21 Best Long Distance Friendship Gifts That Will Cross the Gap
Have a distant friend you want to surprise with a sentimental gift on a special occasion? These long distance friendship gifts are the BEST GIFTS and are sure to help you bond and have fun!
Are all of your friends scattered all around the world like mine are? There are so many times I wanted to show my appreciation for them, but we couldn’t hang out or have fun in person. However, I COULD have fun with them virtually by giving them gifts or other activities for us to do together!
Here I’ve gathered some of the best long-distance friendship gifts for your bestie… or yourself! Whether you’re looking for a thoughtful gift for the holiday season or an awesome gift for your best friend’s birthday, we have ideas to fit all kinds of special occasions and budgets!
Why trust Gift Brilliant’s gift recommendations? We won’t overwhelm you with a huge list of gift ideas that people don’t really want. We share gift options that we have personally gifted or received, gifts that others have told us they loved, and a few gift ideas that we would love to have ourselves!
Long Distance Friendship Gifts for Your Far Away Friend
This set is a heartwarming gift for a far-away loved one because they bridge the gap between you, no matter the miles. These innovative bracelets add a touch of magic to your relationship by letting you send love and thoughts through a simple tap, causing the other's bracelet to light up and vibrate, making it feel like a gentle touch from across the distance.
With the app, you can also send secret messages to surprise them. Once the recipient touches their bracelet, the messages will be revealed on their phone. It's a tangible reminder that you're connected and a beautiful way to maintain that special bond, making it feel like you're never truly apart.
Whether it's a little 'thinking of you' during a busy day or a 'goodnight' before bed, these bracelets keep your connection alive and pulsing with every touch, making them a truly meaningful gift - for both of you!
A friendship candle is a great way to tell your long distance bestie that you care while also giving them a nice, relaxing scent to enjoy. Granted, this one has a funny, not-actually-serious threat on the label, but they're sure to find that funny more than they'll find it concerning.
There are also other labeled candles you can pick, though, if you'd rather not risk it, but they'll (most likely) understand. Friendships are made to last, even if they're spread across the continent.
We really like these Homesick Candles too!
These stainless steel bands are plain on the outside (some DO have designs), but have a lovely sentence inscribed on the inside. You have multiple choices as to what it can say, such as the one featured on the left, "we go together like drunk and disorderly", "to the end, you will be my friend", "friends are the family we choose", and more.
There are also inscriptions for sisters, family members, partners, there's even one that would be the perfect wedding gift! It all depends on your relationship with your friend and what you want to say to them. Choose whichever one catches your eye and that fits what you want them to know.
A beautiful gift for either your friend or yourself, this wall art has your location and their location mirrored in a heart. Not only is that just the sweetest thing, you're also able to have MULTIPLE maps if it's not just the two of you. You have the ability to add up to 4 maps and have several dimension options, be it framed or unframed. True friendship really DOESN'T know distance.
Many of these gift ideas are available with Amazon Prime’s fast free shipping (often arriving in just one or two days!). If you’re not already a Prime member, you can get a 30-day FREE trial of Amazon Prime here!
These customizable coffee cups are a nice gift for the coffee-lover friends - although, coffee doesn't HAVE to be what you use them for. You have the ability to personalize with a quote on one side of the mug, customize with your city and state OR your country, choose what color or pattern each state/country gets, as well as what city/country your friend lives in. I got this gift for my mom when I went off to college, and we both loved our mugs and still use them to this day. I highly recommend this as a gift!
This friendship keychain is a special gift yet a discreet way to pay homage to your long-distance bestie. "I love you more than the miles between us" is truly one of the sweetest things you can say to a friend. That not even distance can tarnish your friendship speaks to true loyalty and the amount of care and positivity the two of you share.
You can also personalize the state on the keychain, so you can have one with their state and they can have one with yours.
If you're looking for a simple birthday gift for your long distance best friend, this mug is one of my favorites! These mugs come in two different sizes, 11 oz and 15 oz, and can also either have you both wearing the Best Friends jacket or Christmas pullovers.
When customizing, you have the ability to pick both of your skin colors, as well as your hairstyle and color, be it a french braid, naturally straight, a pouf bun, or curly. The color options are ginger, brown, blonde, black, red, and dark brown. Your names and the date are optional, as are adding matching coasters and a gift box.
