Entertain Yourself

• Instead of spending your money on cover charges and expensive bar drinks, catch up with your local film, art or theatre scene. Get tickets to a show or movie and have dinner at a place that goes with the show's theme. Mingle at an art opening or check out a local band at a coffee shop or music venue. You'll have been exposed to some new ideas or at least mildly entertained, and you may even meet some creative people like yourself. If you want to inspire your friends, plan a night where you all go to a show together, then have drinks at someone's place or a late-night restaurant afterward.
  
  

Bring the Party to You

• Perhaps you're not in the mood to fight for parking downtown, you don't like to dance or you just want to be able to catch up with friends without thumping in your ears. Host a late night cocktail party or an elegant dinner party at your place. Wrap some white Christmas lights around the trees in the back or around some branches hung from your dining room ceiling for ambiance, and have everyone bring a dish if you're low on funds. Host a themed dinner party where you watch movies and play games featuring a certain director or a particular actor or time period.
  
  

Go to Dive Bars

• Perhaps you're a beer enthusiast and want to relax at a bar drinking an exciting new wheat ale, or you enjoy low key holes in the wall with colorful characters, pool, dart boards or even ping pong. If so, a dive bar's probably your key to an exciting night out. A dive bar traditionally meant a tiny, unknown bar, probably fairly low brow. In cities like San Diego, a dive bar can also mean a waterhole jumping with hipsters, custom-designed cocktail drinks and retro, underground or even kitschy tunes playing. Dive bars are also traditionally cheap, but this may not be the case depending on your city.
  
  

Stay In

• You may think that the entire world is out and about on a Friday or Saturday night, but there's nothing wrong with staying in with your loved ones, pets or on your own for a refreshing night at home. Take a relaxing bath with candles, rent your favorite movies and fix yourself your favorite dinner --- or get takeout. Use your free time for true rest and relaxation. If the weather's cooperating, sit out on your porch and delve into a new book or take out your favorite craft.