As one of a group of seven friends - some of whom I have now known for more than 16 years (showing my age here) it's imperative to carve out time for these relationships.

Witnessing the evolution of our group has been one of the most rewarding parts of long-term friendships - being there for friends when they hit milestones in their lives, from new jobs, building businesses, and purchasing houses, to growing families.

Reflecting on how we socialised as a group from the age of 15 to now in our early 30s, it's a safe observation to say we have worked to switch the social script. (We do however live in a party city so we still do enjoy a French Martini and dance until 4 am). But those hangovers last a little longer than they used to.

We all have responsibilities and it can oftentimes be difficult to get the timings right with a group of seven. Whether it's due to 6 am feeds, 10k marathons or let's face it, we just enjoy a Sunday without the headache. Catchups outside of the WhatsApp group are imperative - so, here are my top 10 friendship date ideas. Some of which we schedule in regularly and other ideas are on our hit list for 2024.