Christmas Gifts for Best Friend, Plus the Etiquette Nobody Explains
By the Giftruly editorsUpdated 18 hand-picked ideas
Christmas gifts between friends are optional in a way family gifts aren't, which somehow makes them more stressful. Are you exchanging this year? Did they already buy you something? Is the friend group doing Secret Santa, and if so, do the two of you still swap on the side? Friendships rarely come with rules, and December is when the lack of them shows.
So we've started with the etiquette, briefly, and then the gifts: things to bring to a friend's holiday get-together, matching gifts for the two of you, cozy picks for the darkest weeks of the year, a run of cheap gifts for when you're buying for the whole group, and gifts that are really a plan for the year ahead.
Our main gifts for best friend guide covers the rest of the year. For a friend-group exchange with a fixed budget, the Secret Santa gifts list is more useful, and stocking stuffer gifts has plenty of small extras.
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Tell Truly about them in a sentence. You'll get ideas picked for them, each with a reason why.
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The unwritten rules of friend gift exchanges
If you've never exchanged gifts before, don't spring an expensive one on them; it leaves a friend scrambling to match it. A quick "are we doing presents this year?" text in early December spares you both, and most friends are relieved to be asked. If you do agree to exchange, settle on a rough number too.
Keep one small wrapped backup in a drawer, like a good chocolate bar or a box of nice tea, for the moment someone hands you a gift you weren't expecting. And if you're both in a group Secret Santa, it's fine to keep a separate tradition for the two of you. Just exchange those gifts privately, so nobody else in the group feels left out.
Something to bring to Friendsmas
If your friends celebrate together before everyone scatters for the holidays, these are easy gifts for the host or for the whole table.
- 1~$15
Mulling Spice Gift Set for Apple Cider
Whole spices for a pot of mulled cider or wine. Bring it early and the whole apartment will smell like the holidays by dinner.
Home Cooksconsumable - 2~$30
Hot Chocolate Gift Set with Mug and Marshmallows
A mug, cocoa mix and marshmallows in one box. A sweet, low-effort host gift that suits friends who don't drink.
Chocolate LoversCoffee Loverscozy - 3~$19
Wine and Cheese Pairing Card Deck
Cards that suggest which cheese goes with which wine. Add a bottle and a wedge and the party has its own activity.
Wine LoversHome Cooksfun - 4~$25
Holiday Cookie Tin Assortment
A tin of assorted holiday cookies to set out on the table. Nobody in history has been disappointed to see one arrive.
Bakersconsumable
Matching gifts for the two of you
Matching gifts are a best-friend tradition for a reason: one for them, one for you, and a small reminder every time either of you uses it. Christmas is a good time to start one.
- 5
Matching Christmas Pajama Set
~$30
Holiday pajamas in adult sizes, bought for both of you (or the whole group, if you're brave). Wear them for a December movie night and take the photo you'll repost every year after. Order early, since popular prints sell out in common sizes, and check the size chart carefully because fits vary between brands.
- 6
Personalized Christmas Ornament
~$18
Two ornaments with the same date or the same in-joke, one for each tree. It's a quietly sentimental gift that comes out every December, wherever either of you ends up living. For a friend who's just moved into a first apartment, it may be the very first ornament they own.
- 7
Long-Distance Matching Friendship Bracelets
~$18
A pair of simple bracelets, one each. They're understated enough for everyday wear, which is the point: you forget you have them on until someone asks. Good for friends who go home to different states for the holidays and won't see each other until January.
Cozy gifts for the darkest weeks
December and January are hard months for a lot of people: dark by 4:30, cold, and a little lonely once the parties are over. A gift that makes those evenings softer is one a best friend will appreciate long after the wrapping paper is gone.
- Our favorite8
Heated Electric Throw Blanket
~$55
An electric throw that warms up quickly and switches itself off after a set time. For the friend who's always cold, keeps the heat low to save money, or works from a chilly spare room, it may be the thing they use most all winter. It's simply cozier than an ordinary blanket on the couch. Check that the one you choose has an auto shut-off, so they can doze off under it without worrying.
