Pennies are tight, and you want to stay in and have a cheap evening, but not sure what to do?  Whether you have housemates, live on your own or with your partner, there are many things that you can do to fill your time.

Here’s our list of things that you can do:

Play a Board Game

Shake the dust off of those old board games that you have, or go out and buy one as they can be cheap and be used over and over again.

For the older people reading this you could be nostalgic and go back to your childhood and play Game of Life, Monopoly, Scrabble,  Operation or Hotel – most of these are still available in online shops, or if not, try eBay.  Alternatively you could try the new generation of board games such as, Ingenious, Mr and Mrs, Articulate or Tension.

Rent the Latest Computer Game

From the old to the modern, invite some friends around, go to Blockbuster and rent out the latest computer game – invite some mates around, get a take away, have some beers and have a fun evening driving, shooting or whatever activity takes your fancy (on the computer!)

Rent that Film You’ve Wanted to Watch

Undoubtedly, there is one film that you have been meaning to watch for months, if not years.  Take the time to source it and either buy or rent it and settle down on the sofa and watch it.

Write That Overdue Letter

Modern technology has impacted all of our lives, so with a quiet night in, take the time to write a letter to a friend or family member that you haven’t spoken to in a while.  Email’s are quick and convenient, but sometimes its just nice to send or receive a letter.

Cook Your Favourite Dinner

Take the time to prepare and make your favourite meal and then enjoy with a nice glass of wine or a beer, depending on your preference.

Read

This may take a bit more than one night of staying in, but pick up a book that will keep you interested and read it.

Dance!

Everyone likes to dance in the privacy of their living room!  Turn on the CD player / iPod and just let yourself go wild in your living room or bedroom!

Have a Long, Hot Soak

Buy some bubble bath, some scented candles and a glass of wine and when you get home run a bubble bath, light the candles and enjoy a glass of wine.  You can even include reading a book whilst you do, doubling up on our list of things to do.

Organise

There must be a pile of papers or bills that you have been putting off organising for a long time, but if you’re looking to stay in and save some money, what better time to do it than then?

Have a Lads or Girls Night In

The lads version was covered earlier with the renting of a computer game, some beers and takeaway.  This may appeal to some girls, but for others it won’t, so as an idea, why not invite some female friends over, rent a film, get a takeaway and just relax on the sofa.

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Living with someone can test the strongest of friendships, so what chance do you have of finding a stranger that you will get on with to live with you?  Well it can be tricky and dependant on whether you are looking for someone to just rent a room and contribute towards the rent or someone that you can get on with and socialise with too.

Many of us feel awkward about seeking for a specific type of person in fear of not being politically correct or offending someone, but by human nature there are people that we know we will get on with and others that you won’t, so just think of it as setting the rules from the outset and if you are not offensive in your advert, no one will take offence.

Finding a new housemate is a little similar to an interview, in that you want to find out about them so that you can make the decision to see if they will blend in, so when a possible housemate contacts you (or you contact them) invite them to come view the property, this will also give you the opportunity to sit down, have a drink and try to suss them out and find out what their interests are to see whether you will get on with them.

Some may not have a clue what to ask when “Interviewing” someone to see if they will fit in a household, but some good starters, just to get a conversation going could include finding out:

• Are they a clean and tidy person or a bit scatty and untidy?
• Do they have any hobbies or interests?
• Do they have any strange or annoying habits?
• Do they like to go out on mad weekend benders?
• Do they plan to throw nay wild parties?
• Do they use drugs?
• What are their expectations of cleanliness in a home?
• What music do they like?
• Where do they work and what hours do they do?
• Will they be brining their partner over to say and if so, how often?
• Will they be willing to join in the cleaning?

This is by no means a definitive list, just some starters for ten!

