I started organising a monthly Girl’s Night with my friends as a way to improve my relationships, a major focus for me in 2018. We all get busy with work, family, and other commitments. We often don’t make time to catch up with those that have been there for us. Life just gets away from you sometimes.
So I decided I wanted to do something about it. In the last two years, most of my friends have had children. None of us has had much time for ourselves let alone time to catch up or have a night off.
What is a girls night?
To me, a girl’s night is a night with my girlfriends. No Partners. No Children. Just food, drinks, and great company. It’s a little bit of ‘me time’ which is much needed since most of my friends are also new mums. It’s a great chance to get away from everything, just for the night.
I decided to call my event Squad Night Off. I originally called it mums night off, but not all of us are mums. Then I created a Facebook event to invite everyone which also helped us all keep track of everything in relation to it. Since it was still summer and we have a pool at home I invited everyone to my house.
It’s April now and we have just started planning our fourth ultimate girls’ night for the year. I can say for certain that the idea has been a great success. Inviting everyone into the pool was also a great hit. A few were hesitant because of their mummy tummies, but they soon decided that they didn’t want to miss out. I was actually one of the last to jump out of the pool at 10 pm and the last of the guests left around 1 am. It really was a perfect night.
The Elements of the Ultimate Girl’s Night
Pick a date and time
One of the first things to do is to decide what time of day you would like to have your catch-up. If you are hosting at home, consider starting just before dinner time. That will allow everyone to arrive and settle themselves in.
A weekend is usually a great option as life can really get away from us during the week. Saturdays are the best option for my friends. Most of us work Monday to Friday. And it also gives us the Sunday to recover, which is sometimes necessary!
And don’t forget to check the weather forecast to ensure you are planning something suitable.
Decide who to invite and how
I like to keep it small so I can catch up with everyone. And if it’s a smaller group it’s much easier to have a group conversation without leaving anyone out. There is a good chance people will break off into smaller groups, which is great for more personal conversations.
As the host, it’s fair to say that you get the final decision on who to invite.
You can send out invitations, text messages or create a Facebook event. The Facebook events feature is great if everyone is on Facebook. You can use it to track who is coming, and conversations relating to it like what to bring, you can even upload a cover photo for the event and guests can post to the event’s Facebook story.
Pick a location
Girl’s night in or girls’ night out? Now that is an important question!
Decide if you’d like to go to someone’s house, hire a room somewhere or go out on the town. I prefer to go to someone’s house, I just feel more myself in that kind of atmosphere. If you are hosting at home you might also want to think of some girls night activities. And there are plenty of options if you want to go out somewhere.
Food and beverages
Is the host going to arrange all the food? Is everyone going to bring something to contribute? Do your guests need to bring their own drinks? The guests could financially contribute to paying for the food the host has provided, order takeaway food, or eat out at a restaurant.
If you are hosting at home be sure to have enough glasses, cutlery, and plates to go around. One of my favourite things to serve is as a grazing table. it’s such an easy way to serve a variety of foods.
My list of 101 girl’s night cocktails and mocktails is sure to provide inspiration for every taste. From citrus flavors to fruity and sweet to creamy and decadent. Or come up with your own drink.
Or get ideas from more than 40 charcuterie boards to suit any theme, budget or taste.
Activities
If you decided to stay in you might want to think about some girls night activities or games that you and your guests can participate in. You can also pick a theme to help determine activities, food and drinks. Some popular themes are pyjama parties, spa days, favorite things, a game night and pool parties.
Start planning the next one
If you and your gal pals had a great time and agree that you really must do it more often, why not do it again? Share the love, let everyone have the opportunity to host, and then they can choose the venue and activities. Once you have done it a few times it will be clear what needs to be done to maximise the fun. And you will stop trying to find a good reason to catch up.
I’d love to hear how your girl’s night went and what a good time you had. Send me an email or use the hashtag #girlsnightguide
