friends socialising offline playing a board game together

How to Socialise Offline - Creative Ways to Bring People Together

July 22, 2025

I love the Internet and all the opportunities it provides. There are people I wouldn’t have met without it and experiences I’d have otherwise missed. I have online friends I’ve never met in real life, and I value these relationships greatly. But there are limitations to the online world and the socialising we’re able to do there.

Why Socialise Offline?

I’m convinced our ever-increasing reliance on the internet and online relationships plays a big part in the growing loneliness epidemic. We are embodied. We need physical relationships where we focus on each other and do things together.

We retain much more information, and get more dopamine from experiences, when we use all five of our senses. We can have a conversation with someone on a video call, through email or via text message, but the benefits received from these interactions are reduced the fewer senses we use to communicate.

I love meeting people in real life. It gives me a boost of energy and happiness, and I find we have much deeper conversations. Shared experiences bond us, and the memories we make last for days, weeks or months. Can you remember a text conversation you had in March? I know I can’t!

How to Socialise Offline

Socialising offline doesn’t have to involve anything fancy. One of my friends and I have gone for walks on the greenway nearby or jumped into our swimsuits, driven to the coast and gone sea swimming (or should I say ‘sea dipping’ – we lasted 10 minutes before we were too frozen and laughing our heads off). Spontaneity is good, and these experiences have deepened our friendship and made me feel more at home in a foreign country.

However, sometimes it’s fun and rewarding to make a little more effort, especially if there are going to be more than two of you. Here are some creative ideas to get you started…

Organise a Board Game Night

Some of my favourite memories of life as a student were nights when we met in a local café, drank fizzy drinks, ate scones and played endless rounds of Dutch Blitz. These days, our favourite games include Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Codenames, Parks, Jaipur, and one that always has everyone in fits of laughter, What do you Meme. I can still hear my dad wheezing as he read some of the cards out loud – it was so funny!

To accompany the game, I love putting out little pots of pick-and-mix sweeties, Maltesers or other small chocolates. To drink, I usually serve juice, wine or just tea and coffee. I pop a good Spotify playlist on, and the atmosphere is set for a fun evening together.

If you don’t have any board games, things like Mafia or Paper Telephone can be played at a small (or large) gathering. These games are better played in a living room with sofas and comfy chairs dotted around the room rather than around a dining table. They work well with people of all ages, too - we played Paper Telephone the other week with our housegroup from church, which includes people aged 25 to 70.

Host a Crafternoon

Last year, I put forward an open invitation to all the ladies from church to come for a crafternoon. We have a WhatsApp group with almost 100 women in it, so I was a little unsure about how many would RSVP. We ended up with 12 women and girls of all ages and stages, from pre-teen to mid-seventies.

I provided snacks, a dining table, sofas and some gentle music to give atmosphere. The lovely ladies from church each brought a craft, so we had knitting, crochet, embroidery, bracelet making, watercolour paints and sketching.

While we were crafting, we chatted, learned from each other, and had a lovely time together, leaving with something tangible to take home at the end. This also created a relationship between my daughter and an older lady in church who now regularly invites her over to learn and practice crochet. How amazing that my 10-year-old can say that she has a friend of that age who isn’t her granny!

Invite People to a Dinner Party

Recently, I received an email from International Justice Mission (IJM) encouraging people to gather with friends to celebrate International Women’s Day and raise money for women in slavery or other dangerous situations.

I decided to host a dinner party. There were only 5 of us, but it was the perfect number for everyone to feel comfortable around each other and have the opportunity to chat. I made Honey and Miso chicken with rice and sugar snaps peas. Because we’re middle-aged women, everyone offered to bring something, so we had a pavlova for dessert (which came with its own story – a great conversation starter!), fruit juice, soda and wine! One woman even brought fancy chocolates to savour after the meal.

I’d planned to move over to the sofas, but we ended up sat around the dinner table for almost 4 hours. I recently met up with one of the women I invited, and she brought up how much fun she’d had. We laughed so hard that night, and we all got to know one another better.

Another idea along these lines is a cookbook club where each member brings a dish from a particular cookbook or food writer. You could all take turns to host, giving you an excuse to gather and eat together on a regular basis.

Throw a ‘Favourite Things’ Party

I have yet to try this myself, but I’ve heard good things and would love to have a go. The premise is that you each bring something you’re loving and enjoying right now. For example, the best eye cream you’ve ever tried, the vegetable chopper that’s revolutionised cooking, your favourite book, or a small business purchase that’s brought you joy.

You can focus on real-life influencing by simply sharing your item and why it’s your favourite. Alternatively, you can turn it into a gift giving exercise. You can do this secret Santa style with each person bringing one wrapped item, or if the group is small enough, bring multiples of each item to hand out.

Attend a Creative Class or Workshop

I love going to a class or an event with friends where you’re able to chat and socialise but also make something specific like a wreath, a mug or a painting. A couple of years ago, my friend Naomi and I went to make a mug each and eat pizza together. We had a great time. This doubled as our Christmas gift to each other.

Pottery painting places are great too. When I got married, my hens organised a morning of pottery painting for me. I went back a couple of years later with my mum. It’s a great way to catch up with friends while doing something creative. As an added bonus, you’ll have something useful to remind you of the time you spent together.

Do Chores Together

Often, life is so busy, meeting up with friends slips further and further down our to-do list. My solution to this problem is to do something together that needs doing anyway.
Ideas include bringing your laundry over to a friend’s house to sort or iron together. You could also batch cook together or wrap gifts during a busy birthday season. Some chores must be done at home, but some can be transported.

I plan to run a Christmas card writing event in early December, so look out for that if it’s of interest. If you’re not local to me in Northern Ireland, why not organise your own? It’s a great thing to do with a friend. You’ll get your Christmas cards written and catch up during a busy season of the year.