If you're single and childless what do you do at the weekend?

I work 2 jobs across the 7 days a week, but in the evenings after my weekend job I walk, cook a nice dinner, make art and work on my eCommerce store (my 3rd job!). Also, I sometimes read later in the evening in bed, or sometimes clean the flat if I've not had chance during the week. The emphasis is on creativity though, and I definitely try to get out for a walk in one of the parks local to me.

Maybe check out Domestika (and I'm sure there will be similar online alternatives too), if you fancy learning a fun new creative skill - there's tonnes of interesting stuff on there if that's your thing.

Work, farm, horses, friends, housework, shopping, dog walking.
That pretty much fills my days!

I know what you mean. Me and my friends are now in our 40's and every now and then we go out for dinner and a few cocktails, but it's been a long time since we went on a mad one at the weekends, like we did regularly when we were younger and all single.

All of them are coupled up, some have kids, so they are usually booked at the weekend. Being the only single person in a group of friends can be a bit lonely sometimes, jut not being someone's priority. Or having an automatic person to spend time with.

I'm generally happy with my pottering and going to visit people, but I tend to have to make the effort or I won't see them very often.

I'm single and don't have children. I do understand OP, I find weekends tough and quite lonely. All my friends are busy with their children and partner and can't afford lots of weekends away etc. It feels a bit empty.

When I was single and childless I did this:

Got up as early or as late as I wanted to
Went to the gym, had a good workout, swam, used the sauna/steam room
Came home, had a long hot shower and a nice lunch
Read or went to the cinema in the afternoon/watched film at home
Met up with friends in the evening for a meal or drinks

Would go to church on Sundays
Did some housework/laundry/prepped meals for week
Sometimes food shopping
Meditate/write out some business plans/goals for career/side hustles
Got a takeway/watched netflix
Took dog for long walks along the beach whilst listening to inspirational podcasts
Would potter around town, have a hot choc and look in the shops
Phone friends and chat if they couldnt meet up
Visited family
Went to street festivals/ events/ exhibitions/workshops on in my town (it has lots going on)
Joined a book club
Did some online courses in various topics
Visited places of interest/day trip to London etc

There are weekends that clubbing is exactly what I want from life!

Being in my fifties means I've embraced daytime clubbing so I'm still home and in bed at a sensible hour, and I haven't drunk alcohol in years, but the idea that clubbing is not a worthwhile use of anybody's time provided they enjoy it is just odd.

And I suspect this is the problem. Weekends and Bank Holidays, and that weird week between Christmas and New Year, are very hard to navigate if you’re single whilst all your friends are married/partnered.

I am guessing that if the OP had a selection of single friends, she wouldn’t have posted in the first place.

Thanks @TheBitchOfTheVicar 😊. I would love to be able to look up cool things to do on a Friday night with a partner - plan a Saturday.

I recently tried to get some friends together to go boating on a local lake - take a picnic and have some wine! I was really excited but couldn’t get it arranged because people had daytime plans with kids and partners. Which is fine of course, but I couldn’t help but think if I had a partner we could just have agreed to do it at short notice.

its not that I am old and boring - I just want more from life than clubbing🤦‍♀️.

i think it’s hard for those on this thread who aren’t single and childless to understand this particular struggle.

I’m not fighting about it either. 🙂 It’s nice to have a discussion. My first post I put the things I am looking forward to doing like exploring, camping, gigs, planning where I want to go, castles, etc. I just didn’t like the dismissal of a boozy weekend when I do enjoy them too. I’d be bored getting legless all the time and it can get tedious if that’s all you’re doing.

It's totally normal.

Yes. Lots of female walkers have been murdered in daylight. The most recent was Anita Rose in Suffolk a few weeks ago who was walking her dog.

Try to find more single friends. All of mine work 9-5 like me. Doesn't mean they're always available of course, but it helps.

I hear you @Bellyblueboy

Whatever the fuck I want.

I stay in bed.
Socialise.
Go walking with friends
volunteer
tidy the garden
tidy the house
get my hair done
go shopping
watch a box set
go out for meals with friends.

I honestly don’t want to fight about this😊.

as a single, childless woman myself maybe this response triggered me a little. Telling an adult women to just get drunk every Friday and Saturday night with her mates seems completely unrealistic and silly.

yes we all party occasionally - but you can’t rely on it to fill every weekend.

when you are single and childless everyone else seems to have busy, full weekends. They occasionally are able to make time for a night out - which is great. But often people can’t. OP is struggling with weekends so it’s unlikely she has the option - or maybe desire - to party every Friday and Saturday night.

and adults do usually want more from a weekend - daytime activities. But yes for some people getting drunk and clubbing and partying might be enough - but some people look for more variety. And when you are single and childless that variety is hard. Beciase people usually do they daytime stuff with their partners and kids.

but i am out now! I am clearly not expressing myself very well

Cycling, hillwalking or allotment or garden at home mainly. I tend not to see friends at weekends as they tend to ringfence weekends as “family time”, which I struggle with. My only two single friends work at weekends.

Go to Ibiza and take loads of drugs.

I do a mixture of things:

Gym/sauna/steam room - sometimes a yoga class but out the habit currently.
Brunch/lunch/dinner out - either with friends or sometimes on my own.
Friends over for dinner and corresponding afternoon faffing enjoyably in the kitchen.
Moderately long bike ride if the weather is good (I also find this removes any self consciousness about eating alone).
Library membership - I'm a member of a private library which has comfy chairs and good books and magazines and a cafe and is very nice.
National trust visits - often to meet a friend for a walk.
Walk to a pub and back.
Reading at home.
Watch more TV in the winter than I do in the summer.
Beach and walking/sitting and reading.

Mainly not terribly exciting but generally very pleasant.

Then there'll be weekends where I go for a proper day out - down to London or away for a weekend at a friend's or similar.

And I travel/holiday quite a lot too - usually at least 4 weeks a year which eats up 8 weekends.

Cook
Watch TV
Go hiking
Go kayaking
Read
Play computer games
Drink wine
Do gardening
Do house work
Surf the net
Have long hot baths in the winter
Listen to music
Shop
Eat in peace

Not knowing what to do with yourself at the weekend because you don't have any relationship or parenting responsibilities sounds a bit worrying to me.

What do you enjoy doing ? Do that.

Bloody hell no! I can’t do 2 nights in a row but I’ve just done 4 weeks of 1 nights in July and had a good catch up with different friends. I’m presuming that is what the other poster means. Just because you’re a certain age shouldn’t stop you going out out even if you have kids or a partner. I still make time to do things with my friends who are single and childless.

Are you scared in the daytime???

Depends where you are I suppose. I live near the Peak District and never had a problem there. There are lots of lone people walking about. There are organised walks in a lot of places too. My Nan used to go on holidays that were for single women when my grandad died. She made a friend on one of them and they did holidays and meet ups for a few years together after. Sometimes it’s just a case of finding something that interests you and finding like minded people to do it with.

What I meant was this isn’t a realistic option for every weekend! You do it occasionally - I do it occasionally too but to be honest very rarely on both Friday and Saturday nights. OP is struggling with weekends.

the poster I was referring to said -

’When I was single and childless I just got drunk Fridays and Saturdays then spent Sundays with my best friends nursing our hangovers and go out for food ready for the working week.’

What I was saying that is unlikely to be a solution for someone who is struggling with lonely and long weekends.

Or happy to be wrong - do you do this every Friday and Saturday night?

See friends, but of course you need at least a few of your friends to be single too.