For the season

Last Minute Christmas Gifts for Your Best Friend

October 29, 2026

Hands lifting a framed print out of a gift box. On a navy background, Pincho the cactus wears string lights and a red star under the words "Our tree is small. Our friendship isn't."

What works as a last minute Christmas gift depends on what day it is. Until December 17 you can still mail one. After that, forget the mail and think about what you can buy or make close by. On Christmas Eve, what counts is what you can get today, or what comes out of your own kitchen. And on Christmas morning, if she's far away, the gift is your voice and a plan. Here's what to do on each of those days.

While the mail still makes it (through December 17)

The US Postal Service recommends these 2026 dates for delivery before December 25:

Within the lower 48 states: USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail by December 17, Priority Mail by December 18, Priority Mail Express by December 19.
To Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico: First-Class Mail by December 17, Priority Mail by December 18, Priority Mail Express by December 19. Ground Advantage takes 10 days or more there, so pick another service.

Those are recommendations, not guarantees. If the gift is made to order, with a name or an engraving, add the days it takes to make. If she lives far away, here are more Christmas gifts for a long-distance best friend.

The last week: what you can find nearby

The mail is out. What's left is whatever is around the corner:

Something from the bakery she loves. A cake, a box of cookies, a loaf of the house bread. With a ribbon and a note, it's a gift.
A book chosen for her, with a handwritten dedication on the first page. The dedication is the gift; the book is the excuse.
A photo of the two of you, printed and framed. Pick the best one of the year, not the prettiest: the one that makes you both laugh.
An ornament for her tree from a small shop, with the year written on the back in marker.
A plant that forgives, for the friend who says she kills every plant.

Christmas Eve

It's December 24 and you're either in the kitchen or out the door. This still works:

Whatever comes out of your kitchen. If you're baking, fill a jar for her. If you're making a big holiday dish, set a portion aside. Nothing says "I thought of you" like something you made with your own hands that same day.
A print with her name, collected today (more below).
A voucher with a date. "Good for one breakfast, January 10, my treat." On a nice card, with the date already written, so it doesn't stay a promise.
Stores close early on Christmas Eve. Go in the morning, not the afternoon.

If you need ideas that aren't Christmas-specific, here's a last minute gift for your best friend for any time of year.

Christmas morning, and she's far away

A long voice note, not a two-second "Merry Christmas." Tell her your favorite memory of her from this year.
A symbolic animal adoption from a zoo, which arrives by email. If she loves capybaras, here's how those work.
A plan for January, with a date: a short trip, a visit, a long call over coffee.

If your friend is Puerto Rican, Christmas doesn't end on the 25th: January 6, Three Kings Day, is a holiday in Puerto Rico (El Nuevo Día lists it) and just as much a day for gifts. That buys you almost two more weeks.

A print that's ready today

We make prints of Capy and Bara, two capybara best friends. In the print in the photo, Pincho, Capy's cactus, wears string lights and a star under the words "Our tree is small. Our friendship isn't." Add one name or both, pick the color, and collect it with Same Day Pickup at a store near you: ready today. If there's still time, we also mail it free to any address in the 50 states. See the prints.