Best Friend Gifts, From Small Surprises to Long-Distance Traditions
Fourteen picks, a chooser by the kind of friend she is, and a real plan for the friend who moved away.
The short version The best friend gifts people remember prove you listened: a small upgrade, a handmade card, a plan to spend a day together. If she lives far away, choose something that repeats so the gift keeps going after the box is open.
We built this list from seller pages and from what women say on Reddit about the friend gifts they loved, and the ones that missed. We did not test these products. Prices are rough tiers; sellers change them, so check before you buy. How we pick explains the rest.
A best friend is harder to shop for than a coworker because the bar is higher. She knows you know her. That cuts both ways: a generic candle can feel like you were not paying attention, and a cheap item tied to an inside joke can be the gift she keeps for years.
How to choose a gift for your best friend
You already know her better than any gift guide does. These questions help you use that.
- Listen for what she mentioned once The gifts women describe loving on Reddit are often small ones that prove someone listened: a shirt with her favorite food on it, a bag printed with a phrase she says all the time.
- Upgrade something she runs out of One woman's best friend gives her a bucket of practical refills every birthday (razors, lotion, toothpaste), and she looks forward to it all year. Nicer versions of daily basics get used.
- Decide between an object and a day together If she already has everything, a shared plan often lands better than a package. Painting mugs together or taking turns choosing a birthday brunch spot both came up as favorites.
- If she lives far away, pick something that repeats A one-off box arrives once. A matching pair of lamps, a monthly book or a standing game night keeps going after the wrapping paper is gone.
- Plan around shipping Fragile and bulky gifts cost a lot to send and can arrive late or broken. Local bakery delivery, digital gifts and flat, light items travel well.
- Make one part by hand In an r/AskWomen thread about favorite gifts from friends, the top answer was anything handmade. A card, a playlist or a filled-in book counts.
Which gift fits your best friend
Find the row that sounds like her. The picks are below, grouped by budget and by situation.
| If your best friend… | Look at… | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Has everything and hates clutter | A day out together, the card game, the lip mask | $ to $$ |
| Moved to another state or country | Friendship lamps, Jackbox, the book membership | $$ to $$$ |
| Is a terrible texter | Friendship lamps, open when letters | $ to $$$ |
| Is sentimental | The fill-in book, the star map, the portrait | $ to $$ |
| Loves a craft project | The felting kit, the pottery kit, the bracelet kit | $ to $$ |
| Plans every trip you take | The instant camera | $$$ |
| Is going through a breakup | Open when letters, a care box of her favorite snacks | $ |
Gift ideas for a best friend birthday follow the same chooser. Give the birthday a little extra, though: a delivery that lands on the day, or a plan with a date already on it.
Small gifts under $25
Small gifts are where “I saw this and thought of you” works best. In the r/AskWomen threads we read, some of the warmest stories were about cheap gifts, as long as the gift matched something specific about the person.
The fill-in book takes you half an hour and costs little. The lip mask is the upgrade-something-she-uses rule. The bracelet kit is a small project for the two of you.
We researched these picks from seller pages and reader threads. We did not test them. We may earn a commission if you buy through these links; it never decides what we pick. Disclosure.
Knock Knock Why You're My Bestie Fill in the Love Book
A pocket-size, 112-page book of fill-in-the-blank lines about her, per Knock Knock. You fill it in, so the gift is the half hour you spend on it.
View on Amazon (Knock Knock Why You're My Bestie Fill in the Love Book, opens in a new tab)Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
A small luxury version of something she already keeps in her bag. Good as a stand-alone thank-you or tucked into a birthday card envelope.
View on Amazon (Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, opens in a new tab)Friendship bracelet kit
Etsy has plenty of bracelet-making kits. Make two matching bracelets, or send the kit and make yours on the same night she makes hers.
Browse on Etsy (Friendship bracelet kit, opens in a new tab)
Gifts to use together
If your friend lives nearby, a shared plan is often the better gift. A Reddit commenter described painting ceramic mugs with their best friend, and a birthday tradition where each of them picks a brunch spot in the other’s taste. Another has gone to a comedy show and dinner with a best friend between their birthdays for years.
These picks make that kind of plan easier, or give you something to bring to it.
