are on TikTok or Instagram, chances are you’ve bookmarked plenty of posts and videos for future reference — whether they made you burst out laughing, inspired you, or caused you to make a note to self. Sit on the couch next to your friend and take turns showing each other the posts that have made you giggle in recent weeks — or connect your phone to your TV screen to show the group all at once. 

Create a shared list in your Notes app and come up with a list of fun things to do that season, whether together or apart! Items on the bucket list can be cheap or free things to do, or as big as traveling to a new city. 

While having dinner with your besties, chat about your ultimate guest list. Make it more challenging with categories (one musician, one movie star, someone from the 1980s or another decade, etc.) or with a rule that each celeb can only be chosen by one person. You better have backups!

If you don’t already have your token dinner party question — aka the question you toss out at a social gathering to get everyone talking — take this opportunity to whip up a particularly goofy question with your friend. Then, go around and answer them all. 

Even if you’ve never seen any of the franchises, you can create a quippy opening line for what you’re all about. To take it up a notch, everyone writes down their tagline and puts it in a bowl. One by one, you pick a paper out of the bowl, read the tagline, and try to guess who wrote it about themselves.

If you’ve already played every classic board game in the cabinet, try mixing the competition up with something fresh. 

For a PowerPoint party, everyone prepares a presentation — five minutes or less — on literally anything. I promise you’ll laugh, and then plan the next one ASAP.

No, it’s not embarrassing.

Pull up YouTube videos and play “Name That Tune.” We’ve guessed everything from TV themes to Disney songs.

Grab your phones and get ready to play. Jackbox games allow players to use their phones instead of a controller. Choose from trivia-based games, strategic games, and more to keep the competition strong all night long.

Bring back childhood classics like Pretty, Pretty Princess or The Game of Life. Bonus points if you can find Mall Madness! (Any other ’90s kids here?) With nostalgia in the air, be ready to recount all your best middle school stories. 

Anyone still have an old N64? If not, Mario Kart is available on newer consoles like the Nintendo Switch.

I promise — even if you aren’t a gamer, there are plenty of games you’ll enjoy. My friends and I have spent hours playing Overcooked, a chaotic co-op kitchen game. And you can even play online with friends who can’t be there IRL.

Don’t overthink this one. Break out a deck of playing cards and play whatever game the group is feeling. From Texas Hold ’Em and Blackjack to Spoons, there are so many possibilities. 

You can either tackle a 500- or 1,000-piece puzzle as a group, or make it a competition. Split up into teams and see who can put together a smaller puzzle the fastest. The first team to complete their creation wins!

These are a favorite among my friends — we love a theme. You can buy boxed murder mystery games (try HomeGoods) that have different stories and settings. Assign everyone a role in advance, show up in costume, and prepare to become detectives. Bonus points for themed food and drinks.

Designate a host or take turns playing host if everyone wants to play. Make sure everyone submits topics so the trivia is based on things you actually enjoy!

You may think you already know everything there is to know about your friends, but you might be surprised by what you can still learn. Whether you’re hanging out with your childhood besties visiting from out of town or your new pals, pull out the deck of cards from We’re Not Really Strangers to dig deeper. Odds are high you’ll end the game knowing them even better and feeling even more known. Asking good questions is one of the secrets to making friendships last, after all. 

Forget the tired “what should we watch?” movie night conversation. Light up the TV with one of these fun ways to spend a night in with friends instead. 

Take turns having everyone “air” the pilot episode of their favorite show (new or old). You might even find a new favorite series! 

Transport yourself back to the early 2000s with a trip to The O.C. or Dawson’s Creek.

You’ll probably cringe at Twilight or She’s All That, but that’s what makes it so fun!

When’s the last time you watched Mulan or Anastasia? That’s right — it’s been way too long.

Or, find another animal documentary. The twist? Provide your own (clearly incorrect) narrations.

Pick a TV show and a holiday, and watch every available episode. For example, start with every Thanksgiving episode of Friends or every Halloween episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 

Who doesn’t want to spend more time with their friends? Make it easier on yourself by letting this night in with your friends tee up your next visit, too. 

My friends take a yearly trip, and planning is half the fun. Even if you’re only going a short drive away for an overnight staycation (which I highly recommend), spend the evening planning everything from outfits to dinner reservations.

You’ve probably seen this on TikTok. Everyone writes down three to five places to visit on your next friend-cation. Put all the sheets of paper in a basket, and then pass it around. As it goes around the table, each person pulls out one paper, and says, “We’re not going to … ” and they say the destination on the paper. Pass around the basket until there’s one sheet of paper remaining; the last idea is your next destination.

This one requires some homework, but there’s something so fun about a group of friends discussing their most recent read! I’m in a book club that also brings six-packs of local craft beer to every meeting, so we mix and match throughout the event and take home swapped extras.

One of the trickiest parts of learning a new language is finding time to practice — and someone to practice with. If you and a friend are already learning the same language, or decide to work on the same one, spend some time practicing together. There are many great free language learning apps, and using the same one or simply sitting around and trying out your new vocab is an excellent way to spend time at home with friends.

Did you know there are organizations that need remote volunteers? A few places to start: Digital Volunteers for the Smithsonian and Amnesty International.

Mahjong is complex, but it’s having a big moment right now — and it’s a great way to have regular hangs at your home with your besties.

Are you and all of your friends learning Spanish on Duolingo? Have a night where you all hang out and only speak the language you’re learning. Maybe even watch a movie in the language you’re all learning together!

There are soups, dishes, desserts, and bakes that can take all day — or even multiple days. Have a sleepover with a goal in mind, like croissants or a slow-roast pork shoulder, and end the hang enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Level up your next chill day at home with our guide to having your best low-key home sesh ever. This content was presented by a sponsor; it was created independently by our editorial team.