Sometimes, the people closest to us are the hardest to find words for.
Your best friend knows you in and out, through all your ups and downs.
But expressing what they mean to you isn’t always easy.
This guide will give you 20 meaningful things you can write to show your best friend just how much they mean to you.
- Discover the power of a heartfelt letter
- Learn how to put your feelings into words
- Find ideas for every occasion, big and small
- Get tips to make your message extra special
Whether you want to thank them for always being there, let them know how much you admire them, or simply brighten their day – you’ll find the perfect way to put it here.
So grab a pen, and get ready to make your best friend smile from ear to ear!
A Thank You Note
Nothing says “I appreciate you” like a simple, sincere thank you. Your best friend is always there for you, through thick and thin. And sometimes, that deserves some extra recognition.
Think about a specific time your friend was there for you. Maybe they stayed up all night comforting you after a bad breakup. Or drove three hours to be at your college graduation. Mention that time, and tell them how much it meant to you.
You could write something like “I don’t know what I would have done without you that night. Your support means the world to me, and I’m so grateful to have you in my life.” Acknowledging specific moments shows you notice and value everything they do for you.
An “I Miss You” Letter
Life can take best friends in different directions, whether it’s a new job across the country or studying abroad for a semester. Being apart is tough, but a heartfelt letter can help close the distance.
Remind them of a hilarious inside joke or cherished memory you share to spark a smile. Describe what made you think of them recently, like spotting their favorite candy at the store or hearing a song you used to belt together in the car.
You might say something like “I walked by our old coffee shop today and could practically hear you snort-laughing at my bad puns. I miss that sound! Wish we could be cackling over lattes together right now. Counting down the days until I see your face again!”
Adding sensory details and specifics from your unique friendship makes it extra personal and nostalgic. It’s like wrapping them in a warm hug from miles away.
A “Congrats!” Card
From landing their dream job to finally mastering grandma’s top-secret lasagna recipe, best friends are our biggest cheerleaders. So when something amazing happens in their life, celebrate it!
Gush about how proud you are of them and all the hard work you watched them put in to reach this milestone. Tell them how much you admire their passion, dedication, and mad skills.
For example: “I’ve seen you pour your heart into this project for months, fueled by 2am coffees and unstoppable determination. You blow me away! I’m beyond proud and so stinking excited to watch you keep killing it. You earned every bit of this win!”
Get creative with the delivery too – decorate the envelope, add confetti or a themed little gift. Embarrass the heck out of them at the office if you must. A little extra effort can make your congratulations feel as special as they are!
An “I’m Sorry” Message
Even the closest friendships hit rough patches and have the occasional fight. If you were in the wrong, own up to it with a genuine, thoughtful apology.
Take responsibility for your words or actions, acknowledge how they affected your friend, and most importantly – commit to doing better. A superficial “sorry” won’t cut it here.
You could say “I’m so sorry for flaking on our plans last week. You were counting on me and I let you down. I got so caught up in my own stress, but that’s no excuse for being a crappy friend to you. Next time I’ll communicate better. Your time and feelings matter to me, and I’ll work harder to show you that.”
Tailor your apology to the specific situation and friendship. If humor is your usual vibe, a self-deprecating joke could lighten things up. If your friend appreciates acts of service, offer to cook them dinner or treat them to a movie. The key is showing you’re putting in real thought and effort to make things right between you.
A “No Matter What” Promise
When life gets messy, it’s easy to get stuck in our own heads and push people away. Having someone say “I’m here, no matter what” can be a beacon of light in those dark times. And who better to offer that than a best friend?
Maybe your friend is going through a tough situation you can’t relate to – like losing a parent or battling addiction. You may not have the perfect advice, but you can still be a steady, nonjudgmental source of love and support.
Write something like: “I know I can’t fully understand what you’re going through, and I won’t pretend to. But I want you to know I’m here. Whether you need a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to, or just a hand to hold – I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to be strong or have it all figured out. We’ll take it one day at a time, together.”
Avoid toxic positivity or minimizing their pain. Instead, focus on validating their feelings and reminding them they don’t have to face this alone. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can offer is simply showing up and sticking by them through their darkest days.
An “It Made Me Think of You” Note
Little reminders that someone is on your mind can be incredibly uplifting, especially out of the blue. It doesn’t have to be mushy gushy – just a quick note to say “hey, this cool thing made me think of you!”
Maybe you spot an Internet dog that’s their pet’s secret twin. Or read a quote from their all-time favorite movie. Snap a pic or jot it down and send it their way!
Try something like: “Saw this sassy pug on TikTok and had to do a double take – he has the EXACT judgy stare Buster gives us when we’re being idiots 😂 Thought you could use a smile today! Miss your face, let’s FaceTime soon?”