- 9
Sunrise Alarm Clock
~$50
A lamp that slowly brightens before the alarm goes off, like a sunrise. On January mornings, when it's still pitch black at 7am, waking to light instead of a beep feels much gentler. A thoughtful pick for a friend who dreads winter mornings.
- 10
Candle Warmer Lamp with Timer
~$35
A small lamp that melts a candle from above, so the scent fills the room without an open flame. Good for a friend in a rental, a home with pets, or anyone who forgets to blow candles out. Pair it with a jar candle in a scent they already love.
- 11
Book of the Month Subscription
~$50
A new hardcover each month, picked from a short list. It gives a reading friend something to look forward to through the long winter, and it keeps arriving well after the holidays are over. Three months is a nice start.
Under $25 each, for the whole friend group
When you're buying for five or six friends, the trick is something small that still feels chosen. Buy several of one thing, or mix and match.
12.Chocolate Dipped Hot Cocoa Spoons ~$18
Spoons dipped in chocolate that melt into a mug of hot milk. Charming, inexpensive and easy to buy in multiples.
13.Amaryllis Bulb Growing Kit ~$25
A bulb in a pot that grows into a big red bloom after the holidays. A living gift that brightens a gloomy windowsill.
14.Gourmet Popcorn Gift Set ~$24
Several flavored popcorns in one box. Ideal for whoever hosts movie night, and easy to share around the group.
15.Mini Succulent Trio in Ceramic Pots ~$25
Three tiny succulents that survive almost any level of neglect. Good for the friend who has killed every other houseplant.
Gifts that are really a plan for next year
The best part of a close friendship is the time you spend together, and the new year is a good moment to plan more of it. These gifts come with an unspoken "let's actually do this."
- 16
Scratch-Off National Parks Passport and Stamp Kit
~$32
A booklet for collecting stamps at national parks, with scratch-off spots for each one you visit. Give it with a date for your first trip together, even if it's only the nearest park. Made for the friend who keeps saying you should both get outdoors more.
- 17
Book Club Conversation Cards for Fiction Readers
~$19
Discussion cards for talking about novels. Use them to start a two-person book club: one book a month, one dinner to argue about it. It's a cheap gift that becomes a standing date, which is worth more than most expensive ones.
- 18
Pasta Making Kit with Rolling Pin
~$40
A rolling pin, cutters and tools for making fresh pasta by hand. Promise a monthly dinner where you learn a new shape together. Messy, fun and a reliable way to keep seeing each other once the holiday rush is over.
Shop this guide by price
Under $25
$25–$50
A few December reminders
Text before you shop. "Are we doing gifts?" is a perfectly normal question between friends.
Hand gifts over before everyone leaves town. A package mailed on the 22nd can sit in a sorting center until January.
If they celebrate a different holiday, or none at all, a New Year's gift sidesteps the question entirely.
The card can carry more than the present. A line about your favorite moment together this year costs nothing.
If you're stuck, tell our gift finder about your friend and your budget, and you'll get a shortlist in seconds.
Friends at Christmas: common questions
Should I get my best friend a Christmas gift?
Only if you both want to. Plenty of close friends skip presents and go out for dinner instead. If you're not sure, ask; most people appreciate the question more than a surprise they then have to match.
What's a good Christmas gift for a best friend on a budget?
Hot cocoa spoons, an amaryllis bulb, matching ornaments or friendship bracelets all come in under $25. A small gift with a long, specific card is often the one people keep.
What can I give a best friend who doesn't celebrate Christmas?
Give a New Year's gift instead, or a winter gift with no holiday theme at all: a heated throw, a book subscription or a plan for a trip together. Skip the Santa wrapping paper.
When should I give my best friend their Christmas gift?
Before either of you leaves for the holidays. A December dinner or a Friendsmas night gives you a natural moment, and it means they open it with you rather than alone.
And if the two of you decide to skip presents this year, that's a perfectly good outcome. Book a dinner in the strange week between Christmas and New Year's, when family obligations have thinned out and everyone is a little restless, and make that the tradition instead. Friends who have been close for a long time often find that the night out becomes the part of the season they look forward to most, and nobody has to worry about matching anyone's budget.