Labor Day Weekend Apart? How to Make It Feel Like You're Together

Quick answer: Spending Labor Day weekend apart stings — but a few intentional rituals, some shared plans, and the right connected gifts (like a Friendship Lamp or a Digital Photo Frame) can make the long weekend feel surprisingly close. Distance doesn't have to win this one.

Here's the thing nobody warns you about: holiday weekends are harder than regular weeks. Everyone around you seems to be at a cookout, a lake house, or a backyard with the people they love most. And you're sitting with your phone, missing someone who's hundreds (or thousands) of miles away. A Labor Day long distance relationship takes a specific kind of emotional resilience — and a few good strategies don't hurt either.

Why Holiday Weekends Hit Different in a Long Distance Relationship

Weekdays have structure. Work, routines, tasks — they fill the space. But a long weekend? Three whole days of unstructured time, and everyone around you is celebrating with the people they love. That contrast is real, and it's okay to name it.

The couples who handle holidays best in long distance relationships aren't the ones who pretend it doesn't hurt. They're the ones who plan ahead, create their own rituals, and find small ways to feel present in each other's lives across the miles. That's exactly what this guide is for.

Distance doesn't have to mean absence — not if you're deliberate about it.

★★★★★

“I love how in touch I feel with my far away family with a simple tap! My mother gets the warm fuzzies knowing we are all thinking of her. I love seeing my son’s color light up on my lamp!! A simple tap makes us all feel so much closer!”

Long Distance Relationship Tips That Actually Help Over Labor Day

Plan the weekend together, in advance

Don't leave it to chance. Sit down (virtually) before the weekend and map out a loose schedule together. Pick a movie to watch simultaneously Saturday night. Plan a video call brunch for Sunday morning. Block time for a long phone walk — you each put in earbuds and stroll your own neighborhoods while talking. Having something to look forward to on a specific day makes the weekend feel shared, not separate.

Create a "parallel experience"

One of the most underrated long distance relationship tips is the parallel experience — doing the same thing at the same time, even across different cities. Order food from a similar style of restaurant and eat dinner together over video call. Both make the same cocktail (there are a thousand Labor Day drink recipes online). Both take a walk at 6pm and share voice notes about what you see. Small synchronized moments build intimacy in a way that texts alone just can't.

Send something physical

A text is easy. A care package takes effort, and that effort is felt. If you plan ahead, Labor Day is a perfect excuse to mail something — a handwritten card, a small playlist printed out on paper, their favorite snack. Physical objects carry emotional weight in a way that digital messages don't. And if you want something that keeps on giving after the weekend, that's where connected gifts come in.

How Love Lamps Keep You Connected in Real Time

If you haven't heard of love lamps, here's the short version: they're WiFi-connected lamps that pairs share. You touch yours, theirs lights up with the same color. No notification. No message. Just light — a quiet, physical signal that says I'm thinking of you. It works across any distance, any time zone.

The Friendship Lamp is the classic version and one of LuvLink's most loved products. Over 100,000 people around the world use it to stay connected. Touch the lamp, choose a color from 200+ options, and your person's lamp glows that exact color within seconds. No app needed on their end — the lamp just lights up. It's the kind of thing that sounds simple until you actually receive a glow at 11pm and realize someone across the country was thinking about you right then.

For something with a little more, the Infinity Lamp adds a voice message feature (on the Infinity Voice type), so you can leave a short audio note alongside the light. It comes in White, Black, and Mint, and is available as a Set of Two, Set of Three, or Set of Four — perfect if your long distance situation involves multiple people, like a friend group spread across different states.

If aesthetics matter to you (and they often do — a lamp lives in your space), LuvLink's Modern range gives you serious options. The Modern Cube Lamp, Modern Tower Lamp, Modern Cylinder Lamp, and Modern Home Lamp each come in Walnut or Natural wood finishes. They're designed to sit on a shelf or nightstand and look like intentional decor — not like a gadget. Check out this guide to choosing the right lamp style for your home if you're not sure which shape fits your space.

How Does a Long Distance Touch Lamp Actually Work?

