What Should We Do Tonight? 50 Ideas and a Way to Pick

Low-key nights in

Good when people are tired, the weather is bad or the budget is gone for the month.

• Movie marathon with one rule: everyone nominates one film, the group votes on two
• Cook-off: two teams, one shared ingredient, the rest of the group judges
• Board game night, with a different person choosing the first game each time
• Takeaway tasting: order three small dishes from three places and rank them
• Karaoke from a TV or laptop
• Puzzle and podcast night
• Homemade pizza with a toppings bar
• A themed quiz where each person writes five questions
• Video game tournament with a simple bracket
• Watch the first episode of three new series and pick one to start together
• Make-your-own cocktail or mocktail night
• Old photo night: everyone brings ten pictures from ten years ago

Cheap nights out

Plans that cost little beyond getting there.

• Sunset walk to a viewpoint, then street food
• Free museum or gallery late opening
• Pub or cafe quiz night
• Open mic or comedy night
• A night market
• Bowling or mini golf, split between the group
• Picnic in a park that stays open late
• A long walk through a neighbourhood none of you know
• Cheap-ticket cinema night
• A free outdoor concert or screening

Food first

For groups where dinner is the plan.

• The place everyone keeps saying they will try
• A cuisine nobody in the group has had before
• Dessert crawl: three stops, one dessert each
• Brunch-for-dinner at a place that serves breakfast late
• Dumplings, tacos or tapas: anything you can share
• The old favourite, if it has been a while
• A food hall, so everyone picks their own
• A rooftop or terrace spot while the weather holds
• Hot pot or Korean barbecue for bigger groups
• A chef's counter or tasting menu for a celebration

Get moving

For groups with energy to spare.

• Climbing or bouldering gym
• Night swim or a late sports session
• Padel, five-a-side or a casual pickup game
• Escape room
• Go-karting
• Dance class or a social dance night
• Trampoline park
• A night hike with head torches, somewhere safe and known

When nobody has any energy

Small plans still count as plans.

• Coffee and a short walk
• Ice cream run
• Bookshop browse, then a drink nearby
• Car drive with a playlist everyone adds to
• Watch a match together
• Early dinner, home by nine
• A video call where everyone eats the same takeaway
• Nothing planned: meet at one place and decide there
• Sit outside somewhere quiet and talk
• Swap plans: each person suggests what they would do alone tonight

How to pick one in three steps

The list above is the easy part. The hard part is the group chat, where every idea gets a thumbs-up and nothing gets booked. Three rules fix most of it.

1. Shortlist two to six options. One person picks them; more than six and nobody reads them all.
2. Ask everyone to answer every option, not just name a favourite. A Yes, Maybe or No on each option shows what people can live with, which is usually where the plan is.
3. Set a cut-off and stick to it. When it passes, the top pick wins.

Settle is built around those three rules. The organizer adds the options, picks a deadline and shares one link in the group chat. Friends tap Yes, Maybe or No on each option in their browser, and when the deadline passes the top pick wins and Settle makes a settled card to send back to the chat. One tap sends a reminder to the people who are slow to vote. See how the Settle app works.

After you decide

A decision is only half a plan. Add the time and the place so everyone has the same details, and let people confirm they are coming. In Settle, friends confirm from the same link they voted on, and one tap adds the plan to a calendar or opens directions.

Next time, the group's history helps: Settle keeps a memory of what your group picked before and how it went, so the next poll starts with better options. For food decisions specifically, read how to decide where to eat with friends.

Questions

Try it