To ask what is the nicest thing a friend has done for you?

[PoisedKhakiUser]

I’ve been thinking about friendships lately and how some small acts of kindness can make such a big difference. I’m curious to know, what’s the nicest or most thoughtful thing a friend has done for you? Whether it’s a grand gesture or something seemingly small that meant a lot, I’d love to hear your stories and appreciate the little things we do for one another!

A silly one, but when friend and I were both pretty penniless and I had bought a few bananas she came into work the next day with a tin of custard for me to eat them with. True friendship!

My DS was diagnosed with a health problem whilst I was pregnant which meant I’d have to give birth in a different city and he’d have to go straight to ICU as soon as he was born.

The midwife said lots of women in my situation would choose to have 2 birth partners so one could go with baby and one could stay with me. I knew I wouldn’t want my mum.

2 friends offered without my asking. 1 is so incredibly squeamish and frightened of hospitals and was on the fence about whether to have her own children, and the other had lost a baby with the same due date as my DS I was so touched. I didn’t ask either of them but it was such a massive offer from them both.

When working at a job in my early twenties I knew I felt a bit of an outsider with the other girls on my team, but I thought we got on well enough.

I got a random lunch invitation one day from a girl in another team I barely knew, it was just the two of us, we had a nice lunch and became really good friends over time, she was one of my bridesmaids when I got married. At some point I asked about the random lunch invite that started it off and she said the girls on my team had been talking shit about me so she thought she'd see if I was okay and wanted to form her own opinion about me.

Honestly I think she is just a wonderful human being for thinking that way- it really meant a lot to me at the time, and I never knew what had prompted it until I was far removed from that workplace.

drove me to the hospital when I was in labour. we were going to get a taxi but when it started to happen (very quickly in my case) I was yelling so much I didn't want to get a taxi... my lovely friend drove me with no notice, at 11pm.

My mum died 2 years ago today. My eldest lives in London trains were not running and didn't know how they would get here to say goodbye. My friend drove down to London to pick them up (an 8 hour round trip) they had never met before. I told her "I can't ask you to do that" her reply was " you're not asking me I'm telling you I'm doing it" I will never forget that.

I am struggling with fertility at the moment and the way my best friend announced her pregnancy to me back in April was just so thoughtful. She sent a text acknowledging that the news may be difficult for me and told me there was no pressure to respond. She explained that she had chosen to text rather than do it face to face so that I didn't have to react in the moment. I still find it hard that she is about to have a baby and that it will change our friendship and I am sad that I may never get what she has but I will always be grateful for her sensitivity.

Not just one person but several people have been there for me through recent family bereavements. Not intense just one word messages to say they are thinking of me & now I'm ready to see people they are there with no judgement.

Mine’s not a big moment but I’ve had periods of depression where I couldn’t face socialising or if I did go out wasn’t great company and I have a couple of friends who’ve just stuck it out and stayed friends with me regardless. It sounds really small but they don’t know how much it’s meant to me.

We recently lost one of our dogs suddenly at home, late at night at a weekend so no local vets open. DH and I had had a drink so we couldn't drive him anywhere and it was a few days before payday when we had had a really bad few months so we had used all our savings etc. One friend sent us the money for the vet and another drove us the 20 miles there since DH couldn't legally drive. That will honestly always mean the most to us, we were in bits and just didn't know what to do but they helped us through it all.

Loving me when I hated myself. Been suicidal this year and been open about it, it's really sorted the wheat from the chaff. Some ppl have been amazing, offering dinners, sleepovers, long talks etc, some who I thought were close don't seem to care, which is heartbreaking. But am so so grateful for anyone who even so much as sends a text. My friend offered for me to work at her house cos i was scared of being on my own wfh and checks in all the time even tho shes got a huge amount on her own plate. Acts of kindness are never wasted.

Batch cooked me about two months worth of nutritious comfort food, lunches, breakfasts etc. and loaned me her XL freezer to keep it in when I had my daughter so no one had to worry about food for a bit while we were settling into new parenthood (and very skint)

When husband went back to work she always seemed to instinctively know when to come round and look after my baby for a bit so I could shower and brush my hair and have a break.

