Chat with usThe Ultimate Sisterhood Bucket List: 12 Budget-Friendly Ideas
Sisterhood isn’t always defined by family. Sometimes it’s the friend who answered your late-night phone call, the coworker who became your biggest cheerleader, or the women in your church, book club, or community who remind you daily that you’re not meant to do life alone.
This August, celebrate the women who have chosen to walk beside you through every season of life. Here is a list of our favorite budget-friendly activities and meaningful ways to spend time with your sister, best friend, or sister-friend. Because friendships like these deserve more than a text.
For the Book Lovers:
1. Blind Date With a Book
Wrap a book you already own (or buy one if you don’t want to give away your shelf trophy) in brown paper and write a few vague details on the front. Add clues like “Found family. One morally gray man. You’ll probably cry”. Decorate the outer paper with cute stickers or dried flowers and meet up to trade books.
2. Silent Reading Date
This one is for the friends who love to spend time together, even if it’s in silence. Grab your current read or pick up a new one from your shelf, and meet up at a coffee shop or the library to read together in the quiet. Afterwards, spend time talking about your books – because those “OH MY WORD, GUESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED!” moments are sometimes just necessary.
3. DIY Literary Candles
Get crafty! Grab some inexpensive candles and craft supplies and get decorating! Use bookish quotes, pressed flowers, ribbons, and more and decorate candles to cozy up with your favorite books. Need inspiration? Try phrases like “Hot Girls Read,” “Just One More Chapter,” or “Cozy Mystery.”
Also read: 16 Books Featuring Strong Women to Add to Your Summer Reading List
For The Cozy Girls:
1. DIY Coffee Flight
This one is for our coffee lovers. Run to the store and grab some fancy syrups, creamers, and coffee beans, then make each other a coffee flight. You can also grab some pastries, meats and cheese, and favorite treats to turn this coffee flight into a coffee and brunch tasting experience. Coffee is always a must for the ultimate sisterhood bucket list!
2. Puzzle & Podcast Night
True crime? Book deep dives? Short horror story time? Instead of watching TV or a movie together, turn on your favorite podcast (or discover a new one) and get to work on a new puzzle or two, or Jenga!
3. Upcycle Thrift Store Treasures
This one can go really great, and you’ll make a masterpiece, or it will turn hilariously wrong, and you’ll get some odd-looking art for your home. Run to the thrift store and find quirky paintings, old pottery pieces, or funky picture frames and give them new life! The uglier they are, the funnier the memories. No artistic talent required!
Also read: How to Host the Perfect Galentine’s Day Party: Ideas, Decor & Activities
For the Adventurous Friends:
1. Bookstore Scavenger Hunt
Race your bestie around the bookstore to find everything on your scavenger hunt list. You can build a list like ours below or create your own. Whoever wins buys coffee! Here are some ideas:
- Find a book with a dragon on the cover
- Find a book with a pink cover
- Find a book with a title that starts with your first initial
- Find a book published the year you were born
- Find a romance with a ridiculous title
This might just be the most thrilling activity on your ultimate sisterhood bucket list!
2. Chase the Sunset
Pick a spot with a great view. Grab some snacks and drinks and a picnic blanket, then leave your phones in the car and just spend time together while you watch the sunset. Want to preserve the memories without reaching for your phone? Pick up a digital camera on the way and snap some photos to look back on later.
3. Volunteer Together
Find a local animal shelter, food bank, community shelter, or organization and spend the morning or afternoon serving together. It’s best to check if there is a volunteer application process beforehand, so this one may take some pre-planning. If you don’t have local places to volunteer, prepare meals or care packages to donate to people in need in your community.
Also read: 10 Ways to Plan for a Vacation That Supports Your Budget, Health, and Well-Being
For the Long-Distance Girls:
Long-distance doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with your sister or bestie. Here are a few ways you can celebrate with her no matter how far away she is.
1. Video Call Book Club
Pick a book together and schedule a video call to discuss each chapter as you read. Bonus points if you turn it into a dinner and drinks book club or if you turn it into a weekly or bi-weekly call with your long-distance bestie or sister. Who said reading can’t be a great ultimate sisterhood bucket list idea? It’s brainy and girls’-night worthy!
2. Watch a Movie (or Show) Together with Texting Commentary
Sometimes a video call isn’t necessary. Pick a movie or TV show together and schedule a time to watch “together”. As you watch, text each other with your thoughts, “that was crazy” moments, and what you think will happen next. This is great for those times when you want to spend time together with little effort (or for our introvert besties!).
3. Make (and Send) Comfort Kits for Each Other
Set a budget within your limits and take some time to go shopping at Dollar Tree, Walmart, or somewhere in your budget. Pick out some comfort items and her favorite snacks that you know she’ll love and send it her way. You can also throw in some “Open this when…” letters and notes of encouragement for when she’s sad, on her period, celebrating a win, or just needs a little boost. Pack it all up and ship it to each other!
Celebrate the Sisterhoods That Shape Your Life
Whether she’s your sister by birth, your best friend by choice, or the woman who’s become family somewhere along the way, the best memories usually aren’t the expensive ones. They’re the afternoons spent laughing over thrift-store finds, swapping favorite books, or talking until the coffee gets cold. Whether you’re celebrating Sisters’ and Friendship Day, or simply making time for the women you love, celebrate the women who make life a little lighter, and maybe start a tradition you’ll both look forward to every year.
