The Daily Grid

In the case of long-distance love, all those miles can make your heart grow fonder— or, tangle it up in a frustrating knot. Either way, sending your long-distance love a thoughtful gift is a must this holiday season. There are more than 14 million long-distance relationships in the U.S. right now, and 3.75 million long-distance marriages, according to Statisticbrain.com. That’s a lot of late-night Skyping and frequent flier miles!

If you are determined to make it work, then it’s time to dive into the world of intimate, heartfelt gifts (note: gentlemen, “intimate” does not mean “erotic”) for that lovely lady you miss curling up with every night.

For the Traditional Trend-setter

No matter how much the lady doth protest, women love flowers. They might say they’re cliché, but that’s generally code for, “I’m used to not getting flowers.” If that’s the case, make this the year that changes— send roses.

In this on-the-go era of cell phones, traffic jams and back-to-back meetings, chances are good your special lady needs some good old-fashioned romance. Flowers will enchant her.

If she’s worth going the extra mile for all year long, consider sending a seasonal bouquet about once a month. Flowers symbolize love, growth and beauty, all the things she embodies. Flowers are the ultimate gesture of chivalry and care.

For the Sweetly Sappy

This gift is enough to melt any heart. When you’re visiting your long-distance love this holiday season, arrange for a photographer to meet the two of you at a park or your favorite hotel for an afternoon photo shoot. This will testify to your desire to see her lovely face every day and commemorate your special time together. Her heart will sing.

Next, frame your favorite image of the bunch in matching frames and hang them up over your respective fire places. Every time one of you walks by and the other isn’t there, each will fondly recall your afternoon photo shoot – and, each other. Ah, love.

For the Organized

Or is that the disorganized? Either way, calendars and planners make a thoughtful and useful gift. They make them for every personality type out there, from animal lovers and tea drinkers to unicorn aficionados and food-o-philes. With 2013 stretched out before her like a wide open field, they’ll help keep her on track— not to mention, she’ll think of you every day of the year. Not that she doesn’t already, of course.

For the Avant Garde

If your lady loves to learn new things and explore the finer things in life, aim to transcend distance and time apart through art or literature.

Find out her favorite author or artist and do a little investigating. If she digs Victor Hugo or Charles Dickens, then the likelihood of finding or affording a signed copy or first edition of their work is slim. If, however, she has a slightly less well-known favorite book, you’d be surprised by some of the great deals on first editions and signed copies you can find on local auction sites.

The same goes for her favorite artist. Look around; you may be able to nab a signed print from someone local. You most likely can’t afford an original Picasso, but you can probably afford a high-quality Picasso print and a custom frame job. She will be elated.

Whatever you decide to get your long-distance love this holiday season, make sure it is reflective of who she is and how much you care for her. Whether she lives across town or across the world, give her something special to remember you by when you can’t be there.

A big thanks to our guest blogger, George Brown, for this article!

A customer called in to Calendars.com asking for Mary Engelbreit 2012 Desk Calendars. Knowing that the year was almost over and these calendars were close to useless, our customer service representative wanted to make sure she actually meant 2012. That simple question provided a heartwarming story that we had to share.

Joann’s mother loved Mary Engelbreit; she was one of her favorite artists. Years ago, Joann bought her mother a plaque of one of Engelbreit’s painting depicting a mother and daughter with a touching caption that reminded her of their relationship. Her mother passed away this year on May 22, and when she went to her mother’s house to sort through her belongings weeks later, she noticed her mother’s Mary Engelbreit calendar. The calendar was still on May 22, and on that day was the same depiction of the mother and daughter from her gift years prior. Joann felt comforted by this strange coincidence, and wanted the 2012 desk calendars to give as keepsakes to the other women in her family.

We were so touched by this story, that we had to share it with the Engelbreit studio and Andrews McMeel publishing. Through a joint effort, we were able to send Joann a print of that painting signed by Mary Engelbreit herself.

“Thank y’all so much for requesting it or doing whatever you did to get that to me. I’ve framed it and have it in my office and it is almost like having my mother there… Thanks again and Happy Holidays.”

This is why we love our jobs. Happy Thanksgiving and be sure to spread joy when you can.