How to have the ultimate girl’s night (quarantine/isolation friendly)

Having a get-together with all of your girlfriends is definitely a significant occasion. I mean, as much as I love my boyfriend and hanging out with my other friends, nothing beats having a girl’s night in complete with movies, junk food and fun. There is just something so relaxing and enjoyable about a night like this, which makes it such a memorable and frequent event. Unfortunately, an evening like this isn’t exactly possible given the current state of events. South Africa in particular, on day 2 of our 21 day lockdown, is a place where a girl’s night in is an impossible occurrence. So why am I writing a blog post like this when it can’t be done? Well, one of my close friends and I were meant to have one of these this week – something we’d been looking forward to since the beginning of the year. I intended to write this blog post to coincide with all the fun things we would do together; I’m still writing it because as much as we can’t actually have a girl’s night in right now, you can still have all this fun at home (or facetime your girlfriends and have a virtual get-together). So, for everyone looking for some fun ideas to keep you occupied during all this self-isolation, or as something to look forward to once the pandemic has calmed down, here are a few things to do on the ultimate girls’ night in.

Choose your chick flicks

From Grease, Romeo and Juliet, Bride wars and Pretty Woman, nothing makes a girl’s night quite like a good rom-com. It will easily turn up the feel-good factor of any evening and they are so much fun to watch with your friends, even if it is the tenth time you’ve all seen this film. Pick a whole bunch of favourites that you can enjoy the whole evening (and for hours into the night) or even pick a theme (such as musicals) and try see how many you can get through in your night. My one friend and I love nothing more than to re-watch the cheesiest romcoms and sing along to all the songs. It may be out of tune, but it is so much fun. Try it out next time, and let me know your favourite chick flicks in the comments section 😉

Beautification

There is absolutely nothing better than pampering your skin while catching up with your girls. So, this is the ideal time to recreate all the luxuries of a spa day with your fabulous company and in the comfort of your own home. There are so many amazing facials that you can make using natural ingredients at home, so you don’t have to fork out tons of money on expensive face masks if you don’t want to. However, there are also amazing sheet masks that aren’t so costly if you aren’t in the mood to mix up your own masks. But don’t just stop at face masks. Between body scrubs, manis/pedis and foot soaks, there is so much more you can add to your home-spa. For future spa days with the gals, get everyone to bring their favourite nail polish colour or a scrub/essential oil and test them out on each other. If it’s just you though, go all out and have a full blown spa day at home with all the flourishes (please let me know in the comments section if you’d be interested in tips for doing a home spa-day).

Something for hydration

Hydration is key, the experts say, and all the fun you’ll be having means you don’t want to risk losing too many fluids. Whether it is wine, champagne, homemade cocktails, some kombucha or flavoured water and tea, choose something you enjoy and sip away. Personally, I’m more of a sparkling water and tea type of girl (and so is my bestie) so we make a huge pot of chai tea when we get together but there also some amazing (and delicious looking) cocktails that are both light and filling with hydration benefits. Maybe we’ll try our hand at chocolate martinis when lockdown is over?

Comfy-only rule

As is with any girl’s night in, the dress code is a very serious aspect of the whole evening. The key to it all is comfort, meaning that nothing more formal than sweats or yoga pants are allowed. If you’re going to be very serious about it, then maybe a pyjamas-only rule is appropriate? Have everyone bring their fluffy robes and fuzzy socks so that every part of your wardrobe screams cosiness. If you’re doing this evening solo, curl up (with your fuzzy socks) under a fluffy blanket to enjoy everything. I promise you, comfort goes a long way to making the mood of the evening and it also puts everyone in a great mood when everyone is decked in cute pjs and slipping in their socks. In fact, when my friends and I have get-togethers like this, pyjamas are a prerequisite to being let in.

Did someone say cookies?

