Strengthen Friendships And Become More Social This Year

**Collaborative post**

The pandemic has certainly affected our socialising and as things slowly become more normal and we adapt to the way of life that we have now, some of us still find that we are lonely and don’t have many friends or we may find that we’ve lost friends from becoming a parent for various reasons. A great thing to do this year it’s a look at becoming more social and strengthen any friendships that you do have. Having a strong social bond with your peers and people you can rely on could really help your well-being and benefit you emotionally. There are lots of ways you could do this and here are some hints to tips on how to get going this year.

Join Social Groups And Clubs Or Classes

A great way to bond with others and meet new people and make new friends is in different social situations. By joining different clubs or classes and social groups around you you can meet different people with the same interests as you. This helps break the ice on those first conversations if you’re both at cooking class for example as you’re both will have the same interests in cooking or learning to cook, or the same as an exercise class you may both be interested in fitness and you can eventually become friends and go to classes together. The possibilities are endless and there are always ways to be new people in the world. By going to clubs and classes and having someone that you can Bond with over a specific thing gives you the edge on hopefully building long-lasting friendships. Another thing is a lot of people lose friends when they first become parents. So having the option to go to mummy and me classes or different soft play where parents go to the little ones is a great thing to help the parents become more social. They also give some other parents to bond with and become friends with which also will help the child as they will have playdates and be able to grow up with different friends as well.

Show Them Your Thinking Of Them 

Just like when you’re dating when you’re younger, when you grow up it feels like it swaps and you need to go on a few meetings and coffee dates to see if you’re compatible with this new friend. When you do become friends you treat them as you would any of a loved one, give them gifts on their birthday, comfort them when they feel down a B for them as much as you can. By showing them that you’re thinking of them and that they are a great friend to you and that they mean a lot can help strengthen the bond. There are different ways that you can express this gratitude and closeness. It could be something like organising a spa day where you both go to relax, taking a girls trip or a boys trip abroad where you can enjoy your holiday together and create new experiences and new memories in those friendships. It could even be a simple thing like sending a gift, a thank you card or some flowers from somewhere like bloom‘d florist just to show them that you care.

Cherish Happy Memories 

According to scientists, this form of shared savouring, known as “capitalization,” boosts our happiness and fosters pleasant social relationships by bringing us closer together.

Even if you haven’t seen a friend in a while, a recall of past happy moments might sometimes be all it takes to strengthen the friendship. Go through images from a special occasion or vacation you shared. You can also further this by having a collage of pictures of your memories put on your wall. You can even get them printed now onto different things like mugs, mouse mats and calendars. By getting a happy memory like this printed onto something and gifting it to that particular friend it will help show all the happy memories you have had and encourage you to have many more. 

Make plans to meet up with friends

 It’s just as vital to incorporate relationship maintenance into your weekly calendar as you would a date night or a work meeting. Friendship dates might be crammed in around morning coffee or lunch to avoid disrupting children, or other demands you may have. Give yourself a friends’ night every so often, whether that’s going out, having a dinner party or just watching a movie and having a glass of wine.