Are you a teenager looking to have fun with your friends without breaking the bank? Or maybe a parent looking for exciting ways to occupy your teens …
Either way, teenagers can do so many activities on a budget. As a teenager, spending holidays and weekends can easily become tedious, mainly because many activities classified as fun can be very expensive. It makes engaging in such activities very difficult for a teen with no job.
If you are a teen in this position, these 15 budget-friendly activities are a great way to have a blast with your friends without spending so much.
1. Have a Movie Night at Someone’s House
Plan a movie night at one of your friend’s houses on a Saturday or Friday night. Start by selecting a date and invite everyone over.
You can then select a collection of movies and get them ready.
Be sure to have some blankets ready to keep everyone cozy during the movie night. Also, since it is a budget-friendly activity with friends, it is best to ask everyone to bring snacks that everyone else can enjoy. Some snacks you can suggest friends bring include popcorn, candy, chips, finger foods, or pizza.
If it is a longer movie or a series, you can set times for bathroom breaks or even to discuss the movie.
You can wind it up with everyone getting picked up to go home or having a sleepover, which will be much more funnier.
2. Go for a Bike Ride Around the Neighborhood
A bike ride around your neighborhood is a great way to be outdoors and have fun with your teen friends.
If everyone already has a bike, it will be as good as a free activity, which is good for everyone’s pocket. Alternatively, at a low budget, you can hire bicycles and safety gear, which is always budget-friendly.
Then, start by planning a route that passes through some of the exciting spots in your neighborhood. Include stopovers to take breaks and enjoy some scenery.
Be sure to include water and snacks to take for your breaks.
Riding bikes suits your physical and mental health, and it becomes even better when you do it with your friends.
3. Organize a Picnic at a Local Park
A picnic at a local park is a great way to get out, enjoy some fresh air, and relax in nature.
You can do so many fun things to make a potluck picnic more exciting. For instance, you can go for the rainbow picnic, where people bring different snacks in select colors.
You could also read together, take lovely photos, explore the park, chat, and play board games.
While picnicking is an excellent idea to have fun and catch up with friends, it does not need a lot of planning. You can use what you have to achieve different fun ideas.
4. Play Sports Like Basketball, Soccer, or Frisbee
You can organize friendly basketball, volleyball, frisbee, or soccer matches if you are in a group of sporty friends.
Start by organizing people into teams of maybe 11 or mini-teams of 3-4 people, depending on how many friends are on board.
You can then find backyards, local playgrounds, parks, beaches, or sport rooms to play in
If you already have the equipment for these, you can have as much fun for absolutely free. It is a great way to exercise and sharpen your skills in the game, all while having a good time with friends.
5. Explore a Nearby Hiking Trail
Are you looking for a great activity that will stimulate teenagers physically and mentally? Hiking would be a great activity, especially for teens who spend their weekends in bed or on the couch. It is a great way to get out, stretch, and enjoy nature.
Hiking is also an excellent opportunity to have uninterrupted talk time with friends while working towards the same goals.
Find nearby hiking trails, communally plan for the hiking trip, and get your hiking gear ready.
It is a superb way to create memories, feel accomplished, and take up and achieve new challenges.
6. Have a DIY Photoshoot
A DIY photoshoot is a great way to explore your creativity, bring ideas to life, have fun, and create memories you can look at for years to come.
You can bring your ideas to life or find interesting inspiration on Pinterest. It is all about creativity that may involve imaginative dressing up and putting props together.
The good thing about a DIY photoshoot is that you can do it for free. Use the equipment and props you already have.
You can use your phone, Polaroid, or DSLR cameras.
The shoot can be indoors, outdoors, at the park, at the beach, or anywhere that would help you achieve the aesthetic you are going for.
7. Host a Game Night With Board Games or Video Games
Nothing is as fun as organizing a competitive gaming night among teenage friends.
The adrenaline rush that comes with wanting to be on the winning side is something you want to experience with friends.
A video game night would be an enjoyable activity to complete, depending on what you choose. You could select multi-player or cooperative video games and plan and execute the game.
However, if you want a more chill experience, a board games night would be a great way to go. You can have great conversations and enjoy snacks over your favorite board games.
8. Have a Themed Potluck Dinner or Cooking Competition
Organize a potluck dinner where everyone brings homemade food to showcase their cooking skills. It would be an excellent way to interact over food while discussing different dishes.
You could choose themes to make the planning easier and the dinner more enjoyable. You can always find great themed dinner ideas on Pinterest. Consider other themes such as around the world, where everyone tries a recipe from their dream country, recipes from a different era such as the 50s or 60s, dressing up as someone in the friend group and preparing their favorite dishes.