We researched these picks from seller pages and reader threads. We did not test them. We may earn a commission if you buy through these links; it never decides what we pick. Disclosure.
We're Not Really Strangers Card Game
150 question cards in three levels plus wildcards, per the maker. Better for a slow night in than a party, and good for friends who think they have already heard every story.
View on Amazon (We're Not Really Strangers Card Game, opens in a new tab)Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera
An instant camera for the trip you take together. The prints become a scrapbook later, which one r/AskWomen commenter called the best gift she had ever gotten.
View on Amazon (Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera, opens in a new tab)Paint your own pottery kit
The at-home version of a pottery-painting afternoon. Etsy sellers ship blank pieces with paints; check whether the paint needs baking in a home oven.
Browse on Etsy (Paint your own pottery kit, opens in a new tab)
Gifts for a long-distance best friend
Long-distance friends keep asking a version of the same question: what do I send when I have already sent the photo book, the mug and the care package? The better answer, from the threads we read, is to stop sending one-off gifts and start something you both keep doing.
A few traditions people describe:
- A weekly or monthly movie night, each of you at home, pressing play at the same time on a call.
- A scrapbook or journal mailed back and forth, with each person adding a page before sending it on.
- One item (a hoodie, a stuffed animal) that travels between you, with photos of where it went.
- The same craft kit for both of you, made together over video.
- A game night with the rest of your friend group, run by whoever owns the game.
A book club is the obvious one, but be honest about your reading habits. The top comment in one r/AskWomen thread said their long-distance book club had fizzled three times.
Before you commit, use this checklist so the tradition lasts past month two:
For the birthday itself, local delivery beats shipping. In an r/Gifts thread about long-distance friends, one commenter said a local bakery near their friend delivered a cake as a surprise; some small bakeries deliver themselves and others use delivery apps.
We researched these picks from seller pages and reader threads. We did not test them. We may earn a commission if you buy through these links; it never decides what we pick. Disclosure.
Classic Friendship Lamp
Wi-Fi touch lamps sold in pairs and family packs: touch yours and hers lights up. The brand also sells models that need a subscription, so read the listing before you buy.
See it at Friendshiplamps (Classic Friendship Lamp, opens in a new tab)Open when letters
A set of envelopes labeled for moments (a bad day, a birthday, missing each other) that she opens when the moment comes. Etsy sells the envelope sets; you write the letters.
Browse on Etsy (Open when letters, opens in a new tab)The Jackbox Party Pack 10
Party games where only the host needs to own the pack; on a video call the host shares the screen and everyone joins from a phone at jackbox.tv, per Jackbox. Good for a monthly game night with the whole friend group.
See it at Jackboxgames (The Jackbox Party Pack 10, opens in a new tab)Woolbuddy Needle Felting Starter Kit
A beginner felting kit with step-by-step guidance, per Woolbuddy. Buy two and make the same little animal together over a video call.
See it at Woolbuddy (Woolbuddy Needle Felting Starter Kit, opens in a new tab)Book of the Month gift membership
Gift memberships come in multi-month lengths. Get the same pick each month yourself and you have a two-person book club.
See it at Bookofthemonth (Book of the Month gift membership, opens in a new tab)
Gift ideas for a best friend’s birthday
A birthday is the one day she knows a gift is coming, so the surprise has to come from how well it fits. The easiest upgrade is timing: a cake, flowers or a breakfast box that shows up that morning, ordered from a shop near her. A poster on r/Gifts wanted exactly that for a best friend who had just moved back to Amsterdam, along with a small, colorful piece for her new home.
If her birthday lands in a rough year, lean toward comfort. When a 26-year-old’s best friend overseas was going through a bad breakup, replies in an r/GiftIdeas thread suggested a care box with cozy socks and her favorite snacks, a homemade photo album, and friendship bracelets for a friend who loves Taylor Swift. None of those cost much. Each one came from details the poster already knew about her.
For a milestone like 30 or 40, think about giving a plan instead of a package: a joint birthday trip, a class booked for both of you, or a day you organize start to finish. One commenter described two friends planning a whole mystery day for them.
Keepsakes worth keeping
Keepsakes suit the friend who saves ticket stubs and cards. A custom piece only works if it looks like the two of you, so pick sellers with lots of photos of finished work, and allow time for drafts and shipping.
