Henrique: Boardgames, Potlucks or Movie session - all the excuses you need to meet your new friends

Personally I must say that I am not very fond of birthday parties, Christmas, Easter or other kinds of celebrations per se, but I love to use those excuses to gather some friends around, share food, and have some laughs together. Today I want to share some ideas about how to make excuses to fi nd some friends around. 

It’s been 1 year and a half since I arrived in Sweden and when I was about to travel I remember having a clear goal in mind to try hard to make some friends and stay out of my comfort zone.

I grew up as quite a shy person, but I had the luck to meet good friends even though I'm not that open to meeting new people every time. Some people like to go pubs or nightclubs for those purposes, but I always preferred cozyness rather than loud music and expensive drinks.
Yes, I’ll always advocate for a place to sit! 🪑

I wasn’t super comfortable inviting some yet unknown people to my new place here in Sweden, but after some years living by myself in a tiny house, I realized people interested in being friends will fi nd a way to fi t in and will make themselves comfortable. 🛋️

I didn’t have many ideas about how I would approach my guests, until I found those:

I tried to learn everything, realized some people had experience with some of them, and then we tried to play the ones that were the most inclusive for most people and it was quite successful. Later I searched for some free options online as well, but even with a simple deck of cards, people may get very entertained.

(note: In case you want to try, you may fi nd many cheaper boardgames in secondhand stores)

It wasn’t the only thing I tried. Eventually I hosted some potlucks as well. Just ask for people to contribute with whatever you can, don’t need to be fancy. It is impressive how people like to share their gastronomical experiences. 🫕

Movie nights as well are very easy to arrange. If you have a room and a laptop (+ some popcorn, please) it's done! There are many streaming services and free online movies available and they are easily found.

Look, I understand it can be kinda exhausting to think about organizing a meeting with so many things happening with our immigration experience. It can also be scary to be rejected when you invite some people and no one is available (this happens too) or that people will not like your idea, but it is extremely important to try!

It may need some trial and error experiences to know your group of friends deeper, and of course it will be different for each group and culture. But my best advice is to be patient with other people and with your own time.

I think this is it… I pass my turn. 🎲