The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Illustration by Luiza Holub

How to | Connect with a Friend

Iona Bower July 26, 2022

The last couple of years have really made us think about what our friends mean to us. But when you haven’t seen someone special for a while, or regular meet-ups fall by the wayside it can be hard to reach out. Here are our favourite ten ideas for ways to reconnect with a friend, or simply to remind someone why they are valued and loved. 

  1. Send a postcard. You don’t have to be on holiday - a picture postcard from a museum or gallery or simply of the town you live in will make a friend smile. You can even make postcards of your own photos on card-sending websites like Thortful.com and send it online with your own message. 

  2. Lend a book. Finished a book you loved? Pop it through your friend’s door and then pencil in a very exclusive book club meet to discuss it. 

  3. Organise a road trip. It worked for Thelma and Lousie… until it didn’t. It doesn’t have to be terribly exciting but being told to keep a morning free and then whisked off for a picnic, a coffee and a gallery or just a drive to somewhere beautiful and a long chinwag on the way there is the stuff memories are made of. 

  4. Bond over a box set. Are you both Pottery Throwdown nuts or Sewing Bee superfans? If you can’t watch from the same sofa, make an appointment for a phone call from your respective sofas so you can dissect each moment as it happens. 

  5. Jog a memory. Dig out an old photo of you both and email it to her, or send her a DVD of a film you watched together a long time ago. 

  6. Take up a hobby together. Going to Nordic Walking together or meeting each week before a drawing class means you’re both more likely to show up. And when there’s inevitably someone slightly irritating in the class, you can laugh about it after over a glass of wine. 

  7. Make plans. Every journey starts with a single step, and even if it’s a long way off, planning a holiday, a big celebration or simply a special day out is a lovely way to spend a few hours with someone you love. And a good friend will never laugh when you get out your moodboards. 

  8. Use the element of surprise. Whether it’s a bunch of flowers, a ticket to an online lecture, or a fancy meal kit, receiving a little treat for no reason at all feels just lovely, and is an excellent way to show someone that they are in your thoughts and that you value their friendship. 

  9. Make a mix tape (or a Spotify playlist if you aren’t in the 1980s). It was how we showed our love when we were 13 and we all know there is no friendship as intense as that between two 13 year olds who love the same bands. Include songs you know she likes as well as songs that mean something to both of you. 

  10. Grow your own. We all like receiving homegrown fruit or veg. Go one better and take her a jar of jam or chutney made from your produce and then later in the year, a few seeds from your plants so she can grow something from something you grew yourself! Aw!

We were inspired to think more about our friends this month having read our feature on why we need friends, by theschooloflife.com. You can read all about it in our July issue, on sale now. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our July issue…

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How to | Connect with a Friend
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InWellbeing Tagsissue 121, wellbeing, friends
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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