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50 Ways to Nurture Friendships as an Adult

By March 2, 2020No Comments

The truth is, it’s hard to make and nurture friendships as an adult. Between kids, husbands, work duties, personal time, etc. it takes effort to maintain friendships. If it’s important to you, though, be sure and include it in your life. These suggestions go beyond the cliche “How’s it goin?” or “What’s up?” when approaching a friend. When done over time and consistently, these ideas can cultivate true, authentic friendships. Keep in mind, a lot of these can be done without the need to be together physically & can be done in a few minutes. If you feel like friendships are lacking in your life, or you wish you had better friendships, be sure to consult this list and be committed to nurturing them more often!

  1. Send a text 
  2. Go to lunch
  3. Start a book club
  4. Start a dinner club
  5. Invite people over for a game night
  6. Go on a girls’ trip
  7. Tell someone how much their friendship means to you
  8. Surprise a friend with a note on their doorstep
  9. Take them dinner
  10. Be present
  11. Be a safe place they can share their feelings
  12. Validate their feelings
  13. Laugh at their jokes
  14. Curate a variety of friends so you don’t rely on the same person or people all the time
  15. Go on walks with someone at a certain time each week or day
  16. Own your awkwardness, if you are feeling it, and tell them you’d love to be their friend
  17. Compliment them
  18. Share something vulnerable
  19. Hold space for them when they share something vulnerable
  20. Share what show you’ve been binging on & ask them the same
  21. Ask for advice
  22. Be proactive in contacting friends, don’t wait for them or keep score
  23. Call someone up
  24. Invite someone to do something spontaneously
  25. Leave a message saying you were just thinking of them
  26. Say yes! It’s easy to find excuses, but be the yes-girlfriend when invited somewhere
  27. Say sorry when necessary
  28. Show up without asking when they need help
  29. Go to a conference & learn something new together
  30. Put your arm around them when you greet them
  31. Remember their birthday
  32. Be there when they need it
  33. Host a gathering 
  34. Be cautious about offering advice; a listening ear is all most people need
  35. If you do feel the need to offer advice–ask for permission to share it.
  36. Send a Marco Polo
  37. For a group of close friends, carry on an on-going conversation in a group texting app
  38. Send a photo through text of something that reminds you of them & say “thinking of you!”
  39. Make a standing appointment to get together once a month
  40. Ask for help about something they are good at
  41. Hug them!
  42. Tell them you’re coming over to help them with any task they want
  43. Support their business, their dreams, their talents!
  44. Tell them what you admire about them
  45. If they are a Mom, tell them what a good Mom they are & why you think that
  46. If you’ve known each other for a long time, share an old photo of the two of you
  47. Give them a hand massage
  48. Introduce your friends to other friends that don’t know each other
  49. Laugh a lot, create personal jokes
  50. Make time for them

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