It really is as straightforward as it sounds. Both people set up their lamps on their home WiFi networks using the LuvLink app. From that point on, touching your lamp sends an instant color signal to theirs — and vice versa. No phone call required. No typing. Just a touch.

The app lets you customize colors, so couples often pick a personal color that means something to them — a Sunday morning yellow, a goodnight blue. Over time, those colors become a private language. That's the part people don't expect: how quickly it becomes a ritual.

New to the concept? The What Are Friendship Lamps? guide breaks it all down clearly if you want more detail before buying.

Beyond the Lamp: Other Ways to Stay Connected This Weekend

A lamp is always on — and that's the point. But Labor Day weekend calls for a few extra layers of connection.

• Share a photo album in real time. A Digital Photo Frame lets you send photos directly from your phone to their frame — instantly. Snap your Labor Day cookout, your backyard, your coffee cup at 8am, and it appears on their frame across the country. Families who live apart use it constantly; the LuvLink Digital Photo Frame has become a go-to for families spread across different countries too. It's a running visual diary of your life together, even when you're not together.
• Set a daily check-in time and stick to it. Not a long call — just a consistent one. Even ten minutes at the same time every day creates rhythm and reduces the floating anxiety of "when will I hear from them?"
• Use voice notes more than texts. Hearing someone's voice — the way they laugh mid-sentence, the tiredness in their tone at the end of a long day — is irreplaceable. Voice notes take fifteen seconds to record and carry ten times the warmth of a typed message.
• Plan the reunion. Even if it's months away, having a date on the calendar changes the emotional math of a hard weekend. Buy the flight. Book the restaurant. Give yourself something to count down to.

If you're building a longer-term toolkit for staying close, the article on how to keep your best friend close when life pulls you apart has more ideas — not just for couples, but for any long distance relationship that matters to you.

The Best Gift for a Labor Day Long Distance Relationship

If this weekend has you thinking about the person you're missing — and wanting to do something about it — a connected lamp is one of the most meaningful things you can give. Not because it's a novelty, but because it works every single day, not just on the holiday.

For groups — friend squads spread across different cities, or families where multiple people live far apart — the Family Bundle offers a 10% saving on a multi-lamp set so everyone can be part of the same network of light. Touch yours in Denver, and two lamps glow simultaneously in Austin and Seattle. That's a genuinely beautiful thing.

Browse the full best sellers if you want to see what people are actually buying, or head straight to the long distance couple gifts guide for more ideas across every budget and style.

The miles are real. So is the connection — if you build it.

★★★★★

“The LuvLink Pulse v2.0 Heart-Shaped Friendship Lamps are super cute and make a wonderful gift idea! These lamps are perfect for long-distance connections—they light up and pulse when your loved one touches theirs, creating a heartfelt shared experience even when you’re apart. The design is charming and cozy, fitting nicely in any room decor. The setup was easy, and the lamps work seamlessly through their app for instant connection. Overall, these friendship lamps add a meaningful and fun way t...”

Frequently Asked Questions

How do Friendship Lamps work for long distance couples?

Each person sets up their lamp on their home WiFi using the LuvLink app. When one person touches their lamp, the other lamp lights up the same color — instantly, anywhere in the world. No message, no phone call needed. It's a simple, always-on physical signal that someone is thinking of you.

What's the best long distance touch lamp to buy?

It depends on what you need. The Friendship Lamp is the most popular — simple, reliable, 200+ colors. The Infinity Lamp (specifically the Infinity Voice type) adds voice messaging. The Modern range — Cube, Tower, Cylinder, and Home — offers wood-finish designs that look beautiful in any home. All of them do the same core job: they keep you connected with light.

Can love lamps connect more than two people?

Yes. LuvLink lamps can be set up in networks of more than two. Sets of Three, Four, Five, or Six are available depending on the model. Touch one lamp and every lamp in your network glows — great for friend groups, siblings, or families spread across multiple cities.

Is Labor Day weekend a good time to order a connected lamp?

Anytime you're feeling the sting of distance is the right time. For Labor Day specifically, ordering ahead of the weekend means you both have your lamps in hand before the holiday hits. Check current shipping times on the product page — and if this weekend has already passed, there's always the next holiday, and the one after that. Distance is ongoing; the right