Lately, I’ve been glancing at my calendar only to see a dozen birthdays in a row. This is the time for my Pisces and Aries friends to shine, bringing energy and vitality with their birthday celebrations and curing my seasonal depression from the NYC winter.
As someone who recently started panicking at the mere idea of gift-shopping, I thought I’d curate a simple list of last-minute birthday gifts and ways to celebrate your birthday bestie! As a last minute gift planner myself, I know it can be stressful to figure out what to buy. But I promise, it doesn’t have to be fancy — anything works to make your friend feel loved and appreciated on their special day.
- Buy a birthday card from Greenwich Letterpress
Located in the heart of West Village, this quaint letterpress design studio tucked away in Christopher Street features “whimsical greeting cards, announcements, & gifts” according to its Google description. I can attest (after having been personally to buy my own friend an adorable cat birthday card) that once you step into this shop, your life will forever be altered.
This shop has cards, fun trinkets, washi tape, and more, all within a vibrant and colorful shop that sucks you into its charming environment. It is probably the most colorful store I’ve ever been in, and your errand to buy your friend a card can also be your excuse to explore this beautiful store! It has unique greeting cards and birthday cards that fit every niche. I can guarantee that you’ll find the perfect fit for your friend here.
- Buy a poster from Artful Posters
A short walk away from Greenwich Letterpress, also within West Village, is a small store crammed top to bottom with an array of different-size posters. You can find anything from mini postcards, to medium size posters perfect to put up in a room, to extra large canvases. You can’t go wrong with a nice, high-quality poster as a gift, and you’ll be sure to find exactly that at Artful Posters. They’ve got everything: famous artworks, celebrities, movies, and silly animals!
- Out of time? Treat your friend to dinner nearby!
There are so many restaurants near Columbia’s campus that I know for a fact most students have yet to explore. There’s no better gift than free food, especially as a broke college student. Craving Thai food? There’s Thai Market and Living Thai Cuisine (both of which are author-approved!). You can go to Pisticci or Fumo for Italian, or Sylvia’s for some good Southern comfort food. And the best thing is, you don’t have to plan anything to treat your friend to a delicious meal.
- Make sure to write your friend a handwritten letter!
Honestly, nothing is more meaningful than a handwritten letter. A genuine expression of love for your friend, shown through words, carries more meaning than any material gift through its emotional value and personal touch. A letter is uniquely from you, with your handwriting, emotions, and thoughts carefully put into words. No store-bought gift can replicate that, and a heartfelt letter will be cherished forever. Plus, it’s free and easy to do! If you buy them a birthday card, the perfect touch would be writing them a letter inside, creating an irreplaceable gift.
- Buy them their favorite snacks from H-Mart or Morton Williams!
This could even include a little cake from the aisles of H-Mart… These grocery stores have endless resources, and honestly more food than you would think! It’s relatively cheap and easy to quickly run inside the nearby grocery store and buy your friend’s favorite soda, snack, and a dessert. For example, for one of my friend’s birthdays, I bought them their favorite energy drink, their favorite candy, and a slice of cake from H-Mart! That itself is an excellent gift.
I hope these ideas help with last-minute gift planning… All these birthdays coming up, and so little time! But there’s no other day of the year when your friends turn another year older, so make it count!