LIST: Other holiday barkada gathering ideas aside from dinner and drinks
Have you planned your barkada's Christmas party yet?
Organizing parties or planning activities for your friends may get complicated as sometimes you run out of ideas.
If you want to break the routine of dinners and brunches, opt for a fun and easy activity. Whether you are the group's organizer or just a joiner, you may refer to this list to know what activities you can do with your friends for your next catch-up.
Volunteer and share your skills
Do you know how to make coffee? Painting? Handcrafting? Whatever skills you have, share them this season with the youth.
Bahay Tuluyan, a non-government organization protecting children's rights and avoiding the exploitation of children in the Philippines, offers a program wherein volunteers can share their skills to help their ideas become reality.
Consider celebrating a Christmas party with the less fortunate through activities that may be arranged depending on you and your barkada’s passion. It could be mobilizing volunteers to paint a house, helping design and run a social media campaign, training youth to make coffee, or creating learning tools for children.
Go to an indoor amusement park
Heal your inner child while celebrating the holidays at this indoor amusement park, offering activities and facilities to delight your inner child.
FantasyWorld recently opened its biggest branch at SM Fairview. It offers a trampoline, wall climbing, a giant slide, and a ball pit, among other attractions both kids and adults will enjoy.
It is open for all ages with rates as low as P200 up to P1,100 for an all-access pass on weekdays and P1,200 for weekends.
Play bowling
Have a friendly match and unleash your inner bowler at Studio 300, a bowling alley, bar, and restaurant.
The place is fit for Christmas parties as it offers VIP rooms, KTV, has different performers and hosts live parties. The bowling rate starts at P1,650 per hour and lane with a P65 bowling shoes rental fee and P50 for the socks. For groups of 15 and above, a consumable P1,150 rate per head is required.
The rates for the food and drinks, as well as other sports, vary. Take note that reservations are highly recommended here, especially for big groups.
Play indoor mini golf
Looking for an indoor activity for your Christmas party? Gather your friends and head to Pat's Putts, the Philippines' first indoor mini-golf course. It's a perfect way to combine fun and friendly competition.
The rates for this glow-in-the-dark indoor mini golf course start at P599 (regular rate) and P399 (for 4ft below), both include a 27-hole course, 2-hour equipment rental (putter and ball), and all-day access to the game room and restaurant.
Group rates also vary depending on the number of pax, and they offer exclusive venue rates and custom packages for groups who want to rent the place.
Pat's Putts is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and has branches in Shangri-La and Ayala Malls Manila Bay and Ayala Malls Central Bloc in Cebu.
Do indoor archery
Make your Christmas party interactive and knowledgeable by learning about archery at the DMZ Archery Range located in Project 6, Quezon City.
The rate is P300 per hour, and they cater to either solo, duo, or group and are open on Fridays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Channel Katniss Everdeen or Hawkeye in you as the package includes basic instruction, equipment rental, a range fee, target paper, and unlimited one-hour shooting.
Go roller skating
Ice skating rinks may be too intimidating for beginners, so why not try roller skating first? Learn the basics of roller skating to the beat of K-pop music with your friends this holiday at Roller Fever.
Roller Fever hosts parties and events that are perfect for Christmas parties. The Ayala Malls Manila Bay branch is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. They also have branches at Festival Carnival in Araneta, Quezon City, Lima Technology Center, and Special Economic Zone in Lipa, Batangas.
Rates start at P399 per person for an hourly rate and P699 for an all-day rate. They also offer a 4+1 bundle for groups at P1,499 for one hour. All offers include complimentary use of lockers, skate rental, skating gear, and aids, as well as basic tutorials for beginners.
Join a pottery workshop
You may not be Nara Smith, but you can also create something from scratch. Get your hands muddy, prepare to be artsy, and learn pottery for your Christmas party with your gals.
At Tahanan Pottery Shop and Studio in Scout Tobias, Quezon City, they offer a single or multiple-session pottery party workshop that is ideal for beginners as it is an introduction to the potter's wheel or hand-building functional works.
The workshop accepts a minimum of four pax with prices varying per type of program. It is open from Mondays to Sundays except Thursdays with a maximum 4.5-hour use of space.
Hike
After an all-year-round of work and school responsibilities, you and your friends deserve to relax and breathe fresh air. Get in touch with nature and spend your bonding moments atop a mountain.
The two trails in Mount Sipit Ulang, which means "crab's claw" in Rodriguez, Rizal, are considered by Pinoy Mountaineer as beginner-friendly. The trails are filled with limestones and have beautiful scenery on top, which takes two to three hours to reach.
Registration is done in the logbook at the barangay hall without fees, but a P20 donation is encouraged.
Attend a baking class
Christmas is all about giving and sharing love with people. Why not create and share your baked cake with your friends for your Christmas party activity?
Celebrate the holidays with your friends at Bakebe, a co-baking studio and Manila's first baking studio among its three branches at SM Aura, SM North Edsa, and S Maison.
Rates start at P688 for small pastries like Cake Pop Diva and up to around P2,000 for cakes. They are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
