Gifts for Someone Going Through a Breakup

Your friend just went through a breakup, and you want to do more than send a heart emoji. The best gift for someone going through a breakup helps them get through the first empty evenings and reminds them who they were before the relationship. Here are 12 ideas for the first week, the first month and the fresh start after. Our honest top pick is a song about them, because it gives them something to play that has nothing to do with the ex.

Press play on a real Songbond song

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry their name and your stories.

12 gift ideas for someone going through a breakup

1. A song about them, not the ex ($39.90). Their laugh, their terrible dance moves, the road trip where they drove all night. You share the stories and Songbond turns them into an original song, ready within 24 hours. It is a reminder of who they are on their own.
2. A night in, and you bring everything. Takeout from their favorite place, a comfort film and a box of tissues nobody has to mention. Usually $40 to $60.
3. New sheets for a bed that is only theirs now. Fresh bedding in a color they picked, not the one the couple agreed on. Usually $60 to $150.
4. A haircut, booked and paid. A new cut is the oldest breakup ritual for a reason. Usually $40 to $120.
5. Help moving the furniture. Rearrange the living room so it stops looking like the place they shared. Free, and it changes how the room feels at night.
6. Something to fill the empty frame. Print a photo of them with their friends and fit it into the frame that held the couple picture. Usually $20 to $40.
7. A cooking-for-one cookbook and a small pan. Dinner for one can be a treat instead of a sad bowl of cereal. Usually $30 to $60.
8. A notebook for the 2 a.m. thoughts. A plain notebook and a good pen by the bed, for the things they should not text. Usually $20 to $30.
9. A month of classes at a local studio. Yoga, spin, boxing or dance. Usually $50 to $150, and it fills the evenings that used to be for two.
10. A starter kit for the hobby they dropped. Guitar strings, paints, climbing shoes: whatever they gave up during the relationship. Usually $30 to $100.
11. Tickets to the band their ex never liked. Go with them and sing loud. Usually $50 to $150.
12. A cheap weekend away with friends. A cabin, a lake or a spare room in another city. Usually $150 to $400, split between you.

How to choose for where they are

Breakups come in different shapes, and the right gift depends on which one this is. Listen to how they talk about it before you buy anything.

• If they were the one who got left: the night in, the notebook and plenty of company.
• If they did the leaving: the new sheets, the rearranged room and the hobby kit. They may feel guilty and relieved at the same time.
• If it was a long marriage: the weekend away, the song and practical help with the move.

Timing matters more than the gift

In the first week, people need food, company and someone to take their phone away at midnight. By the third week, most friends have stopped checking in, and that is when a gift lands hardest. Save the bigger gesture, like the weekend away or the song, for then. For the song, give Songbond the details only close friends know: the nickname from college, the way they cry at dog videos, the time they drove four hours to help you move. And do not trash the ex in the card. Couples do get back together, and your friend will remember what you wrote.

Make a song for their fresh start

Create a song to help them move on. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs about starting over after a breakup and songs about chosen family.