When she visited me in hospital after giving birth (we were kept in a few nights) she was the only one who went to me first before looking at Baby and wrapped me in a big hug telling me how proud of me she was. I can't say how much that meant when I felt so battered and broken and exhausted.

She just fecking came through for me so, so much in those first six months when I needed it most. She was my soul sister.

Can't really put it into words but my best friend has just never faltered , since I lost my mum suddenly 4 years ago when heavily pregnant with my first child. I was heartbroken, still am. She's been there day or night I went though some really dark times and a particularly bad patch in my marriage and she helped me see the lightbulb

Rang the vet on the day I was having my cat PTS, paid the entire vet bill including individual cremation and having his ashes back

They said I shouldn't have to feel like I had paid to have him put down and the sheer relief it gave me to not have to worry about sorting a payment plan etc

Two really stand out for me.

1. when my ex partner died (alcoholism) DD was just 5. A lovely friend - not a close friend, but a preschool/school mum friend - bought a Mother's Day gift for DD to give to me as my ex would have normally sorted that. She got DD to write her name and draw in a card and told her to hide it in her wardrobe and give it to me the next day. It was so lovely!

2. an unusual one! As a gay couple, my ex and I were exploring pregnancy options. A close friend told me she and her DH were blessed with their 3 children and her DH would happily donate sperm for us to conceive a child. My DD is now 11 years old and is the greatest gift of all 😊

There are so many I’ve lost track of them, but recently a single younger friend of mine drove an hour each way on her day off just to hang out and care for our 8 month old - and later described it as “very relaxing”. I got some adult conversation, she kindly played card games with our older children, she patiently and capably cared for 90% of any needs baby had for most of the day, and given that she has friends and family and lives in an area surrounded by shops and coffee and activities and we live in a tiny dead village and have a chaotic home full of growing children… it just meant so much.

During Covid, friend sent parcels to a bunch of us friends. A book for me, flowers to another, an individually designed and printed apron for another. Wonderful surprises when everyone so frightened

When I was getting divorced from exDH and struggling with time away from my small kids as I was so heartbroken not being with them all the time, my best friend checked in with me every single day I didn't have them and if I didn't have a plan she made one with me. Still gives me a lump in my throat thinking of that. Quietly thoughtful and always is.

There are some really lovely stories here. So much so that I'm ugly crying.
We are really blessed to have such lovely friends and neighbours.

I had a big birthday, wasn't feeling great about it so hadn't organised anything for it.

A couple of friends organised a surprise night out, bought tickets for an event, just told me where to meet them then surprised me with what we were doing.

Another friend secretly arranged a dinner party with my other friends (who they didn't really know) - I showed up at their house to be greeted by all my friends. It was so touching!

These are relatively new friends of mine, which made it all the more special that they'd gone to such effort.

Came to my dads funeral and supervised my kids the entire time. She brought toys and games for them to play quietly. I'll never forget that x

When I found out I had had a missed miscarriage in the beginning of my second trimester absolutely no one would help me with childcare for my then toddler ds so I could go and have treatment in hospital (medical management) and have my dh with me. Without childcare he would have to stay at home with ds and I needed him and he wanted to be with me. We were devastated.

My wonderful friend assumed a family member would help with childcare as I also thought would be the case and when she asked me who ds was staying with and I said ‘noone will have him.’ she immediately booked the day off work and collected my son at 7am that day and kept him all day til late on so dh and I could both go to hospital, have our tiny one and then have some time together afterwards. She even offered to have ds overnight but he’d never slept out before so I didn’t think it would work.
She then had him on and off for me over the following week so I could recover. She was so wonderful to me during that moment of need. I am forever grateful to her for that and I hope she knows how much that meant and still means to me now.
We met at baby group and she is 15 years older than me, we clicked and became firm friends. We had a wonderful time together when our boys were little and she is so dear to me. I don’t get to see her as often anymore but it is always so lovely when we see eachother.

Neighbour who I didn't know particularly well, came to the house and gave me her number and told me my dc was welcome to come to her house if I needed a break when we had a sudden bereavement, meant a lot at the time and I've never forgotten it

Helping me to tidy and clean my very messy house when I was unwell and overwhelmed.