National Best Friends Day: when it is, and ideas for your best friend

National Best Friends Day is on June 8 every year. It's an unofficial day in the United States for celebrating the one friend who knows you best, and it isn't the same as Friendship Day, which comes in August, or the United Nations friendship day on July 30. There are no rules for marking it. A message, a call, a plan or a cone of vanilla all count if they tell your friend that they matter to you.

An example: Priya and Hannah met at nineteen, scooping ice cream from a cart on the boardwalk for a summer job neither of them liked. The owner, a gruff man named Lou, paid them in cash and free cones. Fifteen years later Priya works nights as a nurse, and Hannah has just moved back to town after six years in Denver. One June morning a radio host mentioned that it was National Best Friends Day. Hannah texted Priya a single word: "Lou's?" That evening they walked up to the same cart. Lou, gray now and still behind the counter, looked at them for a long second and said, "Two vanilla with extra sprinkles. You still haven't learned to order anything else." They've gone back every June 8 since.

When is National Best Friends Day this year?

National Best Friends Day falls on June 8. The date stays fixed, so only the day of the week changes; in 2027, June 8 lands on a Tuesday.

A weekday date is easy to miss, especially for friends with jobs, partners and families of their own. Many friends send a message on the day itself and meet on the nearest weekend.

Best Friends Day, Friendship Day and July 30: how they differ

There are three friendship days on the calendar, and people mix them up all the time.

• National Best Friends Day, June 8. This one is about your closest friend, the person you'd call first with big news.
• Friendship Day, the first Sunday of August. In the United States this day is for all your friends, from the college roommate to the neighbor who waters your plants.
• The International Day of Friendship, July 30. The United Nations set this day to promote friendship between people, countries and cultures. It's more about peace and understanding than about one particular friend.

If you only have the energy for one of the three, June 8 is the day to tell your best friend what they mean to you. Friends who hug a lot can add a fourth date, National Hugging Day on January 21.

Is National Best Friends Day a real holiday?

It's real in the sense that lots of people mark it. It isn't a federal holiday, though, and nobody gets the day off for it. No one seems sure who started it either. Calendar websites and social media turned it into the yearly habit it is today, which is also why many people only hear about it from a post or a radio host on the morning itself.

Ideas for your best friend, by the kind of friend they are

What feels like a celebration to one friend feels like a chore to another. Here are ideas sorted by five kinds of best friend. Your friend is probably a mix of two.

The friend who's up for anything

This friend gets bored by the usual dinner and lights up at a slightly silly plan.

• Try something neither of you has done, like axe throwing, a trapeze class or a sunrise paddle.
• Pick a town an hour away and spend the day exploring it with no plan.
• Recreate a day from your first summer of friendship, as closely as you can.

The friend you could talk to for hours

For this friend, a long conversation is the celebration.

• Take a long walk with no end time.
• Cook dinner together and let the talk run past midnight.
• Bring a list of questions you've never asked each other, like what each of you wanted to be at ten.
• Go back to the café or diner where you had your first real talk.

The friend who shows love by doing

This friend is the one who helps you move, fixes your bike and turns up with soup. Return the favor in the same way.

• Help with something on their list, like painting a room or sorting a garage.
• Build or make something together, a bookshelf, a garden box or a batch of jam.
• Take care of a job they hate, like tax paperwork or a long drive to the airport.
• Give them a practical present that saves them time, with a short note.

The friend who hates a fuss

Some best friends really don't like being the center of attention. Keep it small and low-key.

• Send a short message that names one thing you love about them.
• Bring their favorite coffee to their door and leave after ten minutes.
• Watch a film together on the couch in your sweatpants.
• Mail a postcard with an inside joke on it and nothing else.

The friend who keeps every ticket stub

This friend saves photos, notes and playlists. Make something they can keep.

• Put together a small album of photos from every year you've known each other.
• Write a letter about the moment you knew this friendship would last.
• Make a playlist of songs tied to memories you share, with a line about each one.

Stuck on the letter? Writing to your best friend walks you from the first line to the P.S.

If you call your best friend by a name nobody else uses, put it on the card. Our list of best friend nicknames has ideas if you're still looking for one.

Celebrating when your best friend lives far away

A best friend in another city still gets the day. You just have to plan a little earlier. These work across cities and time zones:

• Mail a care package timed to arrive on June 8, with their favorite snacks from your town.
• Have dinner together over video, or start the same film at the same moment.
• Order a delivery of their favorite food or flowers to their door.
• Book the next visit and send the dates as the present.
• Record a voice message telling the story of how you met, as you remember it.

For friendships that live mostly on the phone, our article on long-distance friendship covers how to keep the closeness between visits.

What to text your best friend on June 8

You don't need a speech. A few lines to make your own:

• "Happy Best Friends Day. You're the first person I want to tell everything to."
• "Fifteen years and you still laugh at my worst jokes. Thank you."
• "I don't say it enough, so here it is: I'm lucky to have you."
• "Today is officially our day. Call me when you're free."
• "Nobody else knows the whole story, and you've never once held it against me."

The message that lands best usually names something specific, like a memory or a habit only the two of you know.

Why you and your best friend celebrate so differently

Priya would happily skip the cart and stay up talking until two in the morning. Hannah needs the ritual and the sprinkles. Part of that comes from personality type. Here are six of Typeza's 16 types as best friends, listed in types page order:

• Vitalizer: loves a celebration and a crowd. A party in their honor or a big night out will make their year.
• Mentor: wants the feelings said out loud. A heartfelt letter matters more to them than any plan.
• Dreamer: prefers a quiet day with one person. They'll remember the small detail you put thought into.
• Entrepreneur: values time well spent. A plan that's organized, active and worth the effort suits them.
• Counselor: cares most about a deep, honest talk. A long walk where you ask how they really are beats any party.
• Encourager: gets excited about growth and new ideas. A class or project you start together feels like a gift.

What makes someone your closest friend is its own question, and our article on what makes a best friend goes into it.

See why your best friendship has lasted

Two very different people can stay close for fifteen years, and their types can explain part of how. On June 8 itself, take the free friendship compatibility test. Then pass your best friend the link that comes with your result. Once they are done, your friendship gets its relationship type, which spells out what is easy for you two and where you are likely to annoy each other.

Questions people ask

Is National Best Friends Day always on June 8?

Yes, every year in the United States. It's an unofficial day, so there's no day off, but many people mark it with a message or a plan.

Is National Best Friends Day the same as Friendship Day?

No. National Best Friends Day on June 8 is about your closest friend. Friendship Day, on the first Sunday of August in the United States, celebrates all your friends, and the United Nations holds its own friendship day on July 30.

What do you do on National Best Friends Day?

Many people send a message or call their best friend, and many meet for a meal, a walk or an activity they both enjoy. Friends who live far apart often send a package or do a video call.

Is there a National Girl Best Friends Day?

There's no separate official date. June 8 is for best friends of any gender. Many women also celebrate their friends on National Girlfriends Day, August 1, or on Galentine's Day, February 13.

Sources

• Wikipedia, "Friendship Day". Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August in the United States, and the UN's 2011 choice of July 30.
• Holidays Calendar, "National Girlfriend Day". August 1, a day that can honor friendships between women.

Written by Virko Kask, founder of Typeza
Written with the help of AI tools.