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BEING REMEMBERED IS A FORM OF LOVE.

(3-minute read)

Hey Reader,
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Welcome to The Friendship Habit — where we build stronger friendships one small move at a time.
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With one month left in 2025. Let's not wait till January to show up better.
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👥 THE FRIEND

The quiet power of being “on the fridge”

Nobody teaches you how to be remembered. We just assume that if we matter, people will know.

But growing up, my parents gave me a master class without realizing it. Our fridge was completely covered: photos, holiday cards, cousins, friends, relatives I barely saw but somehow still felt close to. It wasn’t styled. It wasn’t curated. But it was doing something important.

It was a map of belonging.

Every crooked card meant someone had taken a moment to send something real. I’d eat illegally sugary cereal reading names and cities and absorb, without knowing it, that we weren’t alone. (Nothing will ever top Lucky Charms..or what we could afford, it's off-brand sibling Magic Stars.)

Fast-forward to adulthood. Everything arrives digitally now. Holiday messages are group texts. Connection lives in feeds. Nothing really lands anymore. Nothing sticks to walls.

(Also: I genuinely don’t know why my fridge isn’t magnetized anymore.)

And that’s the problem. Friendships don’t always fade from fights. They fade from not being visible.

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One quick sponsor note, then we’re back to friendship.
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Now back to this week’s friendship move.
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🛠️ THE FIX

Send a holiday card this year.

Last day in London of our summer trip with the kids. Out of nowhere, my wife decides we should take professional photos, so we scramble and text everyone we know to find a photographer at the last minute.

Ice cream everywhere. A baby asleep on my chest. A toddler unraveling near the V&A Museum.

Somehow, we ended up with the ten greatest photos we’ve ever taken. (Thank you, Lisa H.) So we picked one and made it our first-ever holiday card and my wife is turning them into a photo wall. [Click here if you want to see our chaos in action.]
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If you're on the fence, think of it this way: You agree there are people in your life who matter. You don’t always get a moment to say it perfectly.

Already a card-sender? You’re ahead. Now level it up: send one extra to someone who wouldn’t expect it.

And if you don’t know what to write, or you think your year wasn’t “card-worthy”, you’re missing the point:

Doesn’t matter if you went to Bali twice or never left your house this year.

You matter. And you're letting those that receive it know they do too.

No kids? No dog? No big update? Talk about you. What did you read? What surprised you? What are you hopeful about?

Write from the heart.

That’s the whole thing.

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📎 THE RECO

The Polaroid Move

Buy a Polaroid.

Not to upgrade your photography. To downgrade your perfectionism.

Stick one on the fridge. Hand one to a friend. You’ll care less about how it looks. More about who’s in it.
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You're supposed to cringe sometimes.

Grain = soul.

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If one person feels remembered because of something you send this season, that’s a good year.

Talk soon,
​Matt Ritter
The Friendship Guy

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P.S. The Wine Weekend Getaway winner is David Guidry — check your inbox 🍷 and decide which friend you’re bringing. And don’t worry, there are more giveaways coming.

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