Friendly Gives for Friends of Yours

Friends. Who wouldn’t want to prepare gives for friends. If we’re lucky, we have them. And if we’re smart, we remind them how special they are every chance we get.

During these complicated, socially distanced, and often isolating times, it’s more important than ever to recognize our friends. To tell the people in our lives that really matter, that they REALLY DO matter. The people who have made a point to check in on us, with phone calls or video chats, funny text messages or thoughtful emails. The people who have a special way of showing up to lend a hand right when the going gets tough. The people who lighten our load and ease our anxieties with a smile, a hug, a silly selfie and a long-overdue laugh.

Use this International Day of Friendship to remind your most treasured friends why your life is so much better with them in it. Here are some ideas to get you planning friendly gives for your favourite friends.

Daily Gives For Friends That Will Make Both Of You Happy

• Be the friend who reaches out today. Make that call you’ve been putting off for far too long. Send a funny GIF. Tag someone on social media. Start a video chat with one, or even better a bunch of your friends.
• Surprise your friend with home-made treats: Banana bread, cookies, cupcakes, pie. The options truly are endless. If you hadn’t already taken up baking as your quarantine hobby, give it a go, and then deliver those treats to your hungry friends. What’s better than friends? Friends with chocolate, of course!
• If you have friends with small children, one of the friendliest gives you could plan is offering to babysit for them. Don’t wait to be asked. Throw out a lifeline today. I know a lot of parents (myself included!) who have been cooped up with their kids for what feels like forever and would jump at the chance for a little kid-free “me” time. Just one hour to let your friend run an errand, get that much-needed haircut, or take a glorious nap, might very well put you in the Friendship Hall of Fame.
• Want to reach out and say hello in a way that is sure to surprise and make your friend feel extra special? Write a handwritten note, card or letter and mail it to them the old-fashioned way. Better yet, this summer, write to a different friend each week. You might make a new pen pal, and your friends are sure to feel the love.
• Have you read an inspiring book lately or watched an amazing movie that you thought your friend would love? Don’t just tell them about it, send them a copy. Take that inspirational book, write a note inside and pass it on. Get a digital copy of that movie or order a DVD and give it to them with the sentiment that you hope they’ll love it as much as you did.
• Give your friend your undivided attention. When you’re together, put away your phone, avoid distractions and practice active listening. Let your friend know that what they have to say is important, because – it is! And when it’s time for your friend to vent, let them. Be the friend who listens- judgement free.
• Heard a song that made you think about your friend or that brought back special memories? Take that song that gave you all those sentimental friendly feels and send it to your friend today. Or better yet, make an entire playlist of friendship jams. What better way to honour a friendship than with a soundtrack?
• Make a slideshow of your friendship. We all have loads of photos sitting around in our phones, and social media feeds. Take those selfies and snapshots of your cherished times together and create a slideshow. Don’t wait for a birthday, put one together to honour your friend today.
• Not the mixed tape, slideshow or handwritten note type? An easy give that is sure to express how important they are in your life is simply telling them how you feel. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy, melodramatic declaration of your forever friendship. Before saying goodbye on the phone, in person, or when ending your next text, simply say, “I think you’re awesome” or “thanks for being my friend” or if you’re a little shmaltzy like me, “my world is so much better with you in it.”

Make Both of You Happy With These Daily Giving Ideas

In this crazy, unsure and mixed-up world, we all get by with a little help from our friends. So, start giving back to them today. And while you’re at it, join the 365give community of friends and discover even more ways to make daily giving a part of your new friendship routine.