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1. Refer to your roommate using terms of endearment such as sweet cheeks and honey buns.
2. Pretend to take whilst pretending to be asleep on the sofa.
3. Ask your roommate if your family could move in for a couple of weeks and pretend its true for a few days.
4. Impersonate a film character for the day, for example Forest Gump.
5. When the phone rings, get up and answer the door.
6. When someone knocks on the door, get up and answer the phone.
7. Tell your roommate that someone called for them whilst they were out but say you can’t remember who or what they wanted.
8. Every time that you wake up, start screaming “Where am I?” and run around your room for a few minutes, then return to bed.
9. Buy a Jack in the Box and every day turn the handle until the clown pops out, when it does; scream around continuously for ten minutes.
10. Smile… all the time.
11. Make a sandwich, but instead of eating it, leave it on the kitchen floor.  When your roommate throws it in the bin, ask them where it is and complain loudly that’s how you liked your sandwiches and how hungry you are.
12. Scatter stuffed toys  around the room with party hats on and play loud music.  When the roommate walks in, turn off the music, take off the party hats and starting putting the toys away saying it was fun while it lasted.
13. Every time you take a shower, scream “I’m Melting! I’m Melting!”
14. Take the mechanism out of a musical greetings card and place it underneath a rug or carpet, so whenever your roommate walks on it, it activates the sound.
15. Use a small piece of black tape to block the SKY remote sensor so when your roommate wants to watch TV, they can’t change the channel.

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Playing pranks on housemates can be fun, so we thought that we would put together some of the funnier house share prank clips we saw in 2008, maybe you could use them as ideas but be careful if you do as we can’t be held responsible if anything goes wrong!

Enjoy…

Putting Talc in your Flatmates Hair Dryer

Butter the Floor

Newspaper Room Prank

1,000 Balloons

;

These are just a couple of our favourite housemate pranks from last year.  Let us know what you think or if you have any other great (and funny) ideas!

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For some reason, when people get drunk, it is the ideal time to try those things that you never would sober, or just generally do the most insane and crazy (but sometimes funny, or cringe-worthy)  things.  Here’s our top ten of true drunken incidents in no particular order…

Sleeping in the Wrong Room

One drunken student living in halls of residence got the lift to the wrong floor (in fairness, most university halls do look very similar floor to floor) but they  went to what they though was their room only to be woken up in the morning by several individuals asking who they hell they were!

Apologising to the Dogs

After one too many drinks, a housemate decided to get into the dog cage with their beloved canines to be later found by a more sober roommate, apologising to the dogs for their being drunk.

Stair Surfing

A team of drunken housemates found that the best way to entertain themselves was by removing the legs of an ironing board and to use it to slide down the stairs, only for the fun to end prematurely when they went straight into the front and pretty much ruined it.

Wetting the Bed

One very intoxicated flatmate, was sharing their single bed with their girlfriend only to be woken a few hours later by their girlfriend punching them to wake them up.  The poor culprit had passed out and wet themselves, their girlfriend and the bed… nice!

Brought Home Traffic Cones, Road Signs

Not to sure if this is exempt to housemates, but there have been many incidents of people walking home from the nightclub and picked up some souvenirs en route, namely traffic cones and roads signs, only for other housemates to wake up in the morning to find their house decorated like a road works site.

Large Water Bombs

One considerate roommate in halls decided to fill bin liners with water and throw them out of their window on other drunks walking past, nothing like a cold shower to sober you up!

Called an Ex

Needs no explaining, we’ve all been there!

Anything Round’s a Toilet

Rubbish bins, laundry baskets… they’ve been mistaken for urinals by many a housemate.

Snorting… Absinthe

A group of flatmates decided to have a party, nothing unusual here until they got out the Absinthe and decided to start snorting it.

Drunk Cinema Antics

A group of housemates thought that it would be nice to go out together to the cinema, however one over indulged with the alcohol in a nearby bar before they went into the cinema.  Whilst they were in there, this unfortunate housemate fell asleep, only to wake up (well, still in a daze) during the film and walked down a few rows and began pushing the wall as if it were a door, much to the amusement of those in the cinema.

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