Every person’s life is filled with special days and special moments. These are the ornaments of one’s life, in a real sense. Be it promotions, weddings, anniversaries, celebrations, vacations, or birthdays, we always strive to make them count. Out of these special days, birthdays and anniversaries are the only ones that come again and again every year. And of these two, your birthday belongs to only you! It is a day which you celebrate the most number of times in your life.

Whenever we think of a birthday, the following things surely come to mind – Cakes, Balloons, Decorations, Food, and the most important of them all – GIFTS! Gifting is an art. A well-thought gift is always appreciated. Gifting right means that you know the person very well.

It’s your best friend’s birthday. This is the time we are usually stuck up on thinking how to make it special, almost every year! Well, gifting it right is one of the best ways to get a smile on your friend’s face. Do you want your gift to stand out and be a permanent memory? Here are five such out of the box gifts which you can give your friend.

1. A personal diary

          A personalized diary for your friend

It’s your friend’s 21st birthday. One of the important milestone in one’s life. You have been friends for more than 10 years now. The simplest and cutest way to tell your friend how much she or he means to you is to tell them straight! A creative way to do this is writing a 21-page diary/binder giving 21 reasons why you love them.

Let us consider an example of two best friends – Neha and Karthik. They have been friends for more than 10 years now. Surely, they know each other very well! It is Karthik’s 21st birthday next month. And this time, Neha wants to be more creative in gifting Karthik. So she makes a memory book, which includes 21 of their best photos through all these years. Below each photo she writes a message to Karthik, saying that why she cherishes his friendship!

Now it’s your turn to be more imaginative and includes some special memories in the book which you cherish with your friend. Also, remember to make it colourful!

     2. Get their birthday lunch delivered

          Gifting favourite lunch items to your friend

In today’s fast world of appointments, workload, and deadlines, it is a possibility that you can’t meet your friend even on their birthday! But how to solve this, when you're desperate just to meet up and chat for hours with your friend? Simple! Send your love through food! But make sure if your friend is a foodie. This would work for Aditya and Mansi as both of them love food more than anything! They always have delicious food around, when having a celebration or even during a serious talk.

On Mansi birthday, Aditya gets her favourite Pasta delivered to her office. It is the best surprise for Mansi. She immediately calls him up and promises to meet him that very day for dinner!

Get your friend’s lunch delivered to her/his office from their favourite restaurant. Also, when you do so make it a point to add a note to the parcel, wishing them many happy returns of the day and promising that you’ll call ASAP.

     3. Chocolate is Love!

             The best gift – a box full of chocolates

Chocolates are one of the most expressive kinds of food. And there’s nothing more personal and delicious than self-made chocolates for your friend. Take a recipe from the net and make some chocolate for your friend’s birthday yourself. Anything self-made is always better than something bought. Here, quality doesn’t matter. You might not be a professional at baking chocolates, but why not try, just for your friend. Don’t worry if you are a cooking person or not. Don’t worry too much about how those chocolates turn out to be. You made them yourself, and the love you put in them is much more important than anything else!

      4. Memories in a click

All on a memory screen

Every friendship is full of memories. In fact, every relation is like a cluster of memories. Be sad or happy, all memories are extremely important! Memories are what make relationships stronger and better. They help you endure through tough times and help you enjoy during happy times. Memories are like fuel for everyone’s life. But in today’s world of fast life, fast travel, fast vacation and fast memories, you need to make time to make memories! That’s the harsh truth.

On your friend’s birthday, if you try to bring back some of these memories, nothing better than that. You have been friends for 10 years now! That’s a decade. A lot of time means a lot of cherishable memories, late night chats, getting through in hard times together and celebrating various achievements with a lot of pomp and fair! Encapsulating these memories in a black and white collage is an extremely personalized and touchy gift for your friend. This is the time to look back at the decade that you have lived together and looks forward to the many more to come.

      5. Book it!                                                                                    

          A book is a perfect gift

There’s nothing more personal than gifting a book. Books might wear out with years, but they never get old. They have the same feeling and meaning even after a long period of time. They always depict the immense love that you have for your friend. Make sure that you don’t just buy any randomly chosen book for them. Identify their flair for reading and their particular interests and curiosities. Think of all these aspects and then select the perfect book for your friend. Do add the date and a short note inside it wishing them a very happy birthday!

As we have already discussed, today’s life is stretching every one of us. Days are getting longer, and vacations are getting shorter. Your long conversations have been limited to 10 minutes, and you are short of weekends to just relax! In such a crunch of time and space for each other, what better gift than – TIME!?

Do you remember the last time; you had a conversation, making absolutely no sense? The last time you watched a movie with your friend, just for the sake of doing something together?

Time is the best gift that you can give to your friend! But how? Just take a leave on his or her birthday and show up at their door. After all, that is all they want, isn’t it? Time, to chat. Time, to take a walk. Time, to have a quiet lunch. Time, to share.

We hope that these tips help you in making it a memorable one for your best buddy!