With Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings, it feels like there’s always a gift you need to be buying for someone at every point of the year. And gift giving is difficult! Some are easier to buy for than others, and some it seems frankly impossible to think of anything at all. This gets even more difficult when you add in long distance. 

Friends move away (or you do), and this can be difficult for many reasons – gift giving is the least of your sadnesses, usually. But, when faced with a birthday for a faraway friend or relative, it can help to have a handy guide like this one to spark off a few ideas. 

The main principle for a long-distance gift is that you won’t be able to give it to them in person, so it needs to be able to be posted or delivered directly to them. 

Flowers

Flowers are a simple, easy gift that will always go down well. They can be used for almost any occasion. They are a great choice because they stay alive for a long time, so your friend or relative will have a good week of looking at and smelling the flowers and being reminded of you.  

You can pick the right bunch by considering if your friend or relative has any favourite flowers. If not, consider their favourite colours or scents. 

There are loads of companies these days who deliver flowers – even some who can post them through a letter box. This makes them ideal for those special people who live a bit too far away. 

Hampers

Hampers are a great long-distance gift because they can be delivered right to their door, and they’ll look great too. No shoddy wrapping paper banged up by the post, nor any amazon cardboard packaging that doesn’t feel very special. Instead, hampers are beautifully laid out, and their contents will make the receiver feel special. 

Gourmet gift hampers are often an excellent choice for a friend or relative that you don’t know too well. It isn’t very specific, and everyone will appreciate it. 

Dinner vouchers

Vouchers are a great option because you can send them via email or through the post in a card. By paying for a meal out for your friend or relative, you can give them a great evening in which they can be celebrated (without having to pay the bill!). You can also show them that you love them by getting them for their favourite restaurant (which you’ve definitely remembered from when they told you before!).

An experience

In a similar vein to vouchers, buying your friend or relative an experience is a great way to give them something they’ll remember, while also being very easy to gift them despite the miles and miles they live away from you. 

Tailor it to your friend – have they always wanted to go camping? Or perhaps they love animals, so you’ve bought them tickets to the zoo? Whatever they’re into, consider getting them an experience so they can have a memorable day out. 

Plus, then you get to chat about it over video call the next day and share the experience together!