Many people travel during the holiday season for a reason. It’s a time to connect with friends and family. People want to draw together and be with loved ones. But that isn’t always possible. There are times a family is spread out across hundreds and even thousands of miles. Schedules and responsibilities can conflict. Travel expenses can make longer trips more difficult, too.
If you find you can’t be with an important person in your life this holiday season, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. It’s hard to beat the in-person experience. But just because you can’t spend the holidays together doesn’t mean you can’t make your loved ones feel special.
Sending a thoughtful gift can help you feel a little more connected. But thoughtful is the key word here. You don’t want to buy a gift card or generic subscription and call it a day. You want a gift to resonate. You want it to have an impact, and for the person who receives it to think of you every time they use, interact with or experience it.
While you want a gift to be personal, simply buying something a person likes isn’t the goal here. It’s the intention, which is why it can help to start with a focus and then work your way to a gift. Ask three questions in this order:
- What is the why behind a gift? Is it encouraging someone? Leaning into nostalgia? Are you helping them feel ambitious? Trying to connect?
- What gifts fit this kind of themed focus, and are they right for this person? When you match a gift to intention, it is easier to come up with specific, meaningful ideas.
- What are you accomplishing by sending this gift? Run a final pass: Does this gift send the right message for the person you’re trying to connect with?
Whether you’re shopping for a friend a few towns over, family members across the country or anything in between, this gift guide will help you discover thoughtful ways to send love and holiday cheer from afar.
1. Give Gifts Focused on Belonging
Sometimes the right gift for the moment is a simple reminder that someone matters. Living far away from a person can make it hard to feel connected and close. Remind your loved one that they are important to you with a gift focused on belonging.
This could be something simple, like sending matching mugs with a note that you want to use them for a weekly coffee call. Personalize an ornament and then send it with a long, heartfelt, handwritten letter.
If you want to get more hands-on, consider pulling together a scrapbook for a friend highlighting your favorite times together. If it’s a family member, you could gather family recipes into a handwritten or even a professionally published cookbook.
2. Give Gifts That Help People Relax and Enjoy the Moment
Many people have that person in their lives who is always stressed out. They struggle to slow down and enjoy the moment. When you’re shopping for that kind of individual, sometimes a thoughtful gift is something that helps them let go of the past and future and dwell in the moment.
There are plenty of ways to do this. You might send a blanket or a warm sweater or set of PJs to remind them to get comfortable and enjoy the season they’re in.
Food is another great idea here. In the past, options included things like sending a box of chocolates or a tin of popcorn. Today, there are more food gift options available. As delivery services have improved, more options have opened up. Spoonful of Comfort, for instance, offers food gifts that can bring comfort from a distance. They’ve even created a Blanketed in Holiday Warmth Package specifically designed for the holiday season — including things like soup, rolls, festive cookies and even a cozy blanket.
By sending a fuzzy piece of clothing or a quality food package, you signal to your giftee that you see them. And while you can’t come sit with them, you want them to slow down and enjoy the moment. Pair it with a phone call or video chat while they enjoy the gift, and it’ll almost feel like you’re in the same room together.
3. Give Gifts That Are Nostalgic
The power of tradition and reminiscing about shared past experiences can make even the smallest token gifts feel more important. If you have a long, shared past with plenty of meaningful moments, it might make sense to focus a gift on a trip down memory lane.
As far as the gift itself, this one is harder to be formulaic about. Everyone’s past is different, and finding those connecting links with others is a unique process. Here are a few starting points to get the creative juices flowing:
- Build a gift package or fill a box with childhood treats you shared with a friend or sibling.
- Frame an important moment with a loved one or frame a succession of family photos.
- Commission a custom illustrated portrait of a family home or other important landmark.
- Build a music playlist from shared audible experiences (and pair it with a gift card for a few months’ subscription to their favorite music streaming service).
- Buy a board game or movie set with important past memories attached.
Connecting the nostalgia to a gift creates a sense of meaning that can be hard to reproduce with a price tag.
4. Give Gifts That Help People Discover Themselves
One good way to show that you care about someone is by giving them gifts that help them explore and understand themselves better. Again, this is a specific activity that can be tailored to each individual. But in a world where subscriptions and gift cards are available for a lot of different things, there are plenty of options available. Here are a few examples across a range of personalities and activities:
- Send a personal journal with thoughtful, guided questions to help explore inner self.
- Consider a book or series in their favorite genre, but from a different cultural perspective.
- Buy hobby equipment, like paintbrushes for an artist or running shoes for a sports enthusiast.
- Gift lessons in an area of interest, from an online course to a cooking class in their area.
- Get a pass to an event that will challenge them in a fun way, like skydiving lessons.
The goal here is to indicate that you both know their interests and are invested in their future.
5. Give the Gift of Shared Experiences From Afar
The remote-first, post-pandemic world has helped connect people through more than workspaces. There are many fun, bonding experiences you can enjoy together at the same time, even if you’re logging in from half a world away.
For instance, get matching puzzles and then set up weekly video calls to puzzle together. If you have the budget, get a pair of telescopes and have one delivered to your house and another to a friend’s. There are more formal options, too, like virtual cooking classes or online escape rooms.
If you’re looking for something more low-key, consider purchasing an e-game you can access simultaneously. Set up a date. Send an invite. Then have everyone involved log in at the same time to compete and collaborate together.
Giving Good Gifts From Afar This Holiday Season
Even from a distance, you can remind loved ones that you’re thinking about them this holiday season. From gifts that encourage relaxation to those that facilitate self-discovery or create shared experiences, use the ideas listed in this gift guide to help you make the season feel a little warmer, no matter the distance between you and your loved ones.
