Best gifts for best friend under ₹500

It's a fine chain with tiny polished beads, thin enough for jeans at college and subtle enough to sit under a lehenga at a cousin's wedding. You only get one, and honestly one looks intentional, so don't go hunting for a pair. Does she only wear silver? Then pass on this.

Two pocket perfumes for two moods. The fresh, fruity one is for college or work, and the spicy one is for evenings out. It's a cheap way to figure out what kind of scent he likes before anyone spends on a full bottle. Great for the friend who still borrows his dad's deo.

Four mini perfumes in a case shaped like a diary, with real pages inside you can write on. Please use them. Write one line per scent on where she should wear it ("this one for the interview, this one for the date you'll tell me everything about"). It's made for the friend who gets bored of one signature scent and loves trying new ones.

A big can of body perfume with bergamot, lavender and tobacco notes, for the friend who goes straight from the gym to class. It's lighter than an eau de parfum, so two sprays a day won't gas the whole room. He'll finish it in a couple of months. That's how you know it got used.

Floral studs, crystal studs and mini hoops, so she's got one pair for lectures, one for the office and one for Saturday night. Three pairs make it feel like way more than it costs, and at this budget that matters. Check whether she wears gold tone before you buy, because these are gold plated.

Three precision tools for sharp sideburns and a clean neckline. This is for the friend whose beard has started looking like a decision and not an accident, and who trims at home but wants it to look barber-done. If he's clean-shaven or at the salon every week, give him something else.

Every best friend has a pair of earphones taped at the jack, or wireless buds with one bud missing. Wired ones never need charging, so they're the backup that lives in the bag for lectures, train rides and calls home. White and red usually cost less than black, so if they won't care, just go by price.

Soft pastel highlighters with a chisel tip on one end and a fine tip on the other. Get these for the friend whose notes the whole class photocopies before exams. They work for a boy or a girl, and almost nobody buys themselves the good highlighters.

For the friend formatting a project report on a laptop trackpad at 2 am. Help them. It's plug-and-play with a long wireless range, so there's no app and no setup. The price on the card is for the cheapest colour, so grab that one unless they're fussy.

A chocolate bar wrapped in a best-friends message, in flavours like coffee almond, mint and blueberry. Stick it next to the earphones or the highlighters and you've got a proper little package. Choose a flavour they'd never pick for themselves.

Ten dip-style coffee bags in flavours like hazelnut and French vanilla. They work like tea bags, so no machine needed. In a hostel or PG, they're a big step up from three-in-one sachets, and they'll get your friend through exams. If they're a chai loyalist, though, don't even try.

Fill a shoebox with the snacks only your friend eats: the namkeen they hoard, the toffee from the school canteen, the Maggi flavour nobody else likes, a chikki from the last trip. Tape a chit on each one with the memory behind it. Around ₹400 to ₹450 at the kirana fills the whole box, and nothing in it needs a fridge.

The theme song line on a 325 ml mug, for the friend who has rewatched Friends more times than they'll ever admit. The joke's already printed on it, so you don't need a photo. Tuck a sachet of their favourite coffee inside before you wrap it.

A short, easy read for the friend who keeps saying they'll start reading. The real gift is the first page. Write one honest paragraph about what you think they're meant to do with their life. Casually check they haven't read it already, because plenty of people have.

A book of favours they can cash in, from notes before an exam to a late-night pickup, and every coupon comes with a feedback form to rate how well you delivered. Your friend who keeps score will absolutely give you two stars for a late pickup. And you have to honour every coupon, or the joke's on you.

You share a few facts about your friend, and volunteers send them birthday emails through the day based on those facts. It's all digital, so it works just as well for a friend in another city or abroad as for one in your class. Give real details, like their college, their dog's name and their worst habit. Otherwise the mails will read like greeting cards.