Long distance friendship gifts and ideas to stay close

The best long distance friend gifts are the ones you can share across the miles: matching experiences you do together on a video call, handwritten letters, a care package that smells like your old apartment, or a standing ritual that keeps you in each other's week. Below are 40 long distance friendship gifts and ideas to stay close, from mailable gifts and care package ideas to things to do together apart.

Quick picks

• Best overall: send the same experience to both of you and do it together on FaceTime. Romanticize Collective, the experience club for women, sends original experiences designed and curated in Los Angeles, each wrapped with a guide and the core items to bring it to life. Try Make Nonna Proud for a two-kitchen pasta night.
• Most sentimental: Love You, Mean It, watercolor cards, envelopes, a gold pen and prompts for letters you'll both keep.
• Best ongoing gift: a Single membership, one experience a month at her door, so she has something to look forward to and a reason to call you.
• Best last-minute: an eGift card, delivered by email in minutes.
• Best free idea: a monthly letter, on real paper, with a photo tucked inside.

Long distance friend gifts to mail

1. Matching experiences. Order two of the same $25 experience, one to each of you, and pick a night to open them together on video.
2. Best of Box, split in two. Best of Box has four member favorites ($69.99 one time). Send one to her and plan a monthly video date to work through them.
3. A candle that smells like your city. Or pour your own: A Second Light sends her thrifting for a vessel, then pouring a candle into it.
4. A framed photo of the two of you. The candid one from years ago that still makes you both laugh.
5. Two halves of a friendship necklace. Grown-up versions exist, in gold, and they're very cute.
6. A "this reminded me of you" box. Collect small things for a month (a matchbook, a pastry from your bakery, a pressed flower) and mail them all at once.
7. A custom map print. Two cities with a line between them, or the neighborhood where you met.
8. Local snacks from your town. The chips, the hot sauce, the cookie only your city has.
9. A book with your notes in the margins. Underline the lines that made you think of her.
10. A recipe you used to make together. Write it on a card and include one hard-to-find ingredient.

Care package ideas for a long distance friend

A great care package has a theme. Pick one, then fill a box with four to six things that fit.

11. The cozy night in. Tea, fuzzy socks, a face mask, a puzzle and a handwritten movie recommendation.
12. The rough week. Her favorite candy, a soft blanket, a funny card and a note that says "call me tonight."
13. The new city. A guide to her new town, a plant, a mug and a letter about why she'll love it there.
14. The birthday from afar. Confetti, a candle, a mini cake mix and a video message from mutual friends. Our birthday gift ideas for her has more.
15. The nostalgia box. Candy from your childhood, a printed photo from high school and a mixtape (yes, a playlist QR code counts).
16. The slumber party. A pretty dessert glass, sprinkles, a sleep mask and a movie you'll both press play on at the same time.
17. The romanticize-your-week box. A bouquet of dried flowers, a journal, a nice pen and a list of seven small rituals, one per day.

Things to do together when you live far apart

Gifts are lovely. Shared time is better. These turn a video call into an actual hangout.

18. Cook the same recipe at the same time. Prop up the phone, pour a glass and compare results.
19. Open the same experience together. Romanticize Collective experiences take 20 minutes to 1.5 hours, which is the perfect length for a call. Both of you, same guide, two kitchens.
20. Start a two-person book club. One book a month, one long call to talk about it.
21. Watch a movie in sync. Count down, press play together and text through it like you're on the same couch.
22. Paint the sunset in two time zones. Each watch your own sunset phone-free, paint it, then swap photos.
23. Do a puzzle race. Same puzzle, same start time. Loser plans the next hang.
24. Write letters to open on the same day. Mail them a week ahead and open them together on a call.
25. Take a class together online. Watercolor, a language, a cooking class. Learning something side by side bonds you.
26. Have a virtual girls night. Pick a theme, dress up a little, invite the group chat. Our girls night ideas work on video too.
27. Plan a trip together. Even if it's a year out, a shared countdown is a gift in itself.

