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Alternative nights out: 10 things to do instead of clubbing which might just save you a hangover

 

Tria Lawrence
Thursday 30 January 2014 13:40 GMT
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Many stars are returning to mark the National Theatre’s half-century
Many stars are returning to mark the National Theatre’s half-century

As a student, a lot of time is spent in the Library. When it gets to Friday (or, face it, Wednesday) night, going out clubbing seems like the perfect way to take a break and enjoy yourself. But clubbing can get boring after a while and, although the night itself might be fun, the hangover isn’t.

So, instead of spending all of your money on alcohol, why not explore the different options available? There are plenty of ways to enjoy yourself and de-stress instead of going out, and often they are cheaper than clubbing.

Going out for culture

Orange Wednesdays is one of the greatest inventions for students and should be taken advantage of. Or what about a comedy club? It’s a good laugh and generally pretty cheap,unless it’s a touring bigshot. And if that’s not to your taste, the theatre is also a good bet - productions are always touring the UK and it doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t mind the restricted view in the gods. Even better, if it’s the Royal Shakespeare Company, they do £5 tickets for 16-25 year olds.

Staying in for culture

It’s time to break out the duvet, order some pizza and make some popcorn for a girls' night in (or boys'; duvets don’t discriminate). Order your pizza and get settled in and then make your viewing choices. Movie or TV marathon? Catch up on the blockbuster you missed at the cinema last year or finally work out what all the fuss is about with Breaking Bad?

Take some exercise and get healthy

This is as simple as it sounds. Students don’t have the healthiest of lifestyles, what with the alcohol, takeaways and general lack of fruit and veg. So go to the gym: it’s warm, there’s TV, radio and showers, if you paid the hefty fee at the beginning of term, and you’re finally feeling like you’re being good and burning off the extraordinary amount of chocolate you ate last week. Even if you don’t want to pay for the gym, you can still go for a run for free. This is an especially good idea in exam season when exercise can be a really good break.

Cup of tea

As a student you’ve got friends all over the place: friends off your course, friends from your society and friends you used to live with - not to mention those you just picked up along the way. However, you often find that you lose track and you haven’t seen some of them for months. A great way to remedy this is to take a day and go round visiting all of them, one cup of tea at a time. Spend an hour with each and move on, having a good catch up and filling yourself up on their biscuits while you go – there’s no reason you shouldn’t try to save money on food at the same time!

Hide and seek - with Nerf guns

You’re a not technically an adult yet – maybe legally but not at heart. So grab your flatmates, switch the lights off and count to 10 because playing hide and seek in the dark and acting like a complete child is just plain fun. If you want to make things more interesting, Nerf guns are a great addition to the lights being off. Either play it as first person to hit is the winner or simply go wild in shooting tiny foam darts at each other.

Exercise of the more childish kind

Laser questing. Not entirely dissimilar to a nerf gun fight in the dark, but slightly more room to run about than your flat - and no danger of losing your damage deposit. And although you might be having fun and shooting at your friends, all that running around definitely counts as exercise. Other variants (which are free, but weather dependant) include snowball fights, water fights and a good old kickaround.

Practical jokes

There’s always the one flatmate who accidently leaves their room unlocked. This is prime time for attack and should not be squandered. Common responses to this occurrence often include clingfilming, tinfoiling or Post-It noting the room. However, if you want to be more imaginative, maybe switch their furniture with the living room furniture, or fill multiple cups with water and cover their floor. Although this is fun, make sure that you judge your target carefully and don’t go too far. You’ve got a whole year to live with them and at some point you might leave your room open.

Flat meal

A nice bonding activity that doesn’t have to be expensive. You never really see all of your flatmates at the same time and sometimes you only see them for about two minutes a day. Try to start a tradition of cooking a nice meal together every Sunday and splitting the cost. You can do a roast dinner for £1.50 each, if not less, and it gives you all a chance to catch up and remember why you moved in together in the first place, or, if you’re first year, gives you a chance to get to know each other better.

Go out for a meal

After all the essays and exams and general stress, occasionally it’s nice to treat yourself by having dinner at a restaurant. And again, not that you have to be a cheapskate, but plenty of chains do student discount and have vouchers you can download to get your meal cheaper. Having a night where you can eat nice food and drink a glass of wine with your friends is an enjoyable break and, despite engaging in regular nerf gun fights, sometimes it’s nice to feel like an adult.

Work, if you must

It’s easy to stall doing your work. Especially given the multitude of different things you could be doing, to avoid it, like cleaning the entire flat top to bottom. However it’s simply better for your stress levels if you start your work early rather than putting it off, leaving you plenty of time to do any of the activities on this list, or, if you’d rather, go for a night out on the town without worrying about working with a hangover the next day.

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