3 Friendship Tools Under $35

A card deck, an app, and my go-to gift for every occasion

Hey all!

This post isn’t sponsored or anything, just FYI. These are tools I personally use that have helped me manage my own friendships. I figured I’d share ‘em with you.

1. The Friendship Deck ($34)

I recently had an old friend come over to my house for dinner. As thrilled as I was to see her, I was nervous about running out of topics to talk about. But I was prepared! Anytime there was a lull in conversation, I pulled a card from the deck and posed a thought-provoking question. It kept us talking for hours! It was like having a wingman keeping the party going.

Friendship therapist Blake Blankenbecler created the deck, which was designed to encourage gabbing with friends both new and old. Full disclosure: I’m friends with Blake and she’s playing a special role in my book’s pre-order bonus gift (catch a sneak peak of them all here). I purchased her deck before I met her. Once I used it with some friends over lunch, I reached out and let her know how wonderful the deck was. Now I’m letting you know too.

2. The Calendars app (basic version is free and the pro version is $20/year)

Here’s how the monthly view in my iCal app looks:

Chaotic as SHIT

Do I want to meet up for happy hour? I don’t know. Let me stand on the sidewalk and click on each individual day until I find a suitable time like a GODDAMN RUBE. Who has time for that?? I have things to do*.

*naps to take

Here’s my calendar in the Calendars app:

It’s like a mermaid’s whispering her plans in my ear

Look at how pretty this is! And useful! At a glance, I can visualize my various private and shared calendars which makes scheduling events with a buddy a breeze. “Happy hour on Thursday? Yeah, I’m free” - something I’d say after quickly consulting this app.

3. Six-pack of Tony Chocolonely Chocolate Bars ($34 on Amazon)

After being a clueless, semi-cheapskate for my entire life, I decided to level up my gift giving recently. I’m pleased to report that sending folks chocolate is my new strategy. Chocolate is like Tom Holland’s Lip Sync Battle performance of Rhianna’s “Umbrella” in that it’s a crowd pleaser. It’s the perfect gift to send a friend who’s either celebrating a win OR grieving a pet loss.

This is the only kind of six-pack I fuck with

Had a bad day? Send chocolate. Scored a win at work? Send chocolate. It covers all the bases.

Do you have any go-tos for managing your friendships? Tell me in the comments.