Whether a long time or new friend, our relationships deserve nurturing. As my father used to sing, “make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.” Try some of the following ideas to honor your silver and gold buddies on National Best Friends Day!
Write Them a Letter
Between instant messaging, emails, and phone calls, letter writing is probably on the bottom of the list of how people send and receive communications. While far from the most convenient (I can’t stand visiting the post office), it can sometimes feel the most personal ─ possibly due to that extra effort. If you know, or can find, the address of a friend, write them a handwritten letter letting them know how much they mean to you. You can include favorite memories, words of affirmation, pictures, or drawings. Bonus points if you use pretty paper when sending letters to the aesthetically driven Libras in your life.
Amazing Gift Idea: For my 30th birthday during COVID, my best friend and little sister collected letters from loved ones and surprised me with a box of love ─ swoon. I highly recommend this!
Serenade Them
Serenading isn’t just for lovers! In high school and early college, when Facebook was still new, we would leave public video messages on one another’s profiles. After leaving for college, one of my best friends would record herself singing songs for me. To this day, I light up every time Facebook memories shows me one of these videos. Whether you’re brave enough (for those of us who don’t sing) to go the public display of affection route or if you prefer a private method, tell someone you love them in song!
Send a Thoughtful Gift
I’m not talking about a gift card to their favorite store (though that’s fun, too), but rather something you know they’d enjoy and includes a personal touch. It also doesn’t need to be expensive ─ they might love chocolate, cute small plants, refrigerator magnets, trying new beers, whatever!
For an extra special gift for people who love super personal touches, a photo album or small box of items that speak to your friendship can really hit that emotional awwwwwww point!
Dive Deeper
You’ve probably seen the lists of questions for falling in love, but did you know you can do these with your friends, too? Just like with a romantic relationship, friendships deserve to be nurtured and deepened. Come up with five questions you’d like to ask a friend and invite them to come up with some to get to know one another better. Share your responses and see where the conversation takes you!
Make Plans
This might seem obvious, but sometimes we forget to make time to see the people in our lives. Work, children, school, etc. gets in the way and our friends end up on the backburner. If you are within visiting distance and can do so safely, meet up. If not, schedule a call or zoom to get in that quality time! For some fun in-person date ideas that can be used for lovers or friends, check out my recent blog, Date Ideas from Sam & Maya at LEQ!
