The Man Cave: Faux Friday Nights!

Posted on Oct 25 2014 - 7:24pm by Chris Meehan

Outside the Cave: The PROBLEM: Can’t find a weekend night to see and enjoy time with great friends you miss seeing? The 3P SOLUTION: “Faux Friday Nights!”  Even the name itself sets the theme, and it’s enticing! “Wanna have a Faux Friday Night?” We were really missing seeing some close friends (and they felt the same about us), and just couldn’t seem to make it work on a weekend, so we tried scheduling a “light” evening during the week. (We found that Thursday was usually the best, as its closest to the end of the week.) We’re all busy, so the plan for a nice relaxing and stress free mid-week night is to keep the evening simple and maximize the social time, and minimize the fuss.

The Plan-

Appetizer: Although it’s not necessary, sometimes if we’re waiting for food to be delivered, we throw together an easy and quickly prepared appetizer. A few cheeses with fruit and cracker accompaniments are something we usually have on hand and can set out in a flash.

Wine & Cheese Grapic

Drinks: Have your “bar” ready  (including a few non-alcoholic selections) to serve upon arrival, again keeping it simple. Glasses out, ice if needed, and whatever you know you and your company like.

The solution to cooking:

takeout1

– Inexpensive take-out always works, the couple not hosting the evening sometimes picks up a pre-arranged dinner and brings it over; and we split the cost, or prepay with a card! No hassle dinner!  P.F. Chang’s is a favorite with our friends George and Lizette, ordering a Pizza is what Jen & Chris prefer, George & Linda love BBQ or Thai! (Or anything else you like that’s deliverable)…. It all works!

Table and Serving: We’ve found having a “buffet style” format with plates, utensils, etc. next to the food works really well. No muss, no fuss. The focus is on a simple plan that allows for maximum social time together, also knowing that you want to get an early night and not have to spend a lot of time cleaning up. This really works with our buddies Jen and Chris who often work most weekends, and are the ones we started our Faux Friday concept with!

Table setting with stack of plates and cutlery   Wine Glasses, Cutlery, Plates And Napkins

We like to play cards, as do a lot of our friends (Euchre or Canasta). We all very much enjoy an easy evening with a dinner as described above, followed by a couple of hours of cards and socializing. Also, part of the plan is alternating who goes to who’s house. This way no one gets “too much on their plate..” (Excuse the pun..) Great nights with Chris and Jen, and John and Debbie. Some other friends don’t play cards, but love “Mexican Train” domino’s… Nancy and Tony!

mexican-train-dominoes3  Euchre

Another idea is that some couples like to watch the same TV shows. Dinner and a movie or show! Monday or Thursday Night Football! One of my personal Man Cave favorites!

 3P NOTE: Bottom line: Make the time to maintain relationships with good but missed friends. Faux Friday Nights takes the excuse out of getting together! 🙂