Friendship. I love that word. It embodies so many memories and makes me grin, ear to ear, thinking about all the friends who define what friendship is to me. I know you have those people in your life as well. But life, well, it is insanely busy, and if I am not careful, I can neglect my friendships, or I might wait around waiting for someone else to plan the fun. Fostering friendship is a must to keep the connection alive. Here are my go-to favorite friend dates.
The Play Date
Life goes to a whole new level of busy when becoming a mom, and the play date is a fun way to have time with girlfriends without arranging childcare. It has the added plus of giving your little people important friendship building time as well!
Meet at the park, fast-food play area or at a home, but be sure to meet in a place with kid-friendly play areas for optimum friend bonding time.
The Silly Date
I have moments etched into my memory where time with friends was just plain silly and fun. I cannot walk into a Michael’s without smiling because of an afternoon I spent giggling with a good friend. There was no specific purpose to the Michael’s trip, apart from being around each other.
Just be silly together. It is essential in the development of friendship. If you cannot laugh with your friend over how uncontrollable laughing makes you pee your pants a little, can you be completely honest?
The Girl’s Night
Or morning or afternoon. It doesn’t matter the time, but gathering a group of girlfriends together does matter. Get a pedicure or go to the movies or go out for a fancy meal. For a tight budget, you can do DIY pedis or a movie night at home or do potluck style fancy meals. Whatever it is, just have fun together, and have a moment to eat your meal hot while talking only to adults for a bit.
A Place to Connect
Plan a walk or a hike or a meal together, but when I am craving one-on-one connection with a good friend, I create space allowing us to both take a deep breath and talk about all the big and little things that make friendship great.
I am an introvert by nature, so the one-on-one time with my girlfriends matters. A place where I am not distracted and can just be without small talk is a gift.
