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The best gift to buy your bestie this Galentine’s Day, according to the IndyBest team

From candles to cards that’ll make your pals LOL, show them you care with these heart-felt treats

Emma Henderson,IndyBest Team

Wednesday 09 February 2022 17:58 GMT

Celebrating friendships should be just as important as Valentine’s (iStock/The Independent)

Whether you’re in a relationship or not, there’s quite literally no one better than your gal pals. Your tribe, your huns, your all round besties, whatever you affectionately call them, you know what we’re talking about. In our books, having a day to celebrate friendships is just as important as any other.

Falling on 13 February, the roots of the day actually come from American TV mockumentary series, Parks and Recreation, when character Leslie Knope decided to pay homage to her own gals in an episode in 2010. She explained that whether she and friends had partners or not, they’d leave them at home, and "come and kick it, breakfast-style" to celebrate their friendship.

To us, it’s the little thoughtful gifts that can really make an impact. Sharing a fancy takeaway, popping a bottle, or gifting them a book that reminds them of you are all thoughtful ways to celebrate your friendship. But if you’re too far away to meet up, a cute card in the post will say it all too.

How we tested

We asked the IndyBest team to come up with some of their favourite gift ideas to celebrate their friends, or to share with them while celebrating Galentines.

Everything is a tried and tested recommendation for a much loved gift they’ve previously received and loved – and all of our selections are things we’d all love to get ourselves too.

Read more:

The best Galentine’s Day gifts for 2022 are:

Best personalised print – Places & Spaces personalised amore prints, 30cm x 40cm: £50, Placesandspacesartco.com
Best food delivery box – Gymkhana restaurant chicken butter feast: £55, Restokit.co.uk
Best card – Emmy Lupin No1 Hun card: £3, Emmylupin.com
Best prosecco gift – Pale Fox prosecco Valentine’s truffle pack: £48.95, Palefoxprosecco.com
Best brunch box – Panzer’s vie en rose hamper set: £49.99, Panzers.co.uk
Best comedy card – Katie Tinkler illustration ‘you’re saucy’ card: £3, Etsy.com
Best for cat lovers – ‘Jane Bown: Cats’, by Jane Bown, published by Guardian Faber Publishing: £7.73, Amazon.co.uk
Best for essays on love – ‘Notes on Love’ by Fenton: £24.99, Fentonand.co
Best for fragrance lovers – Diptyque roses scented candle: £31, Spacenk.com
Best simple print – Frankie Rosello hun print: £13, Etsy.com
Best memoir – ‘If In Doubt Wash Your Hair’ by Anya Hindmarch: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk

Emma Henderson (Editor)

Places & Spaces personalised amore prints, 30cm x 40cm, £50 Placesandspacesartco.com

(Places & Spaces )

Best: Personalised print

Rating: 9/10

There’s little better in life than a gals’ trip. Sharing essentials like hair dryers, clothes, not having to convince your parents or partner to take the perfect beach pic. Of course photos (aforementioned said perfect shots) last forever, but they’re also basically locked away in your phone in our digital world. We all plan to print them off, but let’s be realistic, we don’t. Instead, an art print is much easier to create, and permanently adorns the wall so you’ll always see it.

We love these gorgeously bright colourways too that just scream summer, and include blue and yellow, peach and yellow and yellow and green. Printed on 285gsm thick paper, it has a light texture which gives it a more premium feel, and all prints are sold unframed. Each features the words "amore" across the top, and then you can personalise with your names and destination at the bottom and dates top right, which looks quite similar to a chic magazine cover. C’est magnifique!

Gymkhana restaurant chicken butter feast: £55, Restokit.co.uk

(Gymkhana)

Best: Food delivery box

Rating: 9/10

More of a dine at home person? Us too. And one of the only good things to come out of the past two years is the revelation of the dine-at-home restaurant box. The answer to all our dilemmas; restaurant quality food, but without having to leave home, or bother changing into something more appropriate. Although dressing up does make it even more fun.

This box is for the curry lovers and your housemate will forever love you for this one. From London’s Gymkhana restaurant, which has had a Michelin star since 2014, it’s known for its tandoori cooking and modern take on Indian food. With a star and a price more akin to dining out, this box is far better than your average Friday night curry.

This box features the restaurant’s most popular dish – the chicken butter masala; wonderfully rich, tomatoey, creamy with tandoori cooked pieces of corn-fed chicken thighs. It also comes with the best at-home garlic naans we’ve ever had, pilau rice, dal makhani, papads with mango chutney, cucumber raita and a mint chutney. And because it’s Valentines there’s a little chocolate box to finish it off too.

Emmy Lupin No1 Hun card: £3, Emmylupin.com

(Emmy Lupin)

Best: Card

Rating: 9/10

Calling all huns, what more could you want from a card? Leopard print? Hearts? Check. In short, we’re obsessed. Send one to your bestie, or a few to the group and make them smile this Galentines Day. In fact, we’re certain no one will be disappointed with this arriving in the post.

We sent them to our bridesmaids pre-wedding and they went down a storm. Designed by illustrator Emmy Smith who runs her own small business, the rest of her creations are always bright, bold and fun, often featuring women. We also love this cute cat card (£3, Emmylupin.com) too for all the feline lovers.

Pale Fox prosecco Valentine’s truffle pack: £48.95, Palefoxprosecco.com

(Pale Fox)

Best: Prosecco gift

Rating: 8/10

If you turn up at your gal’s in tow with this kit, you’ll certainly be in their good books. It features the brand’s DOCG prosecco which, unlike many others, is vegan and the brand also uses 100 per cent renewable energy in its production. But the good news doesn’t stop there: for every bottle ordered the brand plants a tree, plus the delivery is carbon neutral. It doesn’t really get much better than that.

