Are you looking for some fun things to do with your best friend to pass the time? I have divided all of these ideas into different categories, so feel free to skim to the category that fits the best!
For instance if you’re looking for things to do with your best friend at a sleepover, or on vacation, or at home, or outside, or whatever!
Not all of these ideas of fun activities for teens fit into a specific category, and some fit into multiple categories, so don’t hesitate to read through every section – you never know what you’ll find that catches your eye!
A lot of these ideas are geared towards teenagers and young adults, but don’t let that dissuade you if you don’t fall into that age group – these are ideas that are great for people of all ages.
Younger people may have a harder time with some of these ideas of things to do with your bestie, for example a preteen can’t hop in their car for a day trip, and some of these might not appeal as much to older people like building a blanket fort.
But honestly, sometimes you just have to do let loose and be silly and that’s safe to do when you’re around your best friend, so get goofy, have fun, and enjoy these things to do with your best friend.
Things to do With Your Best Friend at a Sleepover
Here are some ideas for sleepovers, in other words these are things to do with your best friend at home, that are pretty chill and laid back activities when you just want to relax and enjoy someone’s company.
We have another category coming up in a moment that covers things to do at home, so there would obviously be some overlap between this and that, so if the “at a sleepover” group here feels a bit empty – don’t worry – there are plenty of other ideas of things to do with your best friend that will fit perfectly at a sleepover.
1. Set The Ground Rules for Gossip
If you’re having a sleepover, the drama forecast is probably high! But if you’re going to be talking about people who aren’t there, it’s a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page with being gossipy but keeping it all within the group.
In other words, if someone says something about somebody, there has to be a certain circle of trust so that people are free to gossip and have fun and talk about people, without the risk of possibly hurting that person or creating drama or problems for anyone.
Obviously, gossiping about people can start to veer into the realm of bullying, but a bit of harmless gossip among friends at a sleepover is just something that’s going to happen.
Setting ground rules for what everyone is comfortable with in gossip and in all areas of life is a very valuable skill set to learn to navigate in a group of people in particular, and practicing that with your best friend over something fairly simple like gossiping is a good way to build trust.
2. Go Through Old Photos and Memories
This is a great time to go over old photos, old social media accounts, old diaries and journals, and any other old memories – especially the ones involving you and your best friend.
You’ll remember things they’ve forgotten, and vice-verse, so together you can fill in those fun memories, inside jokes, and other great moments from the history of your friendship together.
It’s worth it to save copies and backups of the photos that matter the most to the both of you, or at the very least, you should each keep a copy of them or if it’s a physical photograph, take a picture of it to save a copy in your phone just in case something happens to the original.
These memories together are something that can solidify a friendship over the years, but it’s also important to make new memories and to keep the friendship evolving and moving forward and not just relying entirely on past good times.
Things to do With Your Bestie
Here are some things to do with your bestie. Some of these are things you can do with close friends too, but it’s better with a bestie! When it comes to things like leasing an apartment together, it can really put a friendship to the test, so these types of things are best with your bestie.
3. Move Out Together (Living With your Best Friend)
When you and your bestie are both around the age where it’s time to move out and get your own places, whether that’s in your later teenage years, early 20’s, or whatever you’re ready or whenever it’s necessary, moving in with a best friend can be a great experience but it can also really put your friendship to the test.
Being best friends is one thing, but living under the same roof can be really challenging for your friendship.
If you both communicate well and respect one another, it’s very possible for this to be a great experience and it’s a lot nicer to live with a best friend than to have a stranger as a roommate or to be stuck paying the full amount of rent all by yourself.
Before putting your friendship at risk, make sure you both talk about the boundaries you’ll have as roommates – even over simple stuff like who does the dishes, how often, who vacuums, if there’s quiet time for studying and sleeping at certain times of day – just try to think of everything that could be an issue or annoy either of you, and be upfront about it, and don’t let the excitement cloud things too much.
If you still think you’ll be a good fit as roommates, these will be some incredibly memorable and amazing years in your life and it can truly solidify younger friends into becoming lifelong besties.