You could go with this or have real time cooking competitions and even select a winner.
9. Visit a Free Local Museum or Art Gallery
Instead of spending the weekend indoors, plan an outing to your local museum or art gallery. It is a great and fun way to learn some culture and history.
Many museums offer teenagers free entrance, so be sure to check that. If your local museums and art galleries charge a fee, you can check their free days and plan a visit with friends.
There is a lot you can do at museums, such as discuss the exhibitions, take photos, bring sketchbooks and do some sketching, imitate the poses of statues, join guided tours, or do scavenger hunts if the museum is huge.
10. Plan a Beach Day or Visit a Lake
A day by the beach offers a lot to do for a teenage friend group. You could bask, swim, exercise, enjoy the scenery, watch the sunset or sunrise, or play beach basketball. Doing water sports or fishing with friends would also be a great and budget-friendly activity if you have the equipment or can hire them for a low price.
Look at your calendar and weather forecast and pick a day with good weather, plan it to a friends group, get props and soft drinks ready and enjoy the serenity of the beach.
11. Attend a Community Event or Festival
You can attend or even plan a community event that will let you have fun while at it, interact with much bigger circles, and better understand your community.
Some of the best community events and festivals to attend with your teenage friends include donation drives, marathons, training events, talent shows, charity golf events, beach cleaning and outdoor movie screening.
Keep up with the local communities to know about upcoming events and invite your friends to attend them.
12. Try Out a New Dance Routine or Learn a Dance Style Together
Dancing is a fun activity you can do for free in your friend group. You could choose to do something from different countries or go with dance styles such as hip-hop, salsa, and contemporary.
You can also go with trending TikTok dances, learn them and make some TikTok videos.
To learn a dance routine, you can choose to use online tutorials or teach and learn different choreographies by yourselves.
Learning new dance styles is a fun challenge that helps nurture your talent, stretch your body, and enhance your mental well-being. Every teenager should try to enjoy all these benefits in the company of their friends.
All you need for this is a dancing space, equipment such as a Bluetooth speaker, and tutorials to follow.
13. Have a Karaoke or Lip-syncing Contest
Lip-syncing battles and karaoke events can be incredibly entertaining to do with friends. While it is believed that you need a karaoke machine to pull off an entertaining karaoke party, you can still improvise your phone, TV, and speakers and have a great, memorable night with friends.
Take it as a perfect opportunity to sing your heart and laugh your heart out.
If you go for a lip-sync battle, you can create teams or duos and have each side elect their favorite song. The other team can then take several minutes to rehearse their opponent’s song and perform it with a dance routine to make it even more enjoyable.
14. Volunteer for a Local Charity or Project
Volunteering at a local charity project lets you share your kindness with vulnerable people while having an opportunity to keep up with your friends and create an even broader network.
There are a lot of volunteer local charity projects you could apply to do for the people of your community.
Some of the best that would be suitable for teenagers would be joining the free house cleaning projects for cancer patients, mentally unwell people, or seniors; volunteering at pet rescue centers, playing board games or just chatting with the elderly; walking seniors’ dogs, help younger children with homework, go grocery shopping for the vulnerable, prepare and serve meals at local soup kitchens.
The possibilities are endless; you will have fun and build a connection with other people while at it.
15. Organize a Scavenger Hunt in Your Neighborhood
If you are looking for a fun, exciting and engaging activity with your teenage friends, consider a scavenger hunt. Start by deciding on a theme for your scavenger hunt. It could be anything from a classic treasure hunt to a mystery-solving adventure or a photo-based challenge.
When everyone is on board, plan a route where you will do your scavenger hunt.
You can then form teams of 2-4 people before laying down rules and regulations for your scavenger hunt adventure.
You can then go ahead and distribute clues; solving a clue should lead you to the following location or challenge.
To spice it up include activities such as taking photos, solving riddles or adding some physical exercises.
Budget-Friendly Activities for Teens To Do With Friends
Being a teenager can mean not having any money on you or having a lot of plans for the little money you have. Besides, many teenagers spend their time in bed, indoors, or on social media. In a world where fun has been equated to splurging money, you and your circle of teen friends can still have a blast but a budget. This list contains highly interactive and fun activities you can do with your friends while spending just a little or no money. All you need is a little planning and sometimes repurposing of what you already have to have fun. Choose activities you want to do, have everyone on board, plan, and have a good time without blowing your savings.
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This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