It’s fermented over 1000 days to create its complex flavour of pink apple and floral notes. And it comes with a weeny heart-shaped (of course) little box of Charbonnel & Walker pink Himalayan salted caramel truffles – need we say more. They are heavenly. There’s also a generous tub of the brand’s own Italian biscotti too.

Panzer’s vie en rose hamper set: £49.99 Panzers.co.uk

(Panzer’s)

Best: Brunch box

Rating: 8/10

Brunch but make it fancy, love themed, and pink – as what else do girls drink? (Just kidding, but who doesn’t love a rosé?). So get your best pals together for this cute breakfast and pay homage to the beginnings of Galentines’ creation.

Obviously Panzer’s deli has turned its famous bagels heart-shaped for the occasion. Once toasted, slather them in cream cheese and top with the delicious little bits of the sliced salmon. It’s wonderfully decadent, creamy and wonderful. The box comes with a bottle of Chateau roubine Cote de Provence rosé too – a shiraz/ syrah blush blend that’s fresh and fruity with notes of strawberry, peach and just a touch of honeysuckle.

There’s national delivery available and it comes in a beaut green and pink box (which we’re definitely keeping for regifting too).

Katie Tinkler illustration ‘you’re saucy’ card: £3, Etsy.com

(Katie Tinkler illustration)

Best: Comedy card

Rating: 9/10

Food illustrator Katie Tickler’s cards are all about the food puns, and feature her gorgeous hand drawn food. Clearly, they’re perfect for the food lover pal in your life, whether its chillis, brie, pizza or a full English they love (or all of the above) we know it’s a hard choice to pick between them.

For the ultimate condiment connoisseur though, there’s only one card to pick, the "you’re saucy" card. With her take on the classics like sriracha, soy sauce, mayo and hot sauce it’s a playful design that’s sure to make them giggle.

Lois Borny (Freelance)

‘Jane Bown: Cats’, by Jane Bown, published by Guardian Faber Publishing: £7.73, Amazon.co.uk

(Waterstones )

Best: For cat lovers

Rating: 8/10

Beautiful, aloof and quietly hilarious – cats are a sure way to our heart, and if your gal pal loves them as much as we do, then we’re sure this’ll go down a treat. Filled with pictures taken by The Observer photographer, Jane Bown, this book captures everything we adore about our feline friends – think adorable floofs lounging around, perching in unlikely spots and staring at the camera with a look of utter nonchalance.

It’s nice to receive a gift that’ll last too, something to slip on a bookshelf or leave on the coffee table to browse on a rainy day. For an extra dose of sentimentality you could write a note in the book jacket itself, for your pal to rediscover in years to come – very cute.

Eleanor Jones (Executive Editor)

‘Notes on Love’ by Fenton, £24.99, Fentonand.co

(Fenton)

Best: For essays on love

Rating: 8/10

If your budget doesn’t stretch to high-end jewellery (don’t worry – ours doesn’t either), this thoughtfully-curated book from luxe jewellery brand Fenton could be an excellent alternative. It’s a thoughtfully compiled edit of essays from writers including Elizabeth Day, Candice Braithwaite and Pandora Sykes, each exploring different definitions of and journeys through “love”.

We should also tell you that 100 per cent of the profits go to charity, making it a feel-good gift in every sense. Once we’d finished reading it, we were also very pleased with how pretty it looks on our bookshelf.

Sarah Young (Writer)

Diptyque roses scented candle: £31, Spacenk.com

(Diptyque)

Best: For fragrance lovers

Rating: 9/10

If you’d rather not put your bestie through the sorrow of having to watch a beautiful bunch of blooms wilt, fill their whole home with a long-lasting floral scent instead. Courtesy of coveted Parisian brand Diptyque, this candle is one of our all-time favourites. Aside from the seriously chic packaging, it releases a delicate fragrance of blooming roses that guarantees to create a cosy ambience in any room, from the boudoir for a romantic night in to the bathroom for a well-deserved pamper session.

Eva Waite-Taylor (Writer)

Frankie Rosello hun print: £15, Etsy.com

(Frankie Rosello )

Best: Simple print

Rating: 9/10

Nothing says “I love you” like a print that reminds your bestie that they’re an absolute hun. And this bright and bold one is everything they could want and more. It’s available in A4 and A3 (for an extra £9), and if you’re feeling particularly generous we’d recommend mounting it in a white frame (£7, Ikea.com) to save your Galentine a job.

The best thing about this print is that 50 per cent of the money raised is donated to Choose Love, a charity providing support to refugees. The remaining amount is used to cover fees, including postage, packaging and printing.

‘If In Doubt Wash Your Hair’ by Anya Hindmarch, published by Bloomsbury: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk

(Amazon)

Best: Memoir

Rating: 8/10

Part memoir, part life manual, Hindmarch shares her top tips for balancing the everyday stresses of life – our favourite piece of advice being that you should only agree to plans if you could do them right now. With humour and warmth, Hindmarch tells the story of her eponymous fashion label, but she also has deeper conversations of creativity, confidence and being a woman. A great gift we’re sure your gal pal would gobble up.

The verdict: Galentine’s Day gifts

We really love the idea of cementing a gals’ trip in art form on the wall, and the Places & Spaces personalised print is just so cute and will always remind you of that fab holiday when looking at it. For something smaller for those further away, Kate Tinkler’s cards are all so fun and will certainly bring a smile to your Galentine’s face when they open it.

Voucher codes

For the latest discounts on chocolate, flowers and other gift goodies, try the links below:

Why not send your pal some pretty blooms with our best letterbox flowers round-up