Bonding With Your Friends

Bonding With Your Friends

There’s tons of advice out there on great ways to keep our romantic relationships fresh or new ways to please our partners, but we hear very little about ways to nurture our friendships. It’s important not to let our friendships get stagnant and complacent or we can start to take them for granted. Here are some great ways to shake things up with your friends and get some summer great bonding time in:

·        Camping. This is an awesome way to spend time with your friends. It involves planning the trip, preparing, driving out to the campsite together, setting up the tent, and so many other bonding activities all rolled into one. Camping is an experience that is fun and relaxing but has elements of work and a sense of accomplishment built in too. You’ll have a great time with your friends and make so many new memories together. It’s great to get away from your usual surroundings and enjoy the natural scenery together without the distractions of your daily lives.

·        Physical challenge. Whether it’s training for a race together, doing a hike, a triathlon or anything physical, it’s bound to be a great bonding experience. Working towards something physical is a great way to help motivate each other and feel a great sense of achievement when you complete it. Rewarding yourselves afterwards is also part of the fun.

·        Road trip. It doesn’t even matter where you go, just pile into a car and hit the road. Getting out on the open road makes way for great conversation, singing in the car and trying to navigate where you’re going. You’ll see new places, and getting out of town and away from distractions is a great way to get closer with your friends.

·        Technology free beach day. Going to the beach is fun, but sometimes everyone ends up texting and facebooking photos the whole time instead of talking. Declare your next day at the beach to be technology free. Instead, spend your time lying in the sun and talking, working on a crossword puzzle together or playing a game together. You’ll be amazed at how much more you talk and learn about each other when you aren’t staring at your phone the whole time.

·        Volunteer. Pick a cause that you all believe in and go and volunteer for an afternoon. Maybe it’s at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, kids camp, or SPCA. Whatever it is, you’ll feel great about helping others and it gives you some variety from just sitting around or hanging out at the mall. You might like it so much that you and your friends will make it a regular occurrence.