Lockdown Party Night Ideas! Lets have them people!

[Ihaveyourback]

I am not going down without a fight! If we have to do lockdown we are going to do it well so god help me.

During the last lockdown I could not summon the energy for any kind of fun night, I was way to stressed, depressed and exhausted. I could not sleep and was booking shopping slots at 3am etc - we all were. I remember distinctly feeling very envious of those that managed to pull of fun party nights at home on Saturday evenings - and would love your ideas of what I can do with teen dc? I have decided that the next three weeks are going to be party central here with or without my SAD and MH compression.

This lockdown needs planned fun to keep everyone cheerful, daily exercise is a must and this lockdown is going to be even better than the last. I am afraid with the dark nights, it could get very bleak so I intend to counter that with fairy lights, non alcoholic cocktails week nights and some fun and partying on Friday and Saturday evenings!

Thank you for any ideas that worked well last time that can be converted into the winter months please.

We had a 'movie night' on Fridays with fairy lights etc and a computer outside sheikh a film, and a bbq.
But that was in the summer 😕
Not sure we'll have warm enough nights!
Maybe tuck up warm and still do it?
Plus lots of gin, of course.

YABU OP. Don't you know you're not allowed to have fun during lockdown? You're supposed to dress head to foot in grey and behave like a character from a Chekhov play. Or a McCormack novel just in case Chekhov is too cheery for you.

I've got younger kids, so probably quite different with teens but some ideas are:

Just dance competitions on the Wii.
Making playlists for a family disco.
Letting the kids cook dinner. 🤦‍♀️
Walks... obviously that's getting a bit stale, but maybe making it into a "challenge" by challenging everyone to come up with a new route you've not done before?
Setting a target for steps, or miles walked or run in a week or month.
Another challenge: using Strava (or similar) to draw pictures.
See if your area is doing any kind of a trail for Christmas, or just walking to look for decorations.
If you have woods near you, heading out to forage for christmas foliage. Maybe try making wreaths or something (might need gloves).

Sorry I know they are not really party ideas, I just know that in the run up to Christmas we are going to struggle for activities which don't involve sitting inside eating and drinking! So I'm trying to think of things to make exercise fun...

Here are some things we did last time -

Home made pizza and film night on Fridays
Watched a series right through, one or two episodes every night, like Death in Paradise, Modern Family, Friends, Brooklyn 99
Played cards

I like the idea of cozying the house up so am busy sorting that for next week with fairy lights, new blankets etc

Maybe take advantage of the long nights with:
Sparklers/glow sticks/toasting marshmallows in the garden.
Star gazing on a clear night.
Going for a walk at sunrise or sunset, we get some gorgeous ones in the autumn.

My ambition is to hygge the fuck out of this lockdown.

Last time my husband and I set ourselves a challenge of getting to the top of a hill a bit of a hike from our house. We went out 2-3 times a week and got a bit closer each time before we turned round. We had a bottle of really nice wine waiting for the day we reached the top and it was a great reward! Is there something similar near you you could try to reach?
Indoor wise we will be:

• having film nights under blankets with red wine and crisps
• I'll probably write some more quizzes or do another hometasker for our friends
• doing Christmas craft, I'm an artist but will try to get my husband involved in that too
• preparing the garden for spring
• planning lots of delicious slow cooker stews and curries to warm the evenings
• getting out some old Switch games
• binging a few boxsets

I like the come dine with me idea and planning meals from around the world. Good luck OP.

I like the Come Dine With me idea too. Maybe we could pick a course and a 'hero ingredient' out of a hat for an extra challenge. Hmmm. Got me thinking.

Another great thing that we did during lockdown earlier in the year - my dh on his run through the woods would hide various clues and treats (just chocolate bars/ stickers etc.) leading to the next place. Obviously it depends where you live whether this is suitable or not - a friend

We did a lot of Come Dine With Me meal to get the DC involved with cooking. I also did a Y13 @ Home Prom for my DD. We all dressed up and I cooked the menu that was chosen for their Prom.

