16 Best Gifts in Stardew Valley – Gift Guide

Stardew Valley is the ultimate farming and life simulation game available on PC, and most other consoles, with plenty of interesting NPC characters for you to interact with, befriend, and even romance. The best way to charm the residents of Stardew is to give them the perfect gift. All the characters have loved, liked, and hated gift options. The following list contains some great ideas if you're looking for the best go-to items.

Best Items to Gift in Stardew Valley

Cooked Meals

Among some of the most accessible and widespread gift options are cooked meals. This gift could be just about any meal you cook up and is universally loved by most villagers, depending on the ingredients used. Who will turn down a warm, heartfelt dish cooked with love? You can prepare any dish in the kitchen, which must be upgraded into your house by Robin, or by using a campfire placed outdoors. Be mindful of what ingredients you use to prepare the dish since some characters aren't fond of certain food items while others might be.

Sweets

Similarly to cooked meals, sweets are another excellent gift choice for the characters around the valley. Items like candy, baked goods, and other sugary treats are liked by most people, especially the children around if you'd like to befriend them easily. You can make some of these in your kitchen or campfire. Cakes, cookies, ice cream, or cranberry candy are great examples.

Fruits

Another food gift option is fruits. Fruits can be grown in your garden or on trees around your farm, making it easy to get them in bulk and on hand for quick access. Any fruits make a great gift idea since all villagers enjoy them. Specifically, fruits like apples, apricots, oranges, peaches, pomegranates, and cherries are safe picks.

Flowers

Flowers are an excellent gift for any occasion; you can also find them all around the valley waiting to be picked. While they make great gifts for most characters, you will want to avoid gifting them to George, Sebastian, or Clint. You will also want to avoid Poppy flowers since almost every character hates them. Any other beautiful species you see blooming are perfect for gifts.

Drinks

Residents of the valley may feel parched every once in a while or might need that kick of caffeine to keep them going as they carry out their daily business. That's why drinks also make a decent gift for others. There are a variety of drinks to give, which means certain types might not be appropriate for some characters. Safer options that are more universal are juices, but beers and coffees are also great for age-appropriate characters. You can find some for sale in the Tavern or try making some yourself in your kitchen.

Wine

One particular drink that makes a perfect gift is wine. This is listed separately since it requires some more work to acquire. However, gifting this to certain characters will significantly benefit their friendships. You will need a Keg crafted with 30 pieces of Wood, a Copper Bar, an Iron Bar, and an Oak Resin. Then you can place any fruit inside it to ferment in different flavors of wine. This is a sophisticated gift to give and is particularly loved by Harvey and Leah.

Related: How to make wine in Stardew Valley

Garden Produce

Stardew Valley is all about building up your farm and, of course, farming. Your hard work can pay off big time, not only for earning coins and crafting goodies but gifting away your delicious produce. Many characters will appreciate being given the freshly grown vegetables and fruits you have in your gardens, especially if they are quality items. Try planting corn, eggplant, tomatoes, parsnips, beans, and more to give to your friends.

Artisan Goods

Like your fresh produce, characters will also love to receive your homemade products, such as honey, mayo, jams, maple syrup, and truffle oil. These are more complex goods you create with various crafting stations around your farm, making them a higher quality item that is great for gifting or selling for some extra coins. To make these items, you will need the appropriate stations, such as Bee House, a Tapper, or canning materials.

Harvested/Crafted Items

Some easy gifts can also be items you happen to find or harvest while roaming around the valley. These harvestable items, like shells, stones, minerals, and ores, are liked by several characters because they are valuable crafting materials. They might like them even more if you create a particular good with harvested items, such as creating iron, copper, or gold bars instead of giving raw ores. Be sure to give these gifts to the appropriate characters, however. Not all characters will enjoy these. Particular ones like the Dwarf, Clint, or the Wizard appreciate them more.

Life Elixir

Life Elixirs are essential to restoring health when in combat, which is why they can also make a good gift for others, particularly ones in the Adventurer's Guild. It requires various species of fungi, red and purple mushrooms, chanterelle, and morel, which can be a bit more challenging to acquire. If you have a Mushroom Cave nearby your farm, it will be much easier to create in bulk. The only characters who don't particularly enjoy this gift are Krobus, Willy, and Leo.

Gemstones

Who doesn't like a shiny bright gem as a gift? Gemstones are precious items you can find around the valley by chance. Opening up geodes can be a great way to acquire some. You can find various rarities, which are mostly liked by all the characters. The only gem liked universally by all characters is the Diamond, but it also happens to be the hardest to come across. It will significantly increase your friendship with a person, so use it wisely.

Related: Stardew Valley Treasure Chest Locations – How to Find

Pearl

Much like the Diamond, the Pearl is enjoyed by all the valley's residents, but it is also one of the hardest to acquire. There are only a few particular ways you can collect one:

• Using Journal Scrap 6 to dig one up
• Filling a fishing pond with ten crabs for Willy
• Playing the Mermaid's Song at the Night Market

This is a scarce item to come across around Stardew Valley, so again use it wisely when gifting it to the character you wish to gain the most relationship with.

Rabbit's Foot

The Rabbit's Foot is considered a token of luck, which is no wonder it is regarded as one of the most favored gifts to give around the valley. All characters, minus Penny, appreciate this little gift, which is relatively easy to acquire consistently. You will need to upgrade the Deluxe Coop at your farm and place a bunny inside it. If you take good care of your bunnies, feeding them and petting them as needed, they can leave a Rabbit's Foot in your coop for you to collect.

Golden Pumpkin

The Golden Pumpkin is another extremely rare item that all characters love. Due to the rarity and difficulty of acquiring the object, it isn't the favorite gift choice among players but can still earn you a ton of relationships with the character of your choice. You can only get this pumpkin a few different ways. You can find one each year by attending the Spirit's Eve festival and competing in the maze, or you can find one by chance inside an Artifact Trove.

Magic Rock Candy

This object is the perfect combo of magic and candy, and it is no wonder everyone around the valley adores it. Eating this candy grants the player a buff in mining, luck, attack, defense, and speed. It is one of the best ways to boost your stats in little to no time. However, it is also tough to get your hands on, which is why it isn't one of the favorite gift choices. You can only get one in a few different ways:

• Donating 90 items to the museum
• Killing Haunted Skulls
• Buying it from the trader in Calico Desert for three Prismatic Shards on Thursdays

Gifting this item significantly increases your desired relationship, but it may be more worth hanging on to this for the buffs.

Prismatic Shard

This beautifully colored gem is another special gift for characters in your valley. It is also a rare treasure but can be easier to acquire than the Diamond, Pearl, or Magic Rock Candy. You can find them more easily by traveling to the Skull Cavern, fighting the monsters, or mining in the more dangerous locations. You can occasionally find them in certain geodes, and they are worth quite a bit of coin when sold as well.

These are some of the best types of gifts to give out around the valley if you're looking to develop your friendships or even delve into some romance. Use your own discretion when deciding which items will work best for each character. You can often tell by their personalities whether a character might like a specific item or not. You can keep track of their likes and hates in your journal.

Looking for more Pro Game Guides Stardew Valley content? Check out our guides on Best Tips for Stardew Valley Players or How to Have Kids in Stardew Valley!