Small rituals that keep a long distance friendship close

28. A standing call. Same day, same time, every other week. Put it on the calendar like a meeting you'd never cancel.
29. A walk-and-talk. Call while you both go for a walk in your own neighborhoods. Describe what you see.
30. A photo a day for a month. No captions needed. Just the small stuff.
31. Voice notes instead of texts. Hearing her laugh is the whole point.
32. A shared playlist. Add a song each week. It becomes a soundtrack of your friendship.
33. Monthly snail mail. One letter a month, on real paper. It takes ten minutes and it's the thing she'll save.
34. A shared journal that travels. Write a few pages, mail it to her, she writes and mails it back.
35. Mark her calendar. Know her big days (the job interview, the move, the doctor's appointment) and check in that morning.

Gifts for a friend who just moved away

36. A housewarming plant delivered to her new door.
37. A "first night" kit. Takeout gift card, a candle, toilet paper and a bottle of something bubbly.
38. Something to look forward to in her new place. A few months of a Single membership so a little surprise shows up at her new address each month.
39. A framed print of your old city. So home is on her wall.
40. A visit, booked. Send a screenshot of your flight confirmation. Best gift on this list.

Long distance friend gifts for special occasions

Her birthday

Schedule a delivery for the morning of, then call at a set time to open it together. A $25 experience plus a video message from mutual friends feels like a party even from 2,000 miles away.

Galentine's Day

Write each other letters with Love You, Mean It and read them aloud on a call. It's sappy in the best way.

The holidays

Send matching ornaments, a shared holiday playlist and a cookie recipe to bake on the same night. If you would rather send something to open, the $25 experiences and Best of Box ship right away.

A hard season

Skip anything that asks her to do more. Send comfort (a blanket, a candle, her favorite snack), a note that says you don't need a reply, and a check-in on the calendar for next week.

Your friendiversary

The anniversary of the day you met deserves a card. Include a photo from that year and one memory she's probably forgotten.

Long distance friend gifts by budget

Budget	Ideas
Free to $10	Monthly letters, voice notes, a shared playlist, a photo a day, a standing call
$10 to $30	A $25 matching experience, a candle, local snacks, a book with notes
$30 to $75	Best of Box ($69.99), a themed care package, a framed map print
$75 and up	A few months of a Single membership, friendship jewelry, a booked visit

Stay close without the planning

The hardest part of a long distance friendship isn't the miles. It's that nobody has time to plan. Romanticize Collective is an experience club for women, with original experiences designed and curated in Los Angeles and a new drop every month: four experiences on Signature membership, one on Single membership. Each comes wrapped with a guide I write and the core items to bring it to life, so the plan is done and you just call each other and open it.

• $25 experiences: order two and do one together, ships right away.
• Best of Box: four member favorites, $69.99 one time.
• Single membership: one experience a month for her, $19.99 plus shipping.
• Signature membership: four a month. Split them: two for you, two for her. Get $15 off your first month of Signature membership when you sign up for our emails.

Every gift order can include a gift note at checkout. More ideas: gifts for your best friend.

New members get $15 off their first month of Signature membership. Order by the 20th for next month's experiences. Best of Box and $25 experiences ship right away (5 to 10 business days).

FAQ

What do you get a long distance best friend?

Something you can share across the miles: matching experiences you do on a video call, handwritten letters, a themed care package or a membership that sends her something to look forward to each month.

What do you put in a care package for a long distance friend?

Pick a theme (cozy night, rough week, new city, birthday) and add four to six things: a treat, something cozy, something to do and a handwritten note.

How do you stay close to a friend who lives far away?

Set a standing call, send voice notes, mail a monthly letter and do things together on video, like cooking the same recipe or opening the same experience.

What are fun things to do with a long distance friend?

Cook the same recipe, start a two-person book club, watch a movie in sync, race the same puzzle, paint the sunset in two time zones or plan a trip together.

What's a good gift for a friend who just moved?

A plant delivered to her new door, a first night kit, a framed print of your old city or a Single membership so a surprise arrives at her new address each month.

Written by Aly Aguilar, founder of Romanticize Collective, the experience club designed and curated in Los Angeles.

Aly here, founder of Romanticize Collective: original experiences that make ordinary days worth looking forward to again. If you want something new to look forward to each month, start with the Single membership, $19.99 plus shipping, skip or cancel anytime.