We researched these picks from seller pages and reader threads. We did not test them. We may earn a commission if you buy through these links; it never decides what we pick. Disclosure.
Custom best friend portrait illustration
An Etsy artist draws the two of you from a photo. Send a photo where you both look like yourselves.
Browse on Etsy (Custom best friend portrait illustration, opens in a new tab)Matching best friend necklaces
Two necklaces meant to be worn as a pair. Simple ones get worn; the halves-of-a-heart kind may end up in a drawer for an adult.
Browse on Etsy (Matching best friend necklaces, opens in a new tab)Custom star map print
A print of the night sky over a date and place that matters to the two of you, such as the day you met. One r/GiftIdeas reply suggested it for a long-distance friend.
Browse on Etsy (Custom star map print, opens in a new tab)
If your best friend is also your sister, our gifts for sisters guide has a chooser for that. For a mom who is also your closest friend, see mother-daughter gifts.
What people actually say
The poster in this r/GiftIdeas thread has traded birthday gifts with a best friend three or four states away for years: a photo book, Polaroids, a silver ring, a mug. With a week to go, the poster was out of ideas. The most useful reply suggested a kit for an activity they could both do during a video call, like painting or a small craft, so the gift doubles as time spent together. Others suggested a care package with her favorite snacks, a printed photo and a handwritten letter.
On r/AskWomenOver30, a woman whose group of three friends had scattered to New York, Florida and Illinois called the touch lamps her best friend sent them the best gift she had ever received. One friend in the group is a famously bad texter, and a tap on the lamp lets her say she is thinking of the others without typing a word. She noted the lamps can be pricey and that they bought cheaper kids’ versions, which worked just as well.
An older r/AskWomen thread on keeping in touch with long-distance friends is full of traditions: weekly movie nights over video, snail mail, a meme printout mailed to a friend having a bad week, a scrapbook passed back and forth. The top commenter loves the idea of a book club but admitted theirs had fizzled three times.
When someone asked for an original gift for a best friend who has everything, the most upvoted reply was a mug-painting afternoon and a brunch-picking birthday tradition. Another reply described skipping gifts for a joint birthday trip, and babysitting so a friend with kids could go out alone.
In an r/AskWomen thread about gifts from female friends, handmade gifts got the most votes. One woman said a member of her monthly hobby group, not a close friend, gave her a cheap T-shirt with her favorite food on it and she “felt so seen.” Another kept the crocheted pumpkins her best friend made before moving 19 hours away.
And in a thread on the best gifts from friends, one woman described her best friend’s yearly “Practicality Pack”: a bucket of razors, lotion, toothpaste and other basics she needs but hates paying for. Another woman’s best friend drank the last bottle of her favorite limited summer seltzer by accident, then tracked down a whole case and had it delivered.
Questions people ask
- What is a good gift for a long-distance best friend?
- Something that repeats: a pair of friendship lamps, a monthly book you both read, or a game night you run over video. For her birthday itself, a local bakery delivery gets there without shipping risk.
- What do you get a best friend who has everything?
- Time together (a class, a day out, a birthday tradition) or a nicer version of something she uses up. Clutter is the risk, so skip decor unless you know her taste exactly.
- Do friendship lamps need Wi-Fi or a subscription?
- The Friendship Lamps brand sells Wi-Fi touch lamps, so each lamp needs a Wi-Fi connection where it lives. Some of its models need a subscription and others do not, so check the listing.
- Can we play Jackbox together if only one of us owns it?
- Yes. Jackbox says only the host needs to own the pack; remote players watch the host's shared screen and join at jackbox.tv with the room code.
- Is a gift card too impersonal for a best friend?
- Not always. In one r/Gifts thread a commenter said getting coffee money for the day by email felt thoughtful. Add a note that says why.
Sources
- How to Play Jackbox Games, Jackbox Games
- Friendship Lamps, Friendship Lamps (Filimin)
- Why You're My Bestie Fill in the Love Book, Knock Knock
- We're Not Really Strangers Card Game, We're Not Really Strangers
- Needle Felting Starter Kit, Woolbuddy
Written and edited by Eric Iverson for Katy & June. Reader threads are paraphrased and linked; we never invent quotes. Gift picks are researched from seller pages and reader threads, not tested. Spot something out of date? Tell us and it gets fixed.