Celebrating National Friendship Day: Gifts for Friends

Best friends are there for us through thick and thin. One of the cornerstones of community, friendship overcomes boundaries, differences, and helps advance tolerance and understanding.

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves, and lifelong relationships are among the keys to both health and happiness.

National Friendship Day is upcoming on August 4th, a day to celebrate the special people in your life.

About National Friendship Day

Originally, National Friendship Day was a marketing strategy promoted by Hallmark to sell cards. It caught on, and in 1935 Congress officially made it the first Sunday in August.

Though it was originally devised as a promotional device, the underlying premise is a pure one. Friends are there for us in our lives when we need love and support, as we are there for them, and friendship is a fundamental part of the human experience. They make our lives richer and more meaningful, and National Friendship Day is a natural time to celebrate those relationships.

Today, National Friendship day is still celebrated on the first Sunday of August, which this year is August 4th. It is a time to slow down, reflect on the meaningful loving platonic relationships in your life, and make new memories with the people that matter most to you!

It also happens to be a great opportunity for you to celebrate your friends on an individual level. Here are some top picks in friendship gifts.

Great Gifts for Friends: From Our Collection

Walker’s Shortbread gift baskets , cookie gift tins and other gift sets make lovely tokens of appreciation, and what’s more, you can enjoy them together with your friends. Here are some top picks from our catalog:

• Scottie Dog Tin (5.3oz): A cute gift for dog lovers, this Scottie Dog Tin is packed with 5.3 ounces of all-butter Walker’s Shortbread. Brew some tea, crack the tin open, and reminisce on the good times together while you enjoy all butter shortbread from the Highlands of Scotland. The tins are reusable, too.

• Fun in the Sun Shortbread Tote: This Fun in the Sun Shortbread Tote offers another unique opportunity to give a gift that allows you to spend more good times with your best friends. Perfect for a picnic or a beach day, each tote comes packed with mini shortbread delights (mini fingers, rounds, scottie dogs, and chocolate chip cookies) as well as two jars of delectable Bonne Maman chocolate hazelnut spread. And, like our tins, these totes are reusable!

• Sweet Indulgence Gift Basket: This big Sweet Indulgence Gift Basket is packed with delights, including all-butter Shortbread Highlanders, Vanilla Shortbread, Mini Shortbread Fingers, Salted Caramel and Milk Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, Assorted Shortbread, Petticoat Tails, and Stem Ginger Shortbread. It’s full of different delights that will appeal to many preferences, and there’s more than enough to go around.
• Gluten-Free Gift Bag: Have a friend with an allergy or gluten sensitivity? This Gluten-Free Gift Bag is the perfect treat or Friendship Day gift - and once again, best enjoyed together!

• Cozy Comforts Gift Basket: Pairing the best of Twining’s Tea and Walker’s Shortbread, this Cozy Comforts Gift Basket would make a great gift for friends that love sweets with their tea. Best of all, this gift basket has plenty for you to share together!

Save with Walker’s Gifts for Friends

If one of these Walker’s Shortbread gifts for friends appeals to you, you’re in luck. Starting on July 22, 2024, we’ll be running a week long 20% off promotion. Take advantage of this special limited time deal and save on something special for the important people in your life.

Other Friendship Gifts

Shortbread, cookies and tea - delightful as they are - aren’t the only great Friendship Day gift ideas out there. Here are some other good ones.

You’ll notice that these extra special and unique gift ideas are personalized items. Adding a personalized touch is what makes them the perfect gifts for celebrating Friendship Day.

• Personalized Jewelry: Personalized jewelry makes a great meaningful gift for a friend. Adding a quote, a date, a song lyric, or a name or just initials to a ring, necklace, bracelet or earring can take even a beautiful piece of jewelry and make it one of a kind. Jewelry - like Pandora bracelets - can also be customized with the addition of charms chosen based on the recipient’s interests, heritage, profession, course of study, and so much more.

• A Special Photo in an Engraved Frame: There are lots of frames you can get custom made or engraved with names and dates, but what really makes it special is the photo you choose. It could be one of the two of you or one of a special moment from their life. Either way, customized in this manner, framed photos can make very meaningful and thoughtful gifts.
• A Personalized Mug or Serving Platter: Most of us drink coffee or tea each and every day, so a personalized mug, or a mug embossed or decorated with motifs or themes that represent the recipient’s interests, can make very special gifts. The same goes for serving platters and other serving ware that can be proudly displayed at gatherings.
• A Personalized Tote: Lots of people love to travel, and a personalized tote, embroidered with their name or initial, can make a simple, low-cost, yet still very thoughtful gift. Totes are great for work, day trips, picnics, beach trips, and so much more than formal travel.

• An Engraved Vase with Flowers (Yellow Roses Are Great!): An engraved vase can make a great gift, well displayed with pride and affection. Make it extra special and include a bouquet of yellow roses, a well-established, widely recognized symbol of joy - and friendship!

Keep It Simple, Keep Their Interests in Mind

This short post doesn’t cover half of the great ideas for gifts for friends out there, and there are so many others like these.

If you’re having a hard time coming up with something, give something that reflects their interests. Does this person love to golf? Fish? Grill? Is he or she a bookworm? Does he or she love to travel? Or have a beloved pet?

Regardless of how you ultimately decide to celebrate, have a happy and safe National Day of Friendship, and make memorable moments with your loved ones!