We all spend so many hours with our friends, and we wouldn't have it any other way. If we go to school with them, there are chats in the dining hall and late-night study sessions with pizza in one another's dorm. If you work together, there are countless days of sitting together at your desks or figuring out which spot to check out for lunch. Long-distance friendships consist of FaceTime sessions and miles of text messages every day. These are all really great, but it's never too late to find new traditions to start with friends that'll spice up your typical routine.
Of course you still have fun with your friends on the regular, but is it always spontaneous, or oftentimes the same thing? There's absolutely nothing wrong with wine nights in or hitting up your favorite bars. But, if you have a set tradition or two every so often, you'll have something fun to look forward to with your favorite peeps.
These will work for all friend groups, no matter how long you've been friends or how far apart you all are. Especially if your best friends are LDRs, you need something to keep you all coming back together. New traditions will bring your friend group closer and make for the best kinds of memories.
Vacations are great, but having a weekend with your girls is truly the best. A lot of people already do this, but make plans to go on a trip with your friends every summer for this super fun tradition. It also doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming.
Rent an Airbnb in a nearby city. Or, you can even stay within your city or town, but get some reservations at a nice spa and chill TF out all weekend long. You can also go all out and possibly travel abroad. Summer is a great time to do this, and will be a highlight of the year.
Whether you really look forward to gifting or aren't the best at it, this tradition will be cute, Instagram-worthy, and make for an awesome wine glass collection for everyone involved. Make it a point so that for every birthday in your group, you get together and gift her a special glass. It can be a funky shape, a gag glass, or one with a cute AF quote. This can obviously be in addition to your individual presents, but it's nice to have a birthday tradition like this one.
In a few years, you'll all have growing collections and you can extend this to Christmas, vacations, and other events throughout the year. You can even get sets for everyone every once in a while. Whoever said you can have too many wine glasses?
It doesn't have to be the same day every month, but make an effort to have a themed movie night with your gal pals. This can be different than the other casual movie nights by going a little extra with the theme.
If it's Star Wars-themed, make some space snacks or dust off the lightsabers. You can wear some Yoda and Ewok tees, too. Want to do a complete Twilight marathon? Stop pretending that you don't, grab some bloody merlot, and dim the lights.
Having a scheduled movie night is also fabulous for friends who need to really spend time together — either because of hectic schedules or because you're living far apart (FaceTime and Skype is a blessing for these types of things).
For something that's a little more involved than just a movie night, pick a show and watch it together. It doesn't have to be at the same time — considering seasons can take forever with your busy lives — but plan to start it at the same time and this can easily open up fun conversations. Plus, you can plan to have a chill evening of catching up on it together. This can also easily be done with shows airing every week. Whether you're in the same city or miles away, plan to talk about it the day after for some more bonding time.
You can easily take any holiday and plan a friend tradition around it. You have Friendsgiving, Secret Santa, and more, but one of the best ones for you and your girl squad is Galentine's Day. This doesn't have to be celebrated while you're all single.
Pick a day everyone is free before Feb. 14, and really get the girl power flowin'. Manicures, wine, chocolates, and more can be rolled into this day, or you can even go on a shopping trip. Blast exclusively female artists all day long, watch some movies or TV shows with a female lead, and really have fun with it. Y'all are queens who deserve it.
Even if you live with your best friends, you can get stuck in a boring rut — especially when it comes to food. Make a "New Food Friday" plan where you either cook a new recipe or find a cool new joint to try each week. Your taste buds will thank you, and this kind of plan will make meals a bit more interesting.
This tradition doesn't have to be extravagant, and it also can just be a new dessert or drink shop (something small). Trying new food with your friends is the epitome of a great time.
Much like with a summer getaway, you can plan a road trip once in awhile. It doesn't have to be every year, but there's just something special about sharing a tiny car for hours and making memories in rural America.
Your road trip can be as expansive or as short as you want to make it. There can be an end destination, or it can just be traveling through different landmark cities, but it'll definitely make for a fun time. It might try your friendship (there's only so much time you can spend with people before you can get easily annoyed), but you'll be stronger for it in the end.