What’s a girl’s night without some sweet treats? Sure we all want to stay healthy and lean but I think that we get given a free pass on evenings like this. The event is not complete without bountiful amounts of carbs and sugar, and preferably if those two are combined. A great way to bond is to bake up some of your favourite desserts with your besties, and nothing makes it better than the fact that it leaves you with plenty of delicious snacks to enjoy. Now there are plenty of healthy recipes out there, so you won’t have to worry about the scale tomorrow morning, but also some unhealthy ones. Our favourites are chocolate chip cookies (because who can say no to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies) but chocolate fondue, brownies, chocolate mousse and sundaes are also frequent options. I don’t know if you can tell but we love chocolate (and what’s wrong with that?) because chocolate is the best thing ever.

Dance party

Singing along to movies is great, and having a little groove while you’re baking is fun, so why not do a little bit more and amp things up. You could turn your night into a full-blown dance party! Listen to your favourite party jams or find some dance tutorial on YouTube, or you could even come up with some new choreography for the songs in your movies. And don’t go thinking that you can’t have a dance party by yourself. While it is fun to laugh at each other’s failed attempts at the electric noodle, some of the best dance parties are the solo ones. I would know – I frequently have them in my room when I’m feeling down and could do with a pick-me-up. My cat might look a little judgmental but the fun is well worth it. Plus, you could burn off the calories from those delicious cookies, so it’s a double win at the end of the day.

Netflix, snacks and stretches

Maybe movies aren’t your style and you’d far rather catch up on or start a new Netflix series? Well, whether you’re on your own or have partners in crime, the snuggly outfit and baked good are a great accompaniment to a Netflix marathon. What could make it more fun than normal is to try a Netflix workout routine at the same time (because it is never too soon to get working on that summer body) and have some cinnamon popcorn ready to make sure you have enough energy for the whole marathon. Because Netflix, some wrist curls and cinnamon popcorn sounds like too good of a combination to pass up on, am I right?

Up for some friendly competition?

When was the last time you sat down to play a traditional board game?! I’m betting it’s been quite a while so this is the perfect opportunity to change that. My family loves games, and my boyfriend and I have such fun hosting game nights, and thankfully my friends all enjoy a bit of friendly competition so we tend to break out the games when we have get-togethers. Have your besties bring their favourite board games, or dig out your monopoly, 30 seconds and trivial pursuit. Our favourites are Life, Disney/Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary. If you don’t have access to board games, you could get the app ‘Heads Up’. It’s so much fun!! Just be careful what board games you play. No matter how close people are, certain games tend to bring out the worst in some people and can end up causing more damage than bondage.

Who could forget about food?

No event, whether it is a formal ball or a slumber party, is complete without food. After all, food is love, food is life right? A girl’s night in is no exception. First, there are the staples. For your main source of nutrients you will need some sort of takeaway meal. Chinese or pizza are popular choices, but homecooked food isn’t unacceptable either (Mexican is our standard in that regard). Next, you’ll need your movie snacks and the most fundamental of all is popcorn. Butter popcorn is an amazing traditional option, but one that may be a little healthier (and sweeter) is cinnamon popcorn but whichever you prefer, go for it. Fresh fruit is always a good idea, for some health but also some freshness, and then you’ll need sweet snacks like your baked goods and chocolates. It’s a special occasion, which means that being a little unhealthy in your food choices isn’t a bad thing. Enjoy it!

And so there you have it! I know that this post isn’t necessarily helpful in a time like this, but hopefully it could serve as some inspiration for things to do by yourself or for something you’d like to do with your friends when the situation with COVID-19 is more under control. I really hope you enjoyed today’s post – I certainly had fun writing it as it was a way to plan out all the fun things my friend and I would have done and now can look forward to in the future. Please let me know what your thoughts were in the comments section – if there are some fun things you do and would like to add, any fun stories or simply if there is something you’d like me to write about in the future. As always, thank you all so much for reading. Please don’t forget to hit that little like button and subscribe so you don’t miss out on any future blog posts (and if you have any advice for an amateur blogger like myself, I’m always looking for help). I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx