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School holidays have officially begun, and pens-down events are upon every pupil in the country. The usual norm in South Africa is to have a pens-down party, but what about those who do not drink or party? How can they celebrate their pens-down event without alcohol or smoking?
At these parties, youngsters tend to explore by drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, hookah (hubbly/vape pens) and other narcotics.
READ: Motshekga reiterates "pens down" party warning as 2023 matric exam finish line is in sight
Not every young person in the country drinks and smokes. Even non-drinkers do want to celebrate the fact that they are done with school, and this is doable.
Here are some fun ways that non-drinkers can do this:
1. Go out for lunch at any restaurant
Going out for lunch or supper would be after the last paper of the exams. Friends can organise to go to a restaurant, such as The Rooftop, the Grillhouse, 1947 On Vilakazi Street, or Hell’s Kitchen.
2. Going to a hotel or lodge for the weekend
Friends can organise to go to a hotel for the weekend. In that place, they can talk about the exams, destress on their arrival, go see animals around the resort, or go swimming during the day or night. They can go to places like Dinokeng Resort, City Lodge Hotels in parts of the country, or Emerald Resort & Casino.
3. Go bungee jumping in the Twin Towers in Soweto
Soweto has many places for people to entertain themselves. The Twin Towers happens to be one of the places where people come and conquer their fears. A group of friends can organise themselves to go there but not all will partake. However, it will be fun to go there to share that experience.
4. A spa date
After the stresses of studying and writing exams, a spa day as friends will do the trick to relax and unwind before the festive season. This moment will help them forget about everything, including the result day in January. After their date, they will be relaxed and not be all grumpy.
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5. Host a party with no alcohol
Ultimately, they will want to have a get-together and reminisce about their moments in high school. These can be done at a party with different board games, such as 30 Seconds, Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders. At this party, there is no alcohol, just juice, cold drinks and snacks.
6. Have an outdoor movie night
Organise a group of friends to have an outdoor movie night where there will be people who have the same interest in a movie genre like horror, action, romance or comedy. One must ensure that the movie night is hosted at their home for safety, and it will be easy where they sleepover, use e-hailing or have the same transportation to drop off.
7. Host a karaoke night
How can one unwind without singing? Karaoke night would be perfect for people who believe they can sing and doing this sober would prove if you got talent or not. It would be ideal to choose songs that are very comfortable to sing and songs that people tend to skip.
South Africans should normalise having fun without alcohol and starting it as a young person would mean that drinking alcohol is a choice and not peer pressure.
