Oddly, auntie, together with friends, livens up (8)
I believe the answer is:
animates
'livens up' is the definition.
('animate' can be a synonym of 'liven up')
'oddly auntie together with friends' is the wordplay.
'oddly' indicates alternate letters (letters in the odd-numbered positions are used).
'together with' says to put letters next to each other.
'friends' becomes 'mates' (mate is a kind of friend).
The alternate letters of 'auntie' are 'ani'.
'ani'+'mates'='ANIMATES'
(Other definitions for animates that I've seen before include "Brings to life" , "Enlivens" , "Gives life or movement to, say cartoon" .)