4. Take Classes or Courses Together
Don’t just skim this one, because there’s an important point to make about this thing to do with your bestie right off the bat.
You should both have your own interests, pursuit your own goals, and all that good stuff – you shouldn’t get into post-secondary classes based on what your friend is doing – however if there is an evening course or class that interests both of you, going into that sort of thing with a friend can make it a lot more fun to get engaged, especially if either of you is a bit shit.
These could even be one-off things like a paint night, or a succulent-planting course, or a cooking class where you’ll learn to prepare one meal perfectly – there are so many different leisurely activities and things to do for friends of all ages, just look for your community’s local leisure and activity guide to see what’s going on.
Fun Things to do With Your Best Friend at Home
Stuck at home, or just don’t feel like going out? There’s a lot of stuff you can do that’s an okay way to pass the time on your own but actually becomes a blast when you’ve got a friend there to share it with. Here are some ideas of fun things to do with your best friend when you’re at home (your place or theirs!)
Here are more fun things to do with friends for teenagers.
5. Binge Watch a TV Show
Whether your favorite types of shows are critically acclaimed and leave you on the edge of your seat after each episode, or you’re more into some easy-to-watch reality TV, sitting down at home with your best friend and binge watching TV is always a fun way to pass some time.
You can do snacks, treats, and take a break in between every episode or two if needed!
You could watch a favorite show or try a brand new series that both of you are interested in. The fun thing about watching a series with your best friend from start to finish is that you’ll have this specific activity together, so even if you aren’t watching new seasons together each week, it could still be a fun time to get together each year, or even just to text and chat while watching new episodes. It’s a special little shared interest and connection, and those things can be very helpful for maintaining high school friends.
6. Marathon a Movie Franchise With Your Bestie
Have you seen the original three Star Wars movies, the first LoTR movies, or other famous movie trilogies or franchises?
These days, there’s far too many Marvel movies to watch in a day, but if you have an itch for super hero flicks, Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies are solid, as far countless other franchises.
You could do the Iron Man movies, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Twilight, or something a little more obscure and artsy – in fact, you can curate your own film festival with movies that aren’t even directly connected.
If you and your best friend haven’t seen each other’s favorite movies, this is a good time to share some faves – too. But let’s be real – you’ve probably already seen each other’s favorite movies a thousand times!
Bucket List Ideas for Best Friends
If you’ve read our summer bucket list ideas for teens, you know that some of these can be done with a friend or a group, but some of them can only be done on your own, so here are some bucket list things to do with your best friend.
Things to do in the Summer With Your Best Friend
If you live in Antarctica your summer is going to look a lot different than the weather in Texas, so plan accordingly for these things to do with the summer with your best friend.
7. Volunteering With Your Friend
We’re already talked a lot about volunteering for teens, but people of all ages can enjoy getting out and making their immediate community a slightly brighter and nicer place.
This is a perfect activity for the summer because sometimes, volunteering can mean just walking around and providing some form of community support, or going for a stroll in the park and picking up trash, and essentially doing nice outdoor activities that you might already want to be doing.
8. Exploring Nearby Towns or Cities
Is there a city or town nearby that’s within driving distance that you could visit with your best friend for the day, or even a night or two?
If that’s not an option, an alternative is to just go to a different area of your own town or city, try some of the small hole in the wall restaurants or cafes, and maybe even finding a bed and breakfast or an Airbnb on the other side of the city if you’re in a large enough city where that could be a fun little semi-vacation for you and a pal.
Exploring new places and creating memories together is always one of the best things to do in the summer with your best friend, or even just a close friend – you might become best friends after an adventure or two!
Final Thoughts About Things to Do With Your Best Friend
The best friendships, if you ask me, are the ones where you can have amazing adventures together, or just sit around and do nothing, and still have a nice time. Where there are no awkward silence and you’re just on the same page, and when you aren’t on the same page, you know how to communicate together. Isn’t that just the best?
Hopefully, my ideas for things to do with your best friend will appeal to you as much as they appeal to me.