I love that there's representation when it comes to designing these mugs, which is proof that a lot of care is taken into making them perfect and special for the both of you.
For loved ones who live far away, this set of friendship lamps will make them feel a little bit closer to you. Touch your Friendship Lamp and their lamp lights the same color as yours. When they respond by touching their lamp back, the two lamps will light a new color! This is a super sweet gift that will help your relationship grow stronger even with distance between you.
(Note that they send BOTH lamps to ONE location, so if you want to send the set of lamps to two different locations, you have to make two separate orders each for a SINGLE lamp.)
Check out our gift ideas for someone who is going away for more gifts to choose from!
This one's on the more creative and thoughtful side of gifts. Inside this book are questions on what you love most about your bestie, what you love doing with them, and many more prompts that encourage you to share why exactly they're your best friend.
Although it takes some thinking on your part, this gift comes from the heart and is sure to make them smile. I've filled out this book for family members before, and each time I gave it to someone they absolutely adored it.
If you want to give your friend a gift unique to them and only them, this is a budget-friendly way to go.
What's the definition of a best friend? This sweet makeup bag will remind you! You can have a girls night even if you live in different cities (or even a different state).
Fill this bag with a couple different colors of nail polish, a face mask, and a personal message to schedule a phone call. Then spend quality time together with a virtual pampering party!
What better way to make memorable moments even when you're far away.
Have a special picture you want to keep in your sight? This cute frame is a wonderful way to commemorate one of your favorite photos featuring the both of you. Of course the sweet quote really makes this meaningful gift a super special one.
The rustic wood finish makes for a great decoration on your desk. mantle, or even bedside table.
If you're more of an astronomy person and love a map of the stars rather than a map of the world, this wall art is the perfect gift for you to get for yourself or your friend (or both!).
There are 14 different options for the size, including unframed print, framed print, metal framed, wood print, unframed canvas, framed canvas, hanging canvas, and metal print.
There are also options as to the size of the frame and the color/material that is used, as well as the color of the words and constellation. I'd recommend getting either this or the satellite map... or both!
Ok, this is just adorable. Each capsule can be opened to find rolled up paper inside, with pre-written positive and affirming messages to your friend. The capsules come in dark blue, green, light blue, mixed color, pink, or yellow!
Comes with 50 capsules. This wonderful gift is a very thoughtful and heartfelt way to show your long-distance bff you care about them.
Have a TON of pictures of each other saved on your phone? This bluetooth printer allows you to print polaroid photos directly from your phone! The set also includes additional paper to print with.
I have this exact one and I LOVE it! It allows me to put a picture of my bestie in my wallet, and string pictures of the both of up with fairy lights. I highly recommend you get this printer and enjoy printing out memories the both of you have.
Let's just get this out of the way: I am a die-hard polaroid fan.
I love taking pictures with this camera and watching it print out the pictures. I'm very impressed with the bluetooth and lens features, and I love that it can be paired with your phone for manual fine-tuning of the camera's settings.
This is the perfect gift for your friend (or yourself) so they can take pictures to send you, or vice-versa. Also available in white and green.
If you're as obsessed with polaroid pictures as I am, you're probably gonna want to have an album to put all your polaroid pictures in. Coming in black, pink, or white, this album can hold 80 photos and is compatible with the polaroid camera featured above. Catalog your memories and invite your friend to do the same!
Put all your memories of you and your loved one in this memory box! Have some trinkets and pictures that remind you of them? Put them in the box! Want to give your friend a little care package created by you? Put some gifts for them in this wooden box and send it to them!
Customize with your names or any message up to 25 letters. This box includes the text "Our Adventures Together" but there are other themes to choose from.
Are you and your friend just really goofy? Then you'll definitely enjoy these custom face socks. All you do is send a picture of your face as an attachment in an Etsy conversation and they take that face and put it all over the socks! Be sure to get matching ones with your friend so you can BOTH have a good laugh every time you see them.
Eden
Eden would rather be shopping for herself or her cat, Moon, but instead she’s writing gift suggestions for you. She’s pretty into plants, pets of all varieties, gaming, books, yoga, music, and mental health, so you’ll see her gift suggestions centered around those themes. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably working on some amazing digital coloring art. Check her out on IG @edenfeeden