Zero in on the little quirks and inside jokes that are unique to your bond. The more specific the reference, the more they’ll feel seen and loved. It’s a simple gesture, but it sends the message that they’re always on your mind.
A “Remember When” Memory
Nothing strengthens a bond like a stockpile of treasured (or hilariously cringeworthy) memories. Bringing up an old story from your friendship is a surefire way to make your person smile.
The memory can be big, like that legendary road trip where everything that could go wrong did. Or a small moment, like the time you laughed until you peed a little at 2am in a college library during finals week.
For example: “Was flipping through old photos and DIED at the ones from our beach camping trip – sandy raccoon eyes, wind-whipped rat’s nest hair, the world’s most tragic sunburns. We looked like feral little gremlins 😂 But man, I’d give anything to relive that crazy weekend with you! 10/10 would endure sandy cracks again.”
Paint a vivid picture with your words to throw them back in time. Bonus points for digging up photographic evidence! Reminiscing on where you’ve been is a great reminder of how far you’ve come together.
A “Just Because” Compliment
You don’t need a special occasion to let your best friend know how amazing they are. Those out-of-the-blue, just because compliments are often the most impactful.
Dig deeper than surface level stuff. Tell them how much you admire their giant heart, whip-smart mind, or unshakeable strength. Point out their magic that perhaps they don’t even see.
Write something like: “I know you’ve been extra hard on yourself lately, and it kills me because you are incredible. You have this way of lighting up a room and making every single person feel special. Seriously, it’s a superpower! I hope you know how rare and wonderful you are. The world needs more yous!”
Be specific, sincere, and resist the urge to qualify it with a joke or downplay it if that’s usually your style. Let your words stand strong on their own. Embrace the mush – your friend deserves to hear how extraordinary they are!
A “Grateful For You” Expression
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to pause and appreciate the constants in our lives – like the unwavering love of a best friend. Expressing your gratitude can deepen your bond and fill you both up.
Reflect on how your life is better, brighter, and more fulfilling with your best friend in it. How have they changed you for the better? What do they add to your world that you cherish?
You might say something like: “Sometimes I get so used to you being my person, I forget how dang lucky I am. But then I think about all the belly laughs, 2am tears, and wild dreams we’ve shared over the years. You’ve colored my life in the best way. I’m beyond grateful to be walking through this messy, beautiful life with you by my side.”
Focus on what’s at the heart of your friendship – the support, the acceptance, the joy of truly being seen. It’s a love letter to your one-of-a-kind connection.
An “Remember That One Time” Anecdote
Shared experiences are the glue of a friendship – especially the ones that are equal parts mortifying and hilarious. Bringing up a funny mishap or ridiculous scenario you survived together is the perfect way to bond over a laugh.
Maybe it’s the time you accidentally wore each other’s (very different sized) pants to school. Or when you got hopelessly lost on a hike and had to army crawl under a fence. The more nonsensical, the better.
Write something like: “Was just minding my business, stirring my coffee, when the spoon slipped out of my hand and launched INTO MY EYE. And it hit me (pun very much intended) – REMEMBER WHEN YOU DID THE EXACT SAME THING that one morning? Guess we were always destined to be hot mess soulmates. Miss you, you absolute menace 😘”
Zero in on the highly specific details that make the memory unique to your friendship. Bringing up something random and long forgotten shows how deeply your lives (and minds) are intertwined!
A “Remember When We Said” Memory
In the thick of a rock solid friendship, you rack up a mountain of inside jokes, code words, and “had to be there” quotes. Peppering those into a note is like a friendship secret handshake – an instant serotonin hit of nostalgia.
Maybe it’s a ridiculous name you gave a stranger, like the lady at the bank you dubbed “Wanda Punchyfist”. Or that one-liner from a stand up comedy bit you rewound and howled at 50 times.
You could send a text like “A guy just walked by in those exact reflective sunglasses that one TikTok dude wore in the ‘it’s corn’ song. And now I’ve had ‘it’s CORN’ on an unhinged loop in my brain for the last 45 mins, so naturally I had to make it your problem too 🌽 I CANT MAKE THIS ANY MORE CLEAR – ITS COOOOORN 🎶”
The sillier and more nonsensical the reference, the better. You’re creating your own secret language, and every “remember when” deepens its roots in your connection.
A “This Made Me Think of You” Surprise
Randomly associating a thing with your best friend and immediately sharing it with them is such a small, but mighty gesture of love. It’s like you carry them with you everywhere you go!
Maybe you spot a pack of their favorite childhood candy at the gas station, so you snap a pic and dash off a text that says “Saw these Airheads and it literally punched me in the gut with memories of us fighting over the blue ones at summer camp in 5th grade 😂💙 Had to immortalize this blessed moment of nostalgia, you’re welcome!!”