Last time I did lots of cycling/walking but this time i'm thinking of C25K on the treadmill. Maybe a plank challenge too.

We did a 'pub crawl'. Everyone was assigned a room in the house which they made into their own pub. I did The Bulls Head which is a local famous for its steak and ale pie. Guess what food I laid on! Someone else did a comedy club with stand-up videos. Someone else a cocktail bar, etc etc We had a fab night!

I love the ideas, thank you folks!
Yes now I am reading your title again I can see why people might jump to conclusions. Definitely just the kids and us! No one else.

I am making a note of these fantastic ideas, and will try and line it all up before Thursday so we are ready with at least one or two of them. I know it is a pandemic. We have close family members that are ill now, but honestly we need some light relief and some fun. I am not giving into the gloom!

The come dine with family style we will definitely do, the christmas decoration weekend in the last weekend of November is on the list, may add marshmallows and a new game. Just saw a new game called Hygge Game that is now ordered.
We thought we might kick off proceedings with a US night on Saturday with a few sparklers etc. We were going to do Trump versus Biden come dine with me with American style knickerbocker glories. Not sure the weight loss will go that well. Might do Grease soundtrack or Elvis if I can face it!

I don't to drink through this one, so will try and limit the gin deliveries

DDs want to do an Hawaiian night - not sure we have the temperatures, but we could make flower crowns etc and I love the music. Not sure what food we would make!

Thank you for your ideas, it is making me feel so much better.

**My

@Tinseltrauma - what a great idea! GERROUTAMYPUB!!

We did family sleepovers in the living room - dragged mattresses and bedding through to the living room and all watched a movie and slept on the floor together. Really loved them and have continued them since. Sometimes we built dens to sleep under too.

We did some themed days too - food, games, movies etc from a particular country.

Ideas we’re going to start in winter - board game night. In summer we had a family football cup, so we’re adapting this for winter.

Excellent! @iklboogeymum

Taskmaster?

Take turns to set the tasks and judge the winners.

Depending on the age of your kids take a look at the scouts and guides sites. Last time the did some good 'sleepover' weekends with lost of activities around a theme. Search Facebook for your local areas and see what they are planning. Derbyshire Guides for example has a Christmas campover planned for 11th Dec... last term there were llama camps, science camps and all sorts.

@ninninannonoonoo - the Taskmaster board game is brilliant fun.

YANBU to want to create a party atmosphere at home, for your own family, during lockdown. YABU to have a thread title that seems to suggest you might throw a last minute pre lockdown party - I think you need to get the title changed

Good luck OP. I'm following this thread to pick up ideas.

We’re doing a competition at work where everyone got given a country and we have to make a meal from that country and then send in photos as a competition.
I’ve got Jamaica if anyone’s got any great recipe ideas

We did different country "come dine with me" complete with score cards last time. We were going to attempt different eras this time round. DS (aged 11) was debating whether to go for something easy like the 1980s or to attempt a full roasted will boar with wild swallows sown into it (thank you very much Horrible Histories). I'm betting we'll be getting prawn cocktail.

The other fun thing we did last time (which sounds totally lame but was actually really good fun) was a dog show that DD (9) organised for us and our one dog. It was hilarious and culminated with DS, as the judge, uttering the immortal lines "there can only be one winner, because there literally can only be one winner".

OP - you are right. Lockdown is unbearably shit and needs something to cheer it up. Other than the times above, there was a lot of tantruming, arguing and getting thoroughly fed up. Organised days are the way forward. I am praying that schools stay open so we only have to bear the weekends.

Good luck.

[quote iklboogeymum]@ninninannonoonoo - the Taskmaster board game is brilliant fun. [/quote]
A board game you say?

I'd better check that out.

@ninninannanoonoo

Loads of good fun even with only three of us as you take turns being Taskmaster.