18+ Long Distance Best Friend Ideas That Actually Work

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Here’s a tip nobody tells you: the trick to long distance friendship isn’t one big grand gesture! It’s a bunch of tiny, dumb, wonderful little habits that pile up over months.

A shared playlist. A weekly meme dump. A candle that smells like her old apartment. Little things, but they add up fast!

So I went digging through hundreds of pins looking for ideas that actually hold up outside of a screenshot. A lot of them looked cute but were expensive, fussy or just not realistic for two people juggling different time zones and different budgets.

What made the final cut had to be doable on a random Tuesday. It also had to be cheap enough to not think twice about and genuinely sweet without being cheesy. Some are gifts, some are activities, some are just photo ideas for your feed.

Below you’ll find 18 long distance best friend ideas split into little categories: things to send, things to do together on video call, quotes worth framing and photo poses that actually look good side by side.

Scroll through, save the ones that fit your friendship and steal freely. Who’s keeping score here anyway? Nobody, lol!

LONG DISTANCE BEST FRIEND IDEAS

Matching Friendship Bracelets Set

I actually ordered two identical sets so neither of us felt like the copy. Beaded ones with your initials feel different from the plastic loom kind you made as kids. Wear them on video calls and it becomes this tiny inside joke. My set has a chipped bead from year one and I refuse to fix it.

Nobody else gets it, but that’s kind of the whole appeal!

Shared Photo Album Jar

The jar sits on my kitchen shelf and slowly fills up all year. We print tiny photos, fold them up and drop them in. Each of us keeps one and adds separately, then we swap sneaky updates over text.

We open them together every New Year and read every folded memory out loud. Half of them make no sense a year later, which is honestly the best part! How great is that tradition?

Sync Watch Party Setup

I used to shout spoilers across time zones before we figured this out. Free apps let you press play at the exact same second on both screens. No more buffering fights or someone yelling the ending early. We even picked a designated snack for horror night, always popcorn.

Snacks plus a synced screen and it genuinely feels like the same couch!

Handwritten Letter Exchange Box

I still get excited when the box shows up with new stamps on it. Pick a plain wooden box, decorate it however you like and mail actual letters inside. It travels between you both, picking up stickers with every trip.

It is slow on purpose. That is honestly the whole point, lol!

Matching Best Friend Tattoos

A tiny matching symbol somewhere discreet is a permanent version of the bracelet idea. A lot of shops now do simplified line work for pairs. We picked a tiny wave, since that’s where we met.

Keep it small, keep it cheap! Twenty years from now it still has to make sense.

Custom Constellation Star Map

My favorite part is punching in the exact day we met instead of some random date. This is one of the more thoughtful long distance friendship gift ideas because it is built around a specific moment. The print shows how the sky looked over both your cities that night.

Framed on the wall, it turns into this weirdly emotional thing that started as a random website order!

Personalized Distance Necklace Set

Mine sits on my nightstand and I catch myself touching it sometimes. Two halves of a coin, a map or a heart that snap together when you are standing next to each other. The two of you never will be. Isn’t that the whole point of the metaphor?

Somehow that is exactly what makes it funny and sweet at the same time, haha!

Surprise Snack Care Package

Is it really a long distance friendship without a surprise snack box showing up unannounced? Not in my book! Fill it with whatever her local grocery store doesn’t carry.

Toss in a handwritten note so it doesn’t feel like a random Amazon order. Who doesn’t love getting mail that isn’t a bill?

Handmade Scented Candle Box

I poured mine myself in a jar from the craft store and it barely cost anything. This lands right in that sweet spot of things to send your long distance friend that actually get used. Pick a scent that reminds her of somewhere you both used to hang out.

It looks way pricier than it actually was, lol!

Polaroid Memory Postcards

I still think a photo in the mailbox beats anything on a phone screen. Print favorite pictures in postcard size, scribble a note on the back and send them one at a time. They land differently than a text ever could.

There is just no competing with real mail showing up! Am I right?

Video Call Baking Night

The trick is picking one simple recipe so nobody has an excuse to skip it. Both of you already have the ingredients somewhere in the pantry. I prop my phone on the counter so we can bake at the same time. If you were hunting for virtual friend date ideas, this one is a keeper!

Half the fun is watching each other mess it up in real time, haha! Whoever burns something first sends photo evidence, no exceptions.

Online Board Game Session

Plenty of classic board games now have free browser versions built for two players. Keep the call open on speaker so the trash talk never stops.

They say it beats being in the same room! Honestly, I believe them.

Virtual Movie Night Setup

All you need is a shared streaming account and a three, two, one before hitting play. Keep the chat window open for reactions the whole time.

Someone always types in all caps at the plot twist, lol!

Framed Friendship Quote Print

I always skip the generic ones everyone already has framed on a wall. Pick a line that actually sounds like something you would say to each other. There is a whole world of long distance bestie quotes out there that are funnier and less greeting card.

Dig a little and you will find one that actually sounds like you two! How cute is that?

Quote Printable Wall Card

My printer gets a real workout every time I swap this one out. Design one yourself with a free template and just print it at home. It will not last forever taped to a wall, but that is fine.

New one every few months and it never gets old! Same!

Split Screen Selfie Pose

Both of you take a selfie at the same time in the same pose. Then stitch them side by side so it reads like you are standing right next to each other.

Try matching outfits and nobody believes you are states apart, lol!

Same Sky Photo Series

The same sky photo series is one of my favorite long distance relationship pic ideas because it needs zero planning. Snap a picture of the sky wherever you are at sunset, whatever the sky is doing.

Send them to each other and post them side by side. Some nights they match almost perfectly. Other nights it’s a total mismatch and that’s kind of funny too, haha!

Holding Hands Screen Photo

I always mess up the angle on the first two tries before it finally lines up. One person holds a hand toward the camera while the other lines their hand up on their screen. Snap it at the right moment and it genuinely looks like your hands are touching. We did this on a rainy Tuesday and it still makes me smile.

It is a small trick, but it makes for one of the sweeter photos on either feed! Who doesn’t love that?