Or you see a trailer for a new Netflix thriller and fire off a message like “THIS HAS US WRITTEN ALL OVER IT. I know you’re booked this weekend, so you have 3 business days to clear your schedule before I change your Netflix password for you. You’ll thank me later, byeeee 👻🍿”
Mention the super specific thing that sparked the association, paint a mini picture with your words, and make it FEEL like you’re talking to them face to face. Bonus points for sending them the actual thing when you can! A little piece of snail mail happy is undefeated.
A “Remember That Time We Almost Died” Tale
Nothing bonds people for life quite like a shared near-death experience. Just kidding (kind of). But really, those adrenaline-pumping memories where things could have gone VERY sideways tend to be some of the most unforgettable.
Maybe it’s the time you convinced them to go skydiving and your parachute decided to do a spicy little tango on the way down. Or when you got lost in a highly sketch part of town with 1% phone battery.
Recap it like you’re both the starring roles in an action movie: “So there we were. Middle of the night. A shady AF gas station bathroom in the armpit of nowhere. When suddenly, CRASH. The door flies open to reveal a 400lb biker named Meat Hammer, veins bulging, fists swinging. I look at you. You look at me. And with our eyes, we wordlessly express the same sentiment: this is it. This is how we die. But by the grace of God, or just your sheer talent for hibernation-level sleeping through anything, you SNORED. Full on, fog horn level SNOOOORTED yourself awake and scared the ever loving bejesus out of Meat Hammer. I’ll never forget the way he froze, looked you dead in the eyes as you blinked yourself to consciousness, and goes “…..y’all good?” I have never fought so hard to hold in a laugh in my LIFE 😂😂 I will be telling this story to my grandkids someday, and the moral will be ‘and THIS is why you never wake a sleeping Jennifer!!!'”
Paint the scene with vivid, ridiculous, highly specific details and all the emotions you felt in the moment, and it’ll be just like you’re both right back there again (in the safety of your respective couches).
A “This Song Reminds Me of You” Dedication
Music is such a powerful key to unlocking memories. Hearing a few notes of a song you’ve shared a million little moments to can cue up a mental slideshow of your entire friendship.
Maybe it’s the cheesy 80s ballad you belted together on a road trip, and rewinding it to get the high note juuuust right every single time. Or the angsty pop punk anthem you played on repeat for 3 months after your first big breakup.
You could send them a link to the song with a message like “Omg so I’m flipping through the radio and I Will Always Love You comes on, and I am IMMEDIATELY transported to the summer of ’08 – windows down, off-key screeching, flailing arms, the whole shebang 😂 Pretty sure we gave at least 3 innocent bystanders a heart attack at that red light…WORTH IT. Anyway just wanted to say I miss your face and I’m glad we grew out of our tragic orange Cheeto spray tan phase. WE’VE COME SO FAR 😘”
Pick a song with a hyper specific memory attached and paint a mini picture with your words to put them right back in that moment with you. If you’re feeling extra, make them a whole throwback playlist of your most iconic friendship anthems!
A “Remember When We Had That Dream/Goal” Throwback
Think back on a big dream or goal you and your best friend cooked up once upon a time, whether it actually came true or not. Bringing it up out of the blue is a sweet way to remind them how far you go back and how much you believe in them.
Maybe it’s the time you were dead set on opening a food truck that only served mac and cheese (because duh, best food ever). Or when you made a pinky promise to be each other’s maids of honor someday.
You could write something like: “So I was cleaning out my closet and found that old notebook with our super top secret business plan for ‘Mac Daddies: Oodles of Noodles’ 😂 Remember how we stayed up all night mapping out the menu, the color scheme, arguing over how many cheese puns were ‘too cheesy’ for the slogan? Pretty sure if we had actually scraped together the cash to buy that sketchy van off Craigslist, we’d be millionaires slinging gourmet noods to the masses today. Honestly, I still think about it sometimes and crack up. Those were the days – young, dumb, and fueled by an undying passion for pasta. Thanks for always dreaming big with me, even when our schemes were 99% cheese and 1% feasible. Can’t imagine taking on the world with anyone else ❤️”
Even if the dream was totally silly or unrealistic, focusing on the excitement you felt dreaming it up together is what matters most. It celebrates your partner-in-crime bond and how you’ve pushed each other to think bigger. And who knows – you may just inspire them to finally chase that wild idea all these years later!
A “Thanks for Being You” Love Letter
When in doubt, you can never go wrong with a classic, mushy-gushy love letter to your person. Skip the fluff though – pour your pure honesty and realness onto the page.
