By HELEN VNUK

Fancy a night out with friends? How about a night in?

The idea of going out always sounds great in theory, but the reality can be VERY different. You can end up footsore and hungry, with your ears ringing from music you hate – and not to mention, low on cash. It’s not hard to come up with reasons why it’s better to stay home with wine, friends and great conversation. Here are nine of the best:

1. You don’t need to brave the bar.

You don’t have to spend ages hanging around trying to catch the bartender’s eye, just so you can get a drink. Then you don’t have to stifle your gasp at how much they’re charging for a glass of sav blanc (you could almost buy a whole bottle for that!), and try to make your way back to your friends, only to have some clumsy bloke bump into you and spill half of your wine on your shoes. You are your own bartender, and you’ll never keep you waiting.

2. You control the music.

You don’t have to listen to anything by Miley Cyrus. Or, you don’t have to listen to anything not by Miley Cyrus. You’re your own DJ, which means you can spend the whole night jumping up and down screaming, “Oh my god, I love this song!”

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Brown Brothers. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words. 

3. You can avoid cheesy pick-up lines.

Such as these pearlers:

“Are you a parking ticket? ‘Cause you have ‘fine’ written all over you.”

“Hey, pretty lady. I know Klingon, and tonight, I’m going to Klingon to you.”

“Is that a mirror in your pocket? Because I can see me in your pants.”

“Do you have a band-aid? I scraped my knee falling for you.”

“Are you an orphanage? Because I want to give you kids.”

But you can laugh with your friends about all the bad ones you’ve heard over the years.

4. You’ll always be wearing the right clothes.

You know what it’s like to brave icy winds as you trek through backstreets in search of some hip new club you’ve heard about – and then to get inside that packed club and spend the rest of the night sweating. Being home means you don’t have to lug extra layers around with you to cope with these changes in climate. Your whole wardrobe is right there.

5. Your feet will thank you.

Your feet won’t develop massive blisters because you were wearing your ridiculously expensive shoes that you tried on in the shop and really did feel amazingly comfortable for those 30 seconds but then turned out to dig into you like some kind of bear trap… In fact, you don’t have to wear shoes at all – you can curl up barefoot in a comfy chair. Heaven.

6. You can skip the horror that is toilet queues.

You know the toilets are clean, you don’t have to queue up for them and you’re going to have plenty of good-quality loo paper. You also know that you’re going to be able to get the washbasin taps to work without wondering what the trick to them is.

7. You don’t have to clog your arteries.

You won’t be tempted to have a dodgy kebab on the way home. You can stock up on delicious food you can tuck into at any time during the evening. You can even make your own kebab. The non-dodgy kind.

8. You can forget about the desperate quest for a taxi.

You don’t have to wander along a dark street looking for a cab, jumping up and down and waving stupidly at any you see, then finally, gratefully, climb into one, only to find the driver has a strange odour and has never heard of your suburb. You’re home already.

9. You don’t have to shout to be heard.

You’ll never have any of those conversations where your friend is shouting something at you over the music and you can’t hear her so you just nod and smile… even though what she’s really saying is, “My husband’s having an affair with the babysitter – do you think I should leave him?” You can have real, enjoyable conversations with your friends, because that’s what friends are for.

What’s your favourite thing about having a night in?

And if you opt for a movie night in with the girls or your family, these are much needed essentials …

Whether it’s out and about, or just staying in, there’s nothing like lively conversation with friends over amazing wine. We can totally relate. We’ve been having great conversations with our drinkers for years, asking the kind of questions we need to plant the right grapes, combine the right flavours and create wines you love to drink. In our 125th year, we’re taking the conversation to a new, and celebratory level. It all starts with an intriguing box of questions, designed to make any get together all the more captivating. Together with our inspiring new Colourful Conversations hub, full of sensational food, wine and styling tips, your next celebration, however big or small, is going to be your best ever. brownbrothers.com.au  #makeitcolourful