Friendship Letter Template
A free friendship letter template you can make your own — write it in the editor, seal it in an envelope, and share a private link.
We tell partners and parents how we feel. Friends mostly get jokes. That is fine, until you realise your closest friend may have no idea what they mean to you.
A friendship letter with no occasion attached is one of the most disarming things you can send, precisely because nothing prompted it.
A friendship letter template can only take you so far. It gets you past the blank page and gives the thing a shape — but the part that makes your friend sit down halfway through is the part only you can supply: the specific night, the specific favour, the joke that would take three paragraphs to explain to anybody else. Use the structure below and then replace every general line with one of those.
Write your friendship letter — freeNo account needed • Free • Encrypted
Prefer paper? Print the fill-in-the-blank template and write it by hand.
What to say in a friendship letter
- 1The moment you went from acquaintances to actual friends.
- 2A time they showed up for you without being asked.
- 3The thing you would call them about before anyone else.
- 4Something you envy about them, said generously.
- 5A time you let them down, if it is still sitting there — friendships survive being named.
- 6What you hope is still true about the two of you in ten years.
One thing to skip: Avoid undercutting every sincere line with a joke. One joke is charming; four is a defence mechanism they will notice.
The difference one specific line makes
Same sentiment, two ways of saying it in a friendship letter.
Most people write
“You are honestly the best friend anyone could ask for and I do not know what I would do without you.”
Write this instead
“In 2019 you got a train to a city you dislike to sit in a pub for four hours while I said nothing useful.”
Why it works: Friends deflect compliments; it is close to a reflex. A specific event is much harder to deflect, because it happened, and you both know exactly how it went.
Three ways to open a friendship letter
The first line is the hard part. Steal one of these and fill in the brackets.
“This is not about anything. I just wanted it written down somewhere.”
“I have told the [story] story to roughly nine people this year.”
“We met [how], which is a stupid way to meet the person I now call first.”
Friendship letter templates
Start from one of these and make it yours — they open straight into the editor.
Celebration of a Friend
“Not everyone is lucky enough to have a friend like you...”
Use this template →Long Distance Friend
“The miles between us have never felt as heavy as they do sometimes...”
Use this template →To My Brother
“We are not the kind of brothers who say this out loud, so I am writing it down...”
Use this template →The Sibling You Drifted From
“We did not fall out. We just stopped being in the same room...”
Use this template →Printable friendship letter template
Two ways to print it. Fill in the blanks and the page itself becomes the letter, or take the prompt sheet and write your own version by hand.
Print it, fill the blanks in pen, and give it as it is — no copying out.
🤝 Friendship letter
Write in the blanks. The small words under each line tell you what to reach for — cross out any line that is not true of the two of you.
Dear their name,
We went from acquaintances to actual friends when the moment.
You showed up for me without being asked when what happened.
You are the person I would call first about what.
The thing I envy about you is what — and I mean that generously.
If it is still sitting there: I am sorry about the time you let them down.
In ten years I hope we are still what.
Your name
shareloveletters.com — free letter templates. Write it online and they open a sealed envelope with their name on it.
Need a different one? Browse all free printable letter templates.
How it arrives
Write it
Edit a template, pick a theme, add photos or a song.
Share a private link
Password-protect it, or set the date it unlocks.
They open an envelope
Sealed, with their name on it, opening into your friendship letter.
Questions people ask
What do you write in a letter to your best friend?
Start with how you became friends, name a specific time they showed up for you, and say plainly what they mean to you. The lack of an occasion is what makes it hit.
How long should a letter to a friend be?
200 to 400 words. Long enough for two real memories, short enough that they do not feel they owe you an essay in return.
What do I write to a friend I have drifted away from?
Name the drift in one sentence, do not apologise for it at length, then go straight into a memory. "We have not spoken properly in two years and I keep thinking about the summer we..." is the fastest route back into a friendship there is.
Is it weird to send a friend a letter?
Surprising, not weird. Nearly everyone reports that an unprompted letter from a friend is one of the nicest things they have received.
Other occasions
Need words to borrow? Browse our 700+ quote library or read our letter-writing guides.
Ready to write your friendship letter?
There is no occasion for this one and there never will be. That is the argument for sending it today rather than eventually.
Start your friendship letter