Tell them how knowing them has changed you. What do you love and admire most about who they are, inside and out? What’s your favorite thing about being their friend? When did you know your bond was the real deal?
Get vulnerable and put your whole heart into it, like: “My sweet little starfish. My ride or die. My soul sister from another mister. Where do I even begin? You’ve been my rock, my safety net, my 3am phone call, my tag team partner in conquering this crazy beautiful mess called life. But more than that – you make me feel SEEN. Fully, completely, unapologetically me. Like my weirdest, most awkward, snort-laughing self is more than enough. You have a way of making everything – the highest highs, the lowest lows, the wild in-betweens – better, brighter, bearable. Because I get to live it all with you. A part of me still can’t believe I lucked into a friend like you in this life – but damn am I grateful I did. You changed me, grew me, wrapped me up in a love I never knew I needed. Thank you for being my person. I love you forever – no take backs!!!”
Don’t overthink it – let it be raw, real, and straight from the heart. Cover the big picture of what they mean to you and zoom in on little details that only you two share. If it makes you a little teary writing it, you’re on the right track!
A “Just One More Thing” PS
By now, you’ve likely already said so many meaningful things about your friendship. But sometimes you just need one final gut punch of affection to drive the love home! Enter: the classic PS addition.
Maybe you covered the big bases in the rest of your card, but you want to throw in a hyper specific anecdote that makes you smile. Like a ridiculous inside joke, a classic “you” mannerism, or a sweet little quirk you adore.
Tack it on the end like: “PS: I still regularly ugly cackle to myself remembering the time we smeared that mysteriously blueish “rejuvenating” face mask all over our t-zones in a bougie Walmart parking lot at 2am. I’m pretty sure my skin aged a year for every minute I had that radioactive Smurf goop on, but MAN did we get a good laugh out of it 😂 You really will do anything to make me smile and I love you endlessly for it. Never change, you beautiful weirdo.”
The key is focusing on something small, but mighty – a quick hit of a memory or trait that perfectly sums up your unshakeable bond. It’s the whipped cream AND cherry on top of this delicious friendship sundae!
A Forward-Looking Note
You’ve covered the past and present of your friendship – now it’s time to look ahead! Wrap up your love-filled message by getting your best friend pumped for all the future adventures to come.
Paint a picture of the kind of memories you can’t wait to make more of together. Lazy Sunday brunches gabbing about your weeks? Annual summer road trips to the beach? Wine and movie nights on the couch?
Write something like: “I know this was the mushiest, gushiest, most aggressively affectionate snail mail surprise of your life. But I’m not done! I already can’t wait to be 80 years old, rocking on the front porch, reminiscing on the lifetime of shenanigans behind us. Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that you’re my forever friend. The Ethel to my Lucy. The Tina to my Amy. The syrup to my pancakes. I love you to the moon and back, plus more cheesy 80s ballads to add to our scream-singing road trip playlist. Now buckle up buttercup, because we’ve got 6 more decades of adventures to cram in – and I call shotgun!”
Plant the seed for future friend dates you’re excited about, inside jokes you can’t wait to make, and little ways you’ll continue writing your shared story. It’s the promise of a friendship that keeps on giving – no matter how much life changes!
A Mic Drop Closing Line
You’ve poured out your heart, relived your best memories, and laid out all the things you love about your best friend. Now it’s time to stick the landing with an affectionate mic drop!
Pull out one last inside joke, callback, or piece of your unique bond to wrap it up with a bow. Maybe it’s their classic sign-off they use for every text, or a quote from your favorite movie you watch on repeat.
For example: “Alright, alright, I think that’s more than enough cheese for one cheesy sap-fest. But just in case I wasn’t 110% clear – you’re my lobster (you know I had to go there). I love you and I like you. fist bumps chest twice POUND IT ✊😘”
Pick something that feels hyper personal and so perfectly THEM – one last sprinkle of your secret best friend language. Leave ’em laughing, leave ’em smiling, and leave no doubt in their mind how epically loved they are!
Conclusion
Writing a meaningful message for your best friend is all about speaking from the heart.
It’s celebrating the big, the small, the hilarious, the heartfelt – all the little threads that make your friendship so irreplaceable.
The kind of bond you build with a best friend really is a rare and special thing.
Taking the time to put that appreciation into words is like pressing pause on the hustle of life to say “Hey. I see you. I get you. And I’m so grateful for you.”
It’s one small act that strengthens your unbreakable tie.
So don’t be afraid to get a little vulnerable, pour your heart out, and remind them why they’re your person.
Raise a toast (or heck, a whole dang cake) to the wild, messy, wonderful ride of being best friends for life.
Here’s to love that lasts – no matter what!