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Friendships are a special gift. But what do you do when life separates you and your friend? It can be difficult to deal with the distance. However, keeping that friendship growing doesn't have to be impossible.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Long-Distance Best Friend Gifts
- DIY Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
- Interactive Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
- Sentimental Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
- Birthday Gifts for Long Distance Friend
- Holiday Gifts For a Long Distance Friend
Rather than letting an important friendship fade away due to time and space, use fun occasions and random times throughout the year to send your bestie gifts that say, “I’m thinking of you.”
Here are some unique gifts for long-distance friends that will help keep your friendship alive.
Long-Distance Best Friend Gifts
Best friends are one in a million, and if you're separated by distance it can take a little extra work to stay close. Send one of these gifts to your bestie and share the love.
1. Morse code bracelet
A morse code bracelet contains a message in morse with dot and dash beads. Most people can't read morse, so the bracelet will feel like a secret code understood just by the two of you.
2. Touch bracelets
Touch bracelets give you an opportunity to remind each other that you're still there, even though you're far away. When you each wear the bracelet, it will vibrate and light up when one person touches it to say "hi" from a distance.
3. Flower subscription
Send flowers by the dozen each month and tell your best friend how awesome you think she is. She's sure to love the monthly subscription that brightens up her home.
4. Personalized photo puzzle
Bring a smile to your bestie's face with a 100, 500, or a 1,000-piece puzzle for her to put together crafted from one or more of your photos together. Personalize it with graphics, a cute phrase, and the best photos you have.
5. Customized photo blanket
Keep your BFF warm and cozy while wrapped in a blanket full of photos and memories of your time together. Choose one giant picture or a bunch of smaller ones and you're sure to make her smile.
DIY Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
Sometimes the best gifts are handmade with love. Put time and effort into these gifts for an extra personal touch and send your best friend a gift that is just as special as your friendship.
6. Photo cube
DIY a wooden cube with pictures, quotes, and funny sayings on each side. Choose pictures that are special for the two of you, phrases that make you both laugh, or favorite memories. No matter how your friend displays the cube, it’s a great reminder of your friendship.
7. Friendship bracelets
Do you have a good eye for color and coordination? Consider making matching friendship bracelets out of natural stone beads or leather. Add a charm or two to represent a favorite memory from your friendship in the past.
8. Photo book
Create a photo book with all of your favorite pictures and memories from a bucket list adventure you went on together or a season of life.
Make notes and comments to tell the story of each picture as your friend looks through the book. Recounting memories you’ve shared is one of the best ways to say, “Thank you for being a friend.”
9. Book of ‘letters to open when’
Create a book of 12 letters to open during different circ*mstances. You could order some colorful stationery and make letters to open up for each month of the year or for different circ*mstances such as, “When you want a hug,” “When you’re feeling discouraged,” or even “When you want to celebrate.”
The sky's the limit for what to write in “open when” letters for a best friend. If you feel truly at a loss for what to put inside “open when” letters, simply tell your friend how much you miss them, how thankful you are that they're your best friend, and how much they mean to you.
10. Personalized candle
Make a candle in your BFF’s favorite scent and wrap it with a label that contains a favorite quote, saying, or message. Every time your friend uses it, they’ll think of you and the wonderful friendship you share.
Interactive Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
Some friendships need an extra special touch — an interactive touch — when they have to part due to distance. These gifts will help you and your friend stay in touch in a special way that is as unique as your friendship.
11. Friendship bracelets
These unique one-of-a-kind bracelets allow you and your bestie to stay just as close as if you were still in the same town.
You can even send your best friend a signal that says you’re thinking of her. Touch a special area on your bracelet and your BFF’s matching bracelet will vibrate and light up in a color you choose.
12. Friendship lamps
Friendship lamps come in a wide variety of styles and shapes and allow you to send a wordless message to your best friend.
When you touch your lamp and light it up in a certain color, your friend’s lamp will glow the same color no matter where you or they are in the world. This is one of the best encouragement gifts you can give your BFF.
13. Long-distance game
If you and your bestie have a favorite board game like Monopoly, Life, or Scrabble, share a game. Take turns playing long distance. Each day you’ll roll the dice, choose an action, or set up a word.
Text your bestie the action you took during your turn so she does the same. Each of you can record the other person’s moves and play your long-distance game until one of you wins.
Sentimental Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
Friendships go deep because of the laughter you share, the jokes you make, and the hundreds of memories you have together. Remind your best friend why your friendship is so special with one of these gifts.
