We’re about to be Captain Obvious, but bear with us anyway. Friends are great. Friends rule. You can count on besties for advice that literally no one else could give, they’ll never judge you (even when you eat ice cream for dinner), and there’s truly no one better to have on call for a night of dancing when you’ve had the worst week of all time. The list goes on, of course, but we have one more specific pro-BFF item to add: Your friends are the perfect creative companions!
If you’re feeling like you’ve been in a creative rut recently, consider calling in the troops — AKA your besties — for a night of free-wheeling fun and open conversation. Your pals may be looking for a creative kick-start too, and being (quite literally) among friends is a great way for everyone to get the boost they need. Keep scrolling to read about five creative games you can stage with your pals. (Warning: We can’t be held responsible for the crazy creativity that results, so be prepared to take all the credit.)
1. Gastronomical Grab-Bag: Even if you and your besties don’t have culinary ambitions, getting creative (and maybe even a little messy) in the kitchen is a great way to jump-start your thinking in all areas — plus, it’s really fun. Pick up a bunch of random items at the grocery store (if you’re feeling especially evil, you can grab a few un-appetizing items too), and invite your friends to do the same. When they arrive (bearing wine, of course), split into teams, divide the ingredients, and challenge each group to create a fresh recipe with their funky ingredient list. The catch? In order to avoid leaning on Pinterest, there are no phones allowed! At the end of your at-home cooking show, you can bring in an objective judge to pick the winner, or simply indulge in the creative dishes as a group.
2. Prop Play: If you’ve ever seen an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, you know how crazy things can get when a group of wickedly smart and hilarious people get their hands on a large pool of unrelated props. Ask each of your guests to bring a set number of props of their own, and give them as few guidelines on choosing their items as possible. The game will spark your creativity whether you’re working with funny hats, foam fingers, pool noodles… you catch our drift. Put all of the props together, then ask pairs of friends — or, if you have an especially outgoing group, individual pals! — to act out unique uses for each prop on the spot, just like they do it on Whose Line!
3. Magazine Maker: We’re willing to bet that you and your friends all have stashes of old magazines socked away at home, so why not put them to good use with a creative project you can all do together? Invite your friends to come over with some magazines, along with some snacks and drinks, and be prepared with enough scissors, glue sticks, and extra decor (think stick-on rhinestones, glitter pens, washi tape, construction paper, etc.) to share. You and your fave people can spend the evening creating new magazines of your own design by collaging words and images from the recycled pages. Turn the game into a competition by bringing in a judge or setting up a blind scoring system among the players — or throw winning and losing out the window and simply enjoy the fruits of your creative labor over cocktails.
4. Team Crosswords: Word games are known to boost creativity, but it’s easy to leave crossword puzzles unfinished or to skip past them entirely as you page through your favorite magazine or newspaper. Collect a stack of crosswords and invite your BFFs over for a low-key evening of working through them together. You’ll be amazed by the conversations that will come up among teammates as they pitch in to finish each puzzle as a group. You’ll learn things about your besties that you never knew (you have the smartest friends ever!), and you’ll finish the evening feeling inspired to learn new things and work on even more creativity-sparking puzzles on your own.
5. Bad-Idea Brainstorm: It may seem totally counterintuitive, but encouraging your friends to come up with bad ideas is a great way to help the whole group feel creative! This game is especially perfect for friends who are experiencing lots of frustration at the office or otherwise. Set a time for everyone to come together and jump into total word-vomit mode as they share the most ridiculous, seemingly-impossible-to-execute, just plain bad solutions to their problems at home and work. You’ll get plenty of laughs out of the conversation, and you’ll likely inspire each other with ideas that might be totally inappropriate for one person but entirely useful to another.
How do you and your BFFs spark creativity together? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)
