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Things to Send Your Best Friend: 30 Ideas for Every Mood

· 4 min read

In short

Good things to send your best friend include a voice note just to say hi, an old photo of you two, a meme that fits an inside joke, a handwritten letter, or a small care package on a bad day. The best ones are specific to your friendship and show you were thinking of them.

The best things to send your best friend are small, specific, and a little unexpected: a voice note that starts "okay, you will not believe this," a throwback photo from that one trip, a meme only they'd get, or a letter in the mail for no reason. You don't need an occasion. Here are 30 ideas sorted by mood, from random Tuesday to really bad week, with lines you can steal.

What can I send my best friend to make them smile?

Send something that proves you know them. Inside jokes and shared memories beat generic cute stuff every time.

  1. A throwback photo with a caption: "We thought we were SO cool here."
  2. A meme that fits an inside joke perfectly, with zero context.
  3. A voice note of you laughing at something they said yesterday. Just the laugh. Then: "Still thinking about it."
  4. A screenshot of your first-ever message to each other.
  5. A "this reminded me of you" photo of a random dog, a sign, a terrible outfit in a store.
  6. A song with a timestamp. "2:14. That's us."
  7. A sticker of their face made from an unhinged photo. Use it in every reply for a day.
  8. A ranking. "Top 5 worst decisions we made together, in order." They will argue. That's the point.

What should I send my best friend when they're having a bad day?

Send something that says "I'm here" without making them do any work to respond. Then follow their lead on whether they want to talk.

  1. A low-pressure check-in. "Thinking of you. No need to reply. Want me to call, distract you, or just leave you to it?"
  2. A voice note instead of a text. Hearing a friendly voice hits differently. Try: "Hey, I know today's rough. You don't have to answer. I just wanted you to hear that I'm on your side, always. Call me if you want, or I'll send you dumb videos until you laugh."
  3. Food delivered to their door, or a coffee they can pick up.
  4. A list of reasons they're great. Specific ones. "You remember everyone's birthday. You made me go to that concert. You're the funniest person I know."
  5. A plan to look forward to. "Saturday, you, me, the bad movie of your choice."
  6. A cute animal video, because it works.

What are cute things to send your best friend for no reason?

The "no reason" sends are the ones people remember. They say "you crossed my mind," which is the whole point of friendship.

  1. A good morning voice note on a random weekday.
  2. A photo of something you're doing with "wish you were here."
  3. A playlist titled with an inside joke, with one line about why each song made it.
  4. A drawing, even a terrible one, of the two of you.
  5. A "remember when" message about a memory you haven't talked about in years.
  6. A compliment you heard about them. "My mom asked how you're doing, she thinks you're the best."

Want more voice note ideas? See voice note ideas for your best friend.

What can I mail my best friend?

Snail mail feels special because almost nobody sends it anymore. A letter or a small package becomes something they keep.

  1. A handwritten letter, about anything. Bonus if it has doodles in the margins.
  2. Postcards from wherever you are, even your own city.
  3. A mini photo booth strip or printed Polaroids.
  4. A care package with a theme: "survive finals week," "new apartment," "breakup recovery kit."
  5. Open-when letters: "open when you're stressed," "open when you miss me," "open on your birthday."
  6. Friendship bracelets you made, one for each of you.

For bigger occasions, our sentimental gifts for best friends list goes deeper.

What should I send my long distance best friend?

When you can't hang out, send things that recreate hanging out. The goal is to make the distance feel shorter.

  1. A "day in my life" voice note series, narrated in real time.
  2. A watch-along plan: pick a show, press play at the same time, and voice-note your reactions.
  3. Something from your city they've never tried.
  4. A countdown to your next visit, updated with a different photo every week.

More ideas live in our long distance best friend guide.

How do you keep all the little things your best friend sends you?

The voice notes, photos, and silly stickers you swap with your best friend add up to a whole history of your friendship, and they're easy to lose in a busy chat.

Tucket is an app we're building to fix that. When Tucket launches, you'll be able to make a pocket for your best friend, save their voice notes or record sounds live, put a photo of them on every sound, turn your favorite pics of them into stickers, and share the pocket so you both fill it together. It's private, with no feed and no strangers. See more on our best friends page.

Questions people ask

What is a cute thing to send your best friend?
A throwback photo with a funny caption, a voice note of you laughing at their joke, or a song that reminds you of them. Anything tied to a shared memory works best.
What do you text your best friend when they're sad?
Keep it low pressure: let them know you're thinking of them, that they don't need to reply, and ask whether they want to talk, be distracted, or be left alone.
What can I send my best friend in the mail?
A handwritten letter, postcards, printed photos, open-when letters, or a small themed care package. Mail feels special because so few people send it.
How often should you send things to your best friend?
There's no rule. Small, random check-ins every so often tend to mean more than one big gesture a year.

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