14. Personalized necklace
Get a necklace imprinted with the state you’re in and the state your friend is in. Every time your friend wears it, they’ll be reminded of the unique friendship you have together regardless of how many miles separate you.
15. State keychains
Get a puzzle piece keychain set with your state and their state. When the keychains are placed together, they’ll fit together.
When apart, they’ll look like the state they reside in. Give the state you’re in to your bestie and keep the state she’s in for your own keyring. Every time they use their keys, they’ll be reminded of you.
16. Personalized mug
Personalize a mug with a sweet quote such as, “Miles apart but best friends at heart.” Personalize the mugs with the states you both live in and a dotted line that connects the states together.
17. Personalized pillow
Personalize a pillow for your bestie’s home or apartment with pictures, quotes, or fun sayings that you both enjoy.
18. BFF picture frame or stand
Get your bestie a picture frame or stand that says “BFF.” Give it to your bestie with five to 10 pictures that can be rotated out when your best friend misses you.
19. Personalized coasters
Personalize a set of coasters with pictures special to you and your bestie, places that you both love, or maps of places you’ve explored. No matter how you personalize the set of coasters, your friend is bound to smile whenever they’re used.
20. Memory box
Personalize a memory box filled with pictures, brochures, letters, notes, and mementos from a trip you and your bestie took together. Include a thank you letter and you've got a perfect gift ready to go.
Birthday Gifts for a Long Distance Friend
Remind your friends how special they are by celebrating their special day from afar with these well-timed gifts.
21. Give a heart weighted pillow
If you can’t be there to give your best friend a hug, offer the next best thing. The weighted heart pillow is soft, plush, and the perfect size to hug.
22. Friendship bracelets
These are as versatile as it gets and can be made out of nearly any material you choose. You can even go with something fancy and get matching bracelets with Swarovski crystals so you both feel extra elegant.
If you prefer something more low-key, opt for natural stone bracelets such as onyx or amethyst beads in matching or opposite colors.
23. Subscription box
You’ll have no trouble finding a box that is just the fit for your BFF with hundreds of subscription boxes to choose from.
Sign your friend up for a meal subscription, crafting box, or self-care spa day package. You may not be there to enjoy it with your friend but your love will be sent with the box.
24. Travel fund box
Already planning your next big adventure? Give your friend a travel fund box so it’s easy for them to save up. Start your friend off right by including enough cash to cover your first night out or dinner on the town. Include a list of things you’re both planning to do.
25. Recipe card box
Is cooking something you both enjoy doing together? Compile a recipe box of all of your favorite recipes. Make notes and suggestions for things you already do such as substituting regular milk for almond milk or cutting out the peanut butter and using almond butter instead.
Holiday Gifts For a Long Distance Friend
Don’t let any occasion slip by without sharing a reminder of how special your friend is to you.
26. Master class
Thanks to the wide variety of master classes available online, you can sign you and your bestie up for a class to take together. Do you both love cooking? Poetry? Acting? Art?
Choose a class for you both to enjoy. Even if you have to take the class at different times, you can hop on Zoom and talk all about your latest projects and progress.
27. Customized bracelet
Customize a bracelet with a special message just for your BFF. You can use a phrase from an inside joke, a favorite quote, or simply tell your bestie that you love her. Some companies will even use your own handwriting to create the bracelet, giving the gift an extra special personal touch.
28. Gift card
When you can’t be there in person to celebrate a holiday with your bestie, it can feel pretty lonely. Shower your best friend with gift cards for things the two of you enjoy doing together such as shopping at a certain clothing store, participating in an art night, or going to a movie.
Write a gift card message with each card telling your friend why you chose to give that particular card. If you have extra space, include a short memory that goes with each.
29. Personalized ornament
Searching for something to send to brighten up a best friend’s Christmas holiday? Personalize an ornament and send it.
Use a clear glass or plastic ball and insert a favorite picture, some confetti or glitter, and charms. Your friend will think of you fondly every time she decorates her tree and will always be reminded of the adventures you’ve had together.
30. Snack box subscription
Is your BFF a foodie? Sign them up for a snack box subscription. Get as creative as you want and challenge your friend to try foods from around the world. Get yourself one, too, so you can enjoy them together and go on a virtual trip!
Offer a Touch of Home
No matter what you give your friend or what time of the year you do it, gifts such as these will send warm thoughts and tell your friend how much he or she is loved, missed, and cherished. Your friendship doesn’t have to suffer just because you’re far away from each other.
