Developing friendships with the characters in Stardew Valley is essential. Players will get quests that require a certain friendship level - like finding the mayor's lucky shorts. Recipes and items villagers send you in the mail will help you restore the Community Center and fill those missing recipe slots if you're aiming for perfection.
If you're looking for universally loved gifts or want to quickly level up your friendship with one character in particular, check out this Stardew Valley gift guide!
More Like This:
The first time I played Stardew Valley, I wanted nothing to do with gifting. I was immediately consumed with farming, and I wanted every little thing to go into the shipping bin so I could buy more seeds. Letting anyone else touch my precious veggies seemed like a waste of money.
Then, I got the quest that required being let into Marnie's bedroom. Having never given Marnie a gift, I was in a long few weeks in-game of giving her my two weekly gifts until I could get into her bedroom.
Now when I start a new farm, I make an effort first-thing to grow some flowers and upgrade my coop to get access to the beloved rabbit's foot as soon as possible.
Universally Loved Gifts in Stardew Valley
If you want to skip looking up a gift for a specific villager, there are a few easy Stardew Valley gift hacks that you can keep in mind. The first universally loved gift is the Golden Pumpkin found at the end of the maze during the annual Spirit's Eve Event.
This pumpkin can only be obtained once per year, so choose carefully who you give it to! (I personally would save the Golden Pumpkin to combine with Cloth in the Sewing Machine to create the Witch Hat!)
Another universally loved gift is the Prismatic Shard. These shards are extremely rare and used for a ton of different things - from obtaining the Galaxy Sword to completing the Museum. If you find yourself late in the game and have extra shards lying around, consider giving them to everyone (except Haley, who hates them).
The easiest universally loved gift to collect is the lucky Rabbit's Foot. After fully upgrading your chicken coop, you can add rabbits to your farm. If you keep your rabbits fed and pet them every day, they'll have a chance to drop a Rabbit's Foot. An easy way to increase your chances of finding them is to fill an entire coop full of fluffy rabbits!
The cheapest and easiest way to level up your friendships is by gifting flowers. Flowers are universally liked by everyone except for Sebastian and Clint. Flowers are cheap and much easier to obtain than the universally loved gifts! When starting your farm, dedicate a few sprinklers to growing flowers every week specifically for gifting.
Universally Disliked and Hated Items in Stardew Valley
Just because you think geodes are pretty doesn't mean anybody else does. Unfortunately, there are plenty of items in Stardew Valley that the villagers don't think qualify as good gifts.
Instead of memorizing the list below, just try to remember that the best gifts are the ones you made yourself! Things like crops, artisan goods, and cooked meals are almost always universally liked gifts.
Raw building materials, cooking materials, and foraged items are almost universally disliked. Of course, there will always be a few exceptions to throw you off. Emily and Clint love gems found in the mine, and Evelyn and George love the foraged Daffodils found in the Spring.
These items are either universally hated or universally disliked by all villagers in Stardew Valley:
Building materials
Artifacts
Bombs
Fences
Fertilizer
Fish
Geodes
Geode materials
Seeds
Sprinklers
Tackle
Mined goods
Metal goods
Cooking ingredients
Oak resin
Pine tar
Solar essence
Void essence
Qi Fruit
Jack-o-lanterns
Tea set
Spring onion
Driftwood
Field snack
Bait
Fossils
Monster loot
Trash
Artifact trove
Bug steak
Carp
Ore
Crab pot
Dragon tooth
Energy tonic
Explosive ammo
Fairy dust
Grass starter
Green Algae
Golden coconut
Hay
Journal scraps
Monster musk
Music blocks
Muscle remedy
Oil of garlic
Poppy
Qi Seasoning
Totems
Red Mushrooms
Sap
Sea urchins
Seafoam pudding
Seaweed
Slime eggs
Snail
Strange bun
Sugar
Torch
Treasure chest
Void mayonnaise
White algae
Finally, here are all of the Stardew Valley villagers, their birthdays, and the best gifts to give each one to max out their friendship fast!
