Gifts for a Long-Distance Boyfriend

When he lives a flight or a long drive away, a gift has a job most gifts never have: it stands in for you on the days you cannot be there. The best gift for a long-distance boyfriend is one he uses when he misses you, or one that makes the next visit easier. Here are 12 ideas that do one or both. Our top pick is a song about the two of you, because it reaches him the same day wherever he is.

Listen to a song made for someone else

This one was made for someone else. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 gift ideas for a long-distance boyfriend

1. A song about the miles between you ($39.90). You share how you met, the airport goodbyes and the thing he always says at the end of a call, and Songbond turns it into an original song. There is nothing to ship, so he can have it the same day and play it on the drive home from the airport.
2. A drawer of his things at your place. A toothbrush, a razor, a phone charger and a spare shirt that live at yours, so he can travel with just a backpack. It tells him he belongs there. Usually $30 to $60.
3. A sound-wave print of your voice. Record yourself saying something only he would understand and have the wave printed and framed. Some versions include a scan code that plays the recording. $30 to $70.
4. A chess game played by post. Send him a board and a stack of postcards, then mail one move at a time. A single game can last months, and every postcard is a small letter. $30 to $80.
5. A kit for the long trip. A neck pillow, his favorite snacks, a spare charger and a note to open once he is on the plane or the train. $30 to $60.
6. His first night in your city, planned. The diner you keep telling him about, the view you want to show him, the bar with the pool table. Write it up like a ticket and seal it in an envelope.
7. A travel journal you mail back and forth. He writes a page and posts it to you. You write the next and post it back. By the time you live in the same place, you have a book. $15 to $30.
8. A phone stand and a small light for calls. Hands-free calls mean you can cook together, watch a game together or fall asleep on the line. $25 to $50.
9. Your boarding passes and train tickets, framed. Every trip you have made to see each other, in one frame, with room left for more. $20 to $40.
10. A bottle of your scent. A small spray of the perfume or cologne you wear, for his pillow on the first night after you leave. $30 to $90.
11. Breakfast delivered on a big morning. A job interview, an exam or a hard Monday. Order his usual to his door and he will know you were paying attention. $15 to $30.
12. Two matching mugs, one for each kitchen. Keep one and send one, then drink your morning coffee together on a call. $20 to $40.

How to choose for him

Think about when he misses you most. Some people feel the distance late at night, some on weekends, some in the hour after a visit ends. Pick the gift that lands in that moment. If money is tight, remember that the gifts he will use most often cost very little.

• If goodbyes hit him hard: the bottle of your scent, the drawer at your place or the song for the drive home.
• If he likes a slow project: the chess game, the travel journal or the framed tickets.
• If he is always on the move: the travel kit, the phone stand or his first night in your city, planned.

Give it the day after a visit

Birthdays and holidays are the obvious days for a gift. In a long-distance relationship, the better day is often the one after you say goodbye. The apartment is quiet, the second toothbrush is back in the drawer and the next visit feels far away. A gift that arrives then does more work than one that arrives on a birthday he spends with friends. Leave it hidden in his bag, mail it so it lands two days after you fly home, or send the song while you are still in the air. Then book the next visit, even if it is months away. A date on the calendar is its own kind of gift.

Send him a song about you two

Create a song for your long-distance boyfriend from your stories and the places in between. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour, with nothing to post and no shipping date to miss.

Also in the Journal: songs for a long-distance relationship and thinking-of-you songs.