A gift for your best friend: from inside joke to something that lasts
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Choosing for your best friend is difficult because you know too much: every joke can go too far and every practical gift feels boring. A buying guide with considerations for humor, utility, and budget.
For a colleague, you buy something neutral, and for family, something safe. For your best friend, it's trickier, and that's not because you don't know enough. In fact, you know too much: you know the joke that started three years ago, you know which hobby was over after two months, and you know there are already four mugs in the cupboard. The result is that you end up buying something with a gift receipt anyway.
It helps to distinguish between two types of gifts that are both good but serve different purposes. One is a gift for the moment of unwrapping: the joke, the reference, the laughter at the table. The other is a gift for the months after: something that hangs on a keyring or lies in a drawer. Choose consciously which of the two you want – or combine them, as they are both inexpensive enough to buy together.
A joke works once, and that's fine
A gift with humor should not be judged on how long it lasts, but on the reaction it elicits. The pitfall is a joke that is only funny to you, or one that crosses a line if parents or neighbors are also present. Two rules of thumb: choose something that the other person would dare to show to others themselves, and carefully examine the product photo beforehand so you know exactly what you're getting.
If the friendship is full of references to games or series, a small trinket often works better than a grand gesture: Gaming Door Signs, set of 4 costs € 2.95 and is just enough.
Something you use together
The best friend gift is often not just for the other person, but something you are also present for when it's used. A game that comes out on the table the next time you meet up does more than an object that disappears into the cupboard.
Always check the number of players on the game packaging. A game for two is a different gift than a game for eight, and especially with groups of friends, that makes the difference between "often played" and "tried once."
Small, practical, and used every day
Socks and keychains have a reputation for being obligatory, but they score high on the only metric that counts: they get used. For socks, the size is the only real question; fortunately, it's usually indicated in two broad size ranges on the packaging.
If you want something more expensive that is still used daily, a sturdier mug like the Black Pistol Coffee Mug (€ 24.95) is in a different price range, but it's something that will be taken out of the cupboard every morning.
What to skip
Three categories most often result in a gift that remains unused. Firstly, clothing with a size you have to guess – socks and one-size items excluded. Secondly, items for a hobby that has just started: wait until someone has been doing it for six months. And thirdly, the gift that is mostly about you: a reference that only you understand is fun on the day itself, but doesn't make for a gift someone will show to others.
If you're torn between two things, choose the smaller one and add something consumable – for example, a Soap Rose for € 5.00. Two small things almost always feel more generous than one medium-sized item.
Three combinations with price
Budget
Combination
Total
Up to € 10
Rainbow socks + gaming door signs
€ 7.95
€ 10 – € 20
UNO Flex + sudoku keychain
€ 14.94
€ 20 – € 30
99-in-1 game set + crypto meme mug
€ 22.95
If you don't see each other on the day itself
If your best friend lives further away, the size determines shipping costs. Socks, a keychain, and a card game fit in a letterbox package; a mug does not, as it is too tall and too fragile for an envelope. Always pack a mug separately in protective filling material, with space between the handle and the box wall.
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