Treat Your Best Mate on International Friendship Day

In the age of social media, we have a tendency to take friends for granted, and when we say ‘friends’ we mean proper friends, the ones you tell all your secrets to, not a Facebook friend who you worked with for six months back in 2008. Today is International Friendship Day and we think this is the perfect excuse to put down you phone and give your best mate a call. Hang on a sec, that doesn’t work… how about turn off your messaging apps, call your friend and then put down your phone. Because how many of us actually have regular conversations with our besties on the phone these days?

But you shouldn’t stop there. Why not use International Friendship Day to organise an evening out, or even a weekend away? Quality time together shouldn’t have to mean always exchanging messages, so here are a few ideas on how you can celebrate your friendship in style…

A Weekend Break with Friends

Depending on what you and your friends enjoy, this could take many different forms. What about a wifi-free chill-out in a country cottage? There are plenty of online travel providers that can help you book weekend stays in lots of different rural locations and all you have to do is show up with enough wine to last you a couple of nights, and then you can go head and put the world to rights with your nearest and dearest. Or there’s always the option of having a city break – great if you have kids, or friends with kids, and they actually want a break from the sitting around, drinking wine and putting the world to rights. And what better break than a raucous night out? Or indeed, several nights out…

Or there is another option entirely. Treatwell offer savings on spa breaks and complete pamper packages. So perfect for friends of a certain age. Or just those who appreciate good spoiling

An Interesting Day Out

There’s nothing like an activity to bond over, especially one that neither you or your friends have tried before, so ask them to clear a date in their diary for something a bit more…unusual, shall we say. How about a quad biking safari? Or maybe a spot of archery? You might even want to consider a bush craft course for when you next get stuck in the wilderness and want to channel your inner-Bear Grylls. Whatever you choose to do, just make sure it’s something that will create some memories that you can all have a good laugh about on your next weekend away (maybe in that country cottage we mentioned earlier), and if you want some more unusual and interesting ideas for days out, Red Letter Days can offer plenty of inspiration and savings.

Friendship Bracelets

When it comes to giving your best mate something tangible, it doesn’t get more friendship-themed that a good old friendship bracelet. You could go with the traditional friendship bracelet option like the ones you made at school with lots of different embroidery threads and a certain degree of skill. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden recently made one for his bestie President Barack Obama on his birthday, and if it’s good enough for the leaders of the Western World, then it’s good enough for the rest of us.

Alternatively, if your creative skills are slightly lacking, you could take advantage of the current friendship bracelet trend that been taken up by many jewellery brands right now and pick out a stylish piece for your BFF. Names such as Links of London and Swarovski Crystal have released a number of different designs and you can have a browse and save with House of Fraser .

Of course, every day is a day for friends, but let International Friendship Day inspire you to spend some time with your besties and show them how much you love them! You never know, they might have done something for you in return too…

By Anna Scott, 7th August 2016