21 Best Long Distance Friendship Gifts That Will Cross the Gap

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.

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.

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 state who the mug is for (sisters, besties, mom, dad, etc), state your city and state OR your country, 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 that you get this as a gift, or a different type of gift that has the same concept.

These bracelets make a great gift for your long-distance best friend. They come in a few different styles; you can have a sun and moon, a heart, an infinity symbol, a heart outline, a compass, a double circle, or a double heart. Personally, I like the sun and moon, since that represents the duality and connection you have with your friend. The two of you are like yin and yang, light and dark, push and pull, ebb and flow, sun and moon. You can’t have one without the other, and that’s truly the best kind of relationship you can have with a friend. It’s a pinky promise that you’ll always be there for each other, no matter what.

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.

I won’t lie: this is probably my favorite long distance gift in this entire list of gift ideas. Friendship lamps are not only super cool, but they have a nice design and make for a really nice decorative piece. No matter where your friend is, you two can communicate using these lamps. When one person touches the lamp, the other friend’s lamp will change to that color. When they respond by touching their lamp, both of the lamps become a new color. 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.

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.

Similar to the friendship lights, these bracelets perceive when one of you touches it. These are also waterproof and a battery life of up to ten days. If you want something with a more discreet way to contact your bestie, this is the cutest way to do so!

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.

These next few are perfect for the photography friends out there.

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 comes in white.

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!

Want a polaroid but don’t want to spend quite as much on one? Or maybe you’d prefer a more colorful, customizable one? I’d definitely recommend getting an Instax Mini. This particular one comes as part of a package, including an instant film twin pack, a photo album, a case, as well as frames and other accessories. If you’d prefer to get the Instax Mini by itself, you’ll find you can get one for half the price of this bundle. This particular link has the sky blue and lilac purple, but there are many other options to choose from, such as black, lush pink, white, and lime green. There are also custom-designed cases you can buy separately, as well as accessories you can get to customize your Instax Mini. Get yourself and your friend one and share pictures with each other and bond over photography! If you’d like a polaroid camera but are on a budget, this is the gift for you.

Put all your memories of you and your friend 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! The customizing options allow you to pick the box size, font style, their name/nickname, a symbol, a middle and bottom line for you to include a message or phrase (perhaps the day you met or a joke?), and a message on the box base.

Do you and your best friend love music? With the Loog guitar, you can both get yourself an instrument on a budget and learn how to play together! The guitar comes with only three strings, so it’s a perfect gift for beginners who are only just learning how to play. Color options include black, sea foam green, light pink, red, white, and yellow. Loog also has an app you can get that walks you through exactly how to tune and play your guitar. There are also mini-games you can play and it teaches you the basic chords to popular (beginner) songs, such as Yellow Submarine. I have one of these and I often video call my friend so we can jam a little together and bond over music. If you’re looking for a new hobby for the both of you to try, learning the guitar with Loog is a great place to start!

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.

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.

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!