8 Things To Do For Your BFF On National Best Friends Day, Because You're The Best

What would we do without our besties? When we're little, they're the ones we turn to for playing pretend, making paper fortunetellers, and confiding secrets. As grownups, we look to our closest friends for laughs, sympathy, and often a helping hand when we don't know where else to turn. You might not have known this (I know I didn't), but there's an actual day to celebrate these special people: National Best Friends Day 2019 is coming up. So go ahead and update your calendar app, and while you're at it, add a reminder to reach out to your BFFs before the day is over.

National Days Calendar marks June 8 as National Best Friends Day in the United States, and according to the site, it falls on the same day every year (unlike, say, Father's Day, which is always the third Sunday in June, regardless of the numbered date). As luck would have it, in 2019, National Best Friends Day falls on a Saturday. That makes it a perfect opportunity to plan something nice to do with your closest pal, if you live close enough to honor the day in person. Even if you're separated by the miles, you can still do something meaningful for your bestie (more on this in a minute).

If you don't remember growing up celebrating Best Friends Day, don't worry: You didn't. Holidays Calendar explained that the exact origin of the day is unknown, but that it may have started in 2002 in Richmond, VA, as a local initiative that took on a life of its own. As the story goes, a group of artist pals planned to throw a party at a water park to celebrate their friendship, but they decided to expand it to anyone who wanted to come and give a shout-out to their best friends. They advertised the "Best Friends Day" far and wide, and it caught on more quickly than anyone could have imagined. Thanks to social media, which was just coming into its own back then, the idea of a national day for friends was spread beyond Richmond, and now, the whole country (and even Canada) recognizes it.

True, you won't find your favorite store advertising huge Best Friends Day sales (although they should), or people sporting BFD awareness ribbons on their clothes and social media feeds (what color goes with friendship, anyway?). But you can still find ways to make the day meaningful to you and your closest friends. Here are just a few thoughts: