Ideas for · 2 min read · updated

Gifts for long-distance friends

They can't drop by. So send them a version of you to find, a view of where you are, or the night it all started.

The short answer

Send them a piece of where you are: your face hidden in a jigsaw crowd for them to hunt down, the mountains outside your window as a ridge-shaped pillow, or a poster of the sky over the place you met on the night you met. For something small, the last text that made you both laugh, as a magnet.

The picks

  1. A jigsaw puzzle of a crowded wedding party with a missing person case card in the corner, made with Find Dave
    Puzzles & flags

    Find Dave

    Your face hidden in a crowd of hundreds on a jigsaw, among look-alikes in your outfit, so they have to find you. The case card gives them clues.

    Makes: Jigsaw puzzle

  2. A pillow cut along the Teton ridge seen from Jackson Hole, with the peaks named, made with The Skyline
    Pillows

    The Skyline

    The mountains you see from your window, as a pillow cut along the real ridgeline, so your view sits on their couch.

    Makes: Shaped pillow

  3. A framed poster of a bonfire on Alki Beach, Seattle under the moon, with that night's weather, made with The Sky That Night
    Walls & mugs

    The Sky That Night

    The weather and moon over the place you met, on the night you met, painted, with the recorded numbers on a plate underneath.

    Makes: Poster

  4. A blue text bubble pillow that says "you up?" with a read receipt, made with Left On Read
    Pillows

    Left On Read

    The last text that made you both laugh, as a die-cut magnet for their fridge.

    Makes: Shaped pillow, stickers, magnets

  5. A mug with a Greek black-figure band of men laughing at a burning barbecue, made with The Frieze
    Walls & mugs

    The Frieze

    Your chat's best argument painted on a Greek vase, the two of you as black figures, on a mug they'll use every morning.

    Makes: Mug, tumbler, tee or wrapping paper

Send a piece of your side

When you live far apart, they miss the ordinary stuff: your street, your view, you showing up. Two of the sites below make that physical. Find Dave hides your face in a crowd of hundreds on a jigsaw, so they spend an evening looking for you. The Skyline cuts a pillow along the ridgeline you see from your window, with the peaks named.

The night you met

The Sky That Night looks up the recorded weather and the moon for a place and an hour, back as far as 1940, and paints the scene. It's a good fit for a friendship with a start date: the dorm, the first job, the bar where you both missed the last train.

One catch: the weather has to come from a station within 40 km, and the satellite estimate that fills gaps only goes back to 2001. A rural night before 2001 may have no weather on record. Try the date on the site before you plan the gift around it.

Questions people ask

Can a gift ship straight to a friend in another state?

Yes, it can ship straight to them anywhere in the US. Shipping is US only for now.

Can I use the weather from a place neither of us lives now?

Yes, any place works if a weather station within 40 km has records for that night, or it's 2001 or later, when a satellite estimate fills the gap.

Can I hide myself in the puzzle instead of them?

Yes. The hidden face is whoever's photo you use, and you can hide up to three people, so put both of you in.