Gifts to make someone smile

Everything we make exists for one reason: to make somebody feel good on a day they weren't expecting to. That's the whole business — cards, badges, prints, candles and party bits that raise a laugh first and get used afterwards.

This page is for the times someone you know is having a bad run of it. A hard diagnosis, a break-up, a job gone, a stretch of grey weeks with nothing obviously wrong. You want to send something and you don't want to get it wrong.

The short version: small, funny and soon beats big, serious and late. A gift to make someone smile works because it arrived, not because of what it cost.

Gifts to make someone smile under £10

• A funny candle — lit the same evening, gone by the end of the month, no clutter left behind. Shop this card
• Coasters with a line on them they'd have said themselves. Shop this card
• A pin badge for the job, the hobby or the joke only the two of you get. Shop this card
• A small print for the desk or the kitchen wall. Shop this card
• A card on its own, posted for no reason at all. Shop this card
• Two cards a fortnight apart, which beats one big present every time. Shop this card

When someone's ill or recovering

• Something to look at from the sofa rather than something to do. Shop this card
• A get well card with an actual sentence in it, not just your name. Shop this card
• Nothing scented if they're having treatment — smell changes, and strong candles can be miserable. Shop this card
• A print or a badge that treats them as themselves, not as a patient. Shop this card
• Say when you'll next be in touch, and then be in touch. Shop this card
• Send the small thing now instead of the perfect thing later. Shop this card

When someone's grieving

• Don't try to cheer them up. Just show up in the post. Shop this card
• Something for the house — a candle they can light for the person. Shop this card
• A card at the six-week mark, when everyone else has stopped. Shop this card
• Name the person who died. People are far more afraid of the name than the bereaved are. Shop this card
• Nothing that needs a reply, a thank you or a decision. Shop this card
• See our sympathy cards if a card on its own is the right size of gesture. Shop this card

When it's just a rough patch

• The rudest card you can get away with, and nothing else. Shop this card
• A badge that says the thing they're too polite to say at work. Shop this card
• Coasters for the desk they're stuck at. Shop this card
• A print for the flat they've just moved into on their own. Shop this card
• Something daft posted on a Tuesday for no occasion whatsoever. Shop this card
• A thinking of you gift beats a good-luck one when nothing's actually happening. Shop this card

What to write when you don't know what to write

• "No reply needed. Just thinking about you." Shop this card
• "This made me think of you, which is either a compliment or an insult." Shop this card
• "I'm not going to pretend I know what to say. I'm here either way." Shop this card
• "Sending you something small because the big stuff is out of my hands." Shop this card
• "Light this and ignore everybody for an hour." Shop this card
• "Still here. Still thinking of you. No need to answer this." Shop this card

What not to send

• Anything with a deadline, a task or an activity attached. Shop this card
• Strong scent to someone who's unwell. Shop this card
• A hamper of food they've no appetite for. Shop this card
• Advice, dressed up as a gift book. Shop this card
• Something so expensive they feel they owe you. Shop this card
• Nothing at all because you left it too long — late is fine, absent isn't. Shop this card

Funny candles

Hand-poured in the UK, with a line on the label that does the talking.

Coasters and desk pieces

Small, funny, and in front of them every single day.

Prints for the wall

Something cheerful for the kitchen, the hallway or the home office.

Cards to send with it

Or send just the card — for a lot of people that's exactly the right size of gesture.

Where to shop next

• Gift ideas hub
• Cheer up gifts
• Birthday gift ideas
• Anniversary gift ideas
• Wedding gift ideas
• Milestone birthday gift ideas
• Gifts for her
• Gifts for him
• Gifts for mum
• Gifts for dad
• Gifts for couples
• Shop all gifts
• Candles
• Funny coasters
• Wall art prints
• Pin badges
• Cards
• Get well soon cards
• Sympathy cards
• Thinking of you cards
• Pin badges
• Funny wall art
• Thinking of you gifts
• Get well gifts
• Sympathy gifts
• Break-up gifts
• Job loss gifts
• Exam results gifts
• Homesick gifts
• Cheer up gifts for her
• Cheer up gifts for him
• Cheer up gifts for a friend
• Cheer up gifts for a colleague
• 40 gifts to make someone smile
• Pet memorial gifts
• Pet memorial gift ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas

Frequently asked questions

What gifts make someone smile?

Small, funny things they'll use: a candle with a joke on the label, coasters, a badge or a print that references something only the two of you would find funny. Specific beats expensive, and something that arrives this week beats something perfect that arrives next month.

What's a good cheer up gift under £10?

A funny candle, a pin badge or a set of coasters with the card. All three cost under £10, all three get used, and none of them make the person feel they now owe you something.

What do you send someone who's having a hard time?

Something that needs nothing back from them — no reply, no thank you, no decision. Say in the card that no reply is needed, and then send a second card a few weeks later when everyone else has gone quiet.

Is a card enough on its own?

Very often, yes. A handwritten card with one specific sentence in it is remembered far longer than a gift with a signature and nothing else.

How quickly can a cheer up gift arrive?

Everything's made and held in the UK, so gifts and cards post together and typically land within a few days of ordering.