Not only will this make sure you always have a place to hang out, it will keep you from breaking the bank. Nowadays everything is so expensive, which is why my friends and I almost always hang out at one of our houses. We have a hefty sized group, ten people if everyone comes and occasionally more if people bring dates, so you would think it would be hard to find a place for us to stay. It is actually quite simple, always stay at one of our houses. With ten people it can be hard as not everyone has houses large enough to hold so many people. Plus, most parents wouldn’t be too keen on having so many teenagers over their house weekly.
There are a few tricks to this. The first is to try to rotate where we stay every time. We are all polite kids, but every parent gets tired of having a houseful of teenagers every week. Decide whose houses work to hang out at, and then rotate through them every week. My group has one house we typically end up at, mostly because there is a hot tub which comes in handy on chilly NH nights, but we try to go to other places as well so her mom doesn’t get too overwhelmed.
Another trick is to always be polite. Of course, remember your please and thank you’s, but another thing that does wonders is not being too loud. Many parents that have to work in the morning may go to bed before everyone leaves, so be respectful that they are trying to sleep and keep the noise levels down. Also, try to leave by a reasonable time. Every once in a while, staying over late is ok, but not every time. We always try to leave by 11:30 most nights.
Lastly, always bring food. It makes things so much easier if everyone just brings one little dish, maybe a bag of chips, popcorn, candy, fruit, anything, and hosting at your house is so much easier. Not to mention it is easier for the parent as they don’t have to worry as much about providing food weekly for a horde of hungry teenagers.
Not only is staying at a friend’s house easier than it seems, it is far cheaper than having to find a place to go every week. Buying a bag of chips is far less expensive than paying for a movie, mini golf, or bowling every week. Just remember to be respectful and generous.