Abigail - Fall 13
Best gifts for Abigail in Stardew Valley:
Amethyst
Banana Pudding
Blackberry Cobbler
Chocolate Cake
Pufferfish
Pumpkin
Spicy Eel
Quartz
Alex - Summer 13
Best gifts for Alex in Stardew Valley:
Complete breakfast
Salmon dinner
All eggs except for Void Eggs
Caroline - Winter 7
Best gifts for Caroline in Stardew Valley:
Fish Taco
Green Tea
Summer Spangle
Tropical Curry
Daffodil
Tea Leaves
Clint - Winter 26
Best gifts for Clint in Stardew Valley:
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Artichoke Dip
Emerald
Fiddlehead Risotto
Gold Bar
Iridium Bar
Jade
Omni Geode
Ruby
Topaz
Copper Bar
Iron Bar
Demetrius - Summer 19
Best gifts for Demetrius in Stardew Valley:
Bean Hotpot
Ice Cream
Rice Pudding
Strawberry
All eggs except Void Egg
All Fruits
Purple Mushroom
Dwarf - Summer 22
Best gifts for the Dwarf in Stardew Valley:
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Emerald
Jade
Lemon Stone
Omni Geode
Ruby
Topaz
Artifacts
Cave Carrot
Quartz
Elliot - Fall 5
Best gifts for Elliot in Stardew Valley:
Crab Cakes
Duck Feather
Lobster
Pomegranate
Squid Ink
Tom Kha Soup
All Fruits
Octopus
Squid
Emily - Spring 27
Best gifts for Emily in Stardew Valley:
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Cloth
Emerald
Jade
Ruby
Survival Burger
Topaz
Wool
Daffodil
Quartz
Evelyn - Winter 20
Best gifts for Evelyn in Stardew Valley:
Beet
Chocolate Cake
Diamond
Fairy Rose
Stuffing
Tulip
All Milk
Daffodil
George - Fall 24
Best gifts for George in Stardew Valley:
Fried Mushroom
Leek
Daffodil
Gus - Summer 8
Best gifts for Gus in Stardew Valley:
Diamond
Escargot
Fish Taco
Orange
Tropical Curry
Daffodil
Haley - Spring 14
Best gifts for Haley in Stardew Valley:
Coconut
Fruit Salad
Pink Cake
Sunflower
Daffodil
Harvey - Winter 14
Best gifts for Harvey in Stardew Valley:
Coffee
Pickles
Super Meal
Truffle Oil
Wine
All fruit
All mushroom except for Red Mushroom
Duck feather
Duck egg
Jas - Summer 4
Best gifts for Jas in Stardew Valley:
Fairy Rose
Pink Cake
Plum Pudding
Coconut
Daffodil
Jodi - Fall 11
Best gifts for Jodi in Stardew Valley:
Chocolate Cake
Crispy Bass
Diamond
Eggplant Parmesan
Fried Eel
Pancakes
Rhubarb Pie
Vegetable Medley
Kent - Spring 4
Best gifts for Kent in Stardew Valley:
Fiddlehead Risotto
Roasted Hazelnuts
All eggs except Void Egg
All fruit
Daffodil
Krobus - Winter 1
Best gifts for Krobus in Stardew Valley:
Diamond
Iridium Bar
Pumpkin
Void Egg
Void Mayonnaise
Wild Horseradish
Gold Bar
Quartz
Leah - Winter 23
Best gifts for Leah in Stardew Valley:
Goat Cheese
Poppyseed Muffin
Salad
Stir Fry
Truffle
Vegetable Medley
Wine
Lewis - Spring 7
Best gifts for Lewis in Stardew Valley:
Autumn's Bounty
Glazed Yams
Green Tea
Hot Pepper
Vegetable Medley
Blueberry
Cactus Fruit
Coconut
Leo - Summer 26
Best gifts for Leo in Stardew Valley:
Duck Feather
Mango
Ostrich Egg
Poi
Nautilus Shell
Dragon Tooth
Quartz
Linus - Winter 3
Best gifts for Linus in Stardew Valley:
Blueberry Tart
Cactus Fruit
Coconut
Dish O' the Sea
Yam
All eggs except Void Egg
All milk
All mushrooms except Red Mushroom
Marnie - Fall 18
Best gifts for Marnie in Stardew Valley:
Diamond
Farmer's Lunch
Pink Cake
Pumpkin Pie
All milk
All eggs except Void Egg
Maru - Summer 10
Best gifts for Maru in Stardew Valley:
Battery Pack
Cauliflower
Cheese Cauliflower
Diamond
Gold Bar
Iridium Bar
Miner's Treat
Pepper Poppers
Strawberry
Pam - Spring 18
Best gifts for Pam in Stardew Valley:
Beer
Cactus Fruit
Glazed Yams
Mead
Pale Ale
Parsnip
Parsnip Soup
Pina Colada
Penny - Fall 2
Best gifts for Penny in Stardew Valley:
Diamond
Emerald
Melon
Poppy
Poppyseed Muffin
Red Plate
Roots Platter
Sandfish
Tom Kha Soup
Pierre - Spring 26
Best gifts for Pierre in Stardew Valley:
Fried Calamari
All eggs except Void Egg
All milk
Daffodil
Dandelion
Robin - Fall 21
Best gifts for Robin in Stardew Valley:
Goat Cheese
Peach
Spaghetti
All milk
All fruit
Hardwood
Quartz
Sam - Summer 17
Best gifts for Sam in Stardew Valley:
Cactus Fruit
Maple Bar
Pizza
Tigerseye
Joja Cola
All eggs except Void Egg
Sandy - Fall 15
Best gifts for Sandy in Stardew Valley:
Crocus
Daffodil
Mango Sticky Rice
Sweet Pea
All fruit
Goat milk
Large goat milk
Sebastian - Winter 10
Best gifts for Sebastian in Stardew Valley:
Frozen Tear
Obsidian
Pumpkin Soup
Sashimi
Void Egg
Flounder
Quartz
Shane - Spring 20
Best gifts for Shane in Stardew Valley:
Beer
Hot Pepper
Pepper Poppers
Pizza
All eggs except Void Egg
All Fruit
Vincent - Spring 22
Best gifts for Vincent in Stardew Valley:
Cranberry Candy
Ginger Ale
Grape
Pink Cake
Snail
Coconut
Daffodil
Willy - Summer 24
Best gifts for Willy in Stardew Valley:
Catfish
Diamond
Iridium Bar
Mead
Octopus
Pumpkin
Sea Cucumber
Sturgeon
Wizard - Winter 17
Best gifts for the Wizard in Stardew Valley:
Purple Mushroom
Solar Essence
Void Essence
Super Cucumber
All geode minerals
Quartz