Life is busy. There’s work to be done, responsibilities to be taken care of, chores to check off the list. Our time is precious and seems to move on faster and faster as we get older. Carving out time to spend with our loved ones can seem tricky at times. Here are five ways to help make the most of your time together.

1. Take It Outside

Spring is moments away. The weather is getting warmer. We actually heard birds chirping early this morning. Schedule an outdoor meetup with your friend. Maybe take a nice walk and plan a picnic. Be careful though, don’t put too much thought into the preparation. The goal here is not to make more work for yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just you, your friend, and some sandwiches. Spending time in the fresh air isn’t just for the birds!

2. Host A Game Night

Having friends come over to play your favorite board games is a fun way to spend time together while also costing the price of a bag of chips and a bottle of soda (or maybe a veggie platter and hummus?). A crowd favorite has been Cards Against Humanity. Along the same line, Joking Hazard, What Do You Meme?, and a newly discovered game called Awkward Family Photos are now in circulation at our game nights. Inspired by this hilarious website featuring random people’s family photos, this game is hours of side-splitting laughter. Want to step it up a notch? Add in your own awkward family photos from back in the day and let people choose a caption for you with your bad 80’s hair.

3. Start A Book Club

Book clubs are popping up all over the place. In today’s world where we are inundated with technology, sometimes we need to unplug and remove ourselves from the virtual world at least for a little. Reading is an active experience that improves communication. Communicate with your friends! When you engage with others in thoughtful discussions and reflections about what you read, it becomes an interactive experience. Not to dive too deeply into the science in this particular post, but it has been scientifically researched and proven that reading helps your brain grow, with shown increased connectivity and activity in multiple parts of the brain! Read this article if you’re interested in exploring this topic further. An active social life and an active brain?! You can feed two birds with one seed! (Hmm, are you seeing this whole bird theme, too?)

4. Host A Potluck Dinner

Since the beginning of time people have been bonding over food. Take a few minutes to plan a menu or pick a theme. Place each friend in charge of a part of the meal! Everyone can bring something and you can come together and share the meal, family style! If you’re looking for some new crowd-pleasing recipes to try, Chrissy Teigen is killing it right now! Take a look at her website, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, for some inspiration!

5. Window Shopping

What do you do if it’s cold outside and you just feel like hanging out and people watching? Hit up the mall of course! Sure, this idea is a throwback to your high school days, but now instead of obnoxiously hanging in the food court you can grab a cup of coffee or tea (oooh, or better yet, Thai milk bubble tea), and leisurely walk and window shop with your friend as you catch up on life. Yes, online shopping and browsing is the new thing (and Amazon, Apple, and Google run the world), but there really is nothing like seeing things in person. Online browsing is a thing, but window shopping is an experience! Especially when you can go with a friend!

P.S. – If you’re curious, Indigo’s striped turtleneck tissue tee is on sale here on the J.Crew website! And if you like Ismay’s sweater, you can view a similar one here by Rebecca Taylor!

Ismay & Indigo