OK I don't think my friends and I are unique in that sometimes, we can't decide on what we want to do.

At least, I hope we aren't the only ones.

And I'm going to admit something that should not shock anyone, especially my friends: I'm a grandma.

My ideal night is getting home from work, ordering Indian food, and watching a documentary. And yes, I realize I sound like an incredibly lame 22 year old.

But in my defense, if my full time doesn't take all my energy (which it normally does but I love what I do), my blog will take what's left. So I suck at spontaneous hangout sessions.

Buuuut if things are planned, I'll show up.  And for that reason, I've documented some ideas that are perfect for a night in with friends.

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Zero Waste Party Idea 1. Wine sampling

A personal favorite idea of mine.

With this one, everyone brings a different kind of wine.

More defined ideas include:

• Regional wines: compare local wines, or a restrict it to wines from Napa Valley, Sonoma Coast, etc.

• Type: Make one night all red night and another all white

• Price point: see if you can find a new favorite wine at a different price point

• Blind tasting: cover the labels with cloth or decant them into other jars and see which ones you like best!

This is a great way to also expose yourself to a bunch of different kind of wines. And who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new favorite!

Serve some snacks you find from you bulk section or in recyclable packaging like chocolate, nuts, crackers, etc.

When you’re done with the wine bottles, rinse out and either recycle or do some kind of craft with them!

• Cut them and turn them into glasses (great for more wine tasting glasses or for DIY candles)
• Turn them into a vase
• Make a bird feeder
• Hanging planter
• DIY soap dispenser

Now what to do with any wine corks:

• Save them up and turn them into a wine cork bath mat
• Make some coasters
• DIY wine glass charms (I’m all about encouraging more wine parties)
• All else fails, check your local wine store. Some have a cork deposit area for you to drop off used corks.

2. Game Night

Have a rotating night of different kinds of games!

Fun board games:

• Scrabble
• Pictionary
• Poker
• Cards Against Humanity
• Exploding Kittens
• Jenga
• Telephone Pictionary
• Who Am I?

Virtual games:

• Mario Kart (make it adult with beer version: Beerio Kart)
• Wikipedia search
  • A friend told me he and his friends made this game up when studying abroad. Essentially you can have as many players as you want. Have everyone start on the same wikipedia page and then establish a page they need to try to get to. Through hyperlinked wikipedia pages, see how fast or how many clicks it takes to end up on the destination page.
  • Example: start on Star Trek and try to end up on George Washington’s page.
  • Click on “United States”, search for presidents and find George Washington. (This one was easy).
• Heads Up

RELATED: 23 Zero Waste Date Night Ideas

3. Craft Night

Maybe after the wine tasting night, you actually do want to do some of those crafts for the wine bottles and corks.

Make them with your friends!

Other suggestions include:

• Lotion (mix and match different scents)
• Candles (have everyone bring over a different essential oil to make different smelling candles
• DIY perfume
• Make your own terrarium (hit up your local thrift store to find some awesome jars and then your nursery to find some cool succulents)
• Personalize your wood spoons (create as gifts for friends too)

4. Swap Night

This is perfect if you’ve collected some stuff you know you want to get rid of.

Set up a swap night for clothes, books, accessories, really anything you and your friends are hoping to get rid of and get something new to them!

5. Pamper Night

Light some candles and uncork some wine.

Break out some face mask supplies (bentonite clay, honey, turmeric, etc) to DIY and personalize some facemasks to suit everyone's unique skin needs.

Slather some coconut oil on your hair for a nourishing hair mask.

You all have had a long week-- pamper yourself silly with some fun treatments which can be found in bulk or in recycable, non-plasatic containers.

RELATED: My Zero Waste Pamper Routine for Under \$3

6. Teach Night

Swap some skills!

If someone knows how to make a really good dish like paella, have them teach the crew!

Next week, switch and if someone knows how to knit, have them put on the instructor's hat.

This is a really great way of learning something new while bonding with friends. You might also discover a friend's hidden talent too!

7. Potluck

Who doesn’t love food?!?

Ask all your friends to bring over a dish of their choice. Just make sure to ask that they don’t use plastic stabber stick thingies (those sticks that hold little sandwiches together).

Set a beautiful table with real plates and cups.

This idea pairs well with the wine night, so you could do a mash up. Ask a few friends to bring the wine, the others to bring the food. Bing bang boom, you’ve got a lovely evening filled with food, drink, and friends.

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Wrapping it up!

I hope this list has inspired you to plan something fun with friends (and not be a complete grandma like me).

Please let me know of any other fun ideas you have too! I'm always looking for another way to plan something with my friends (that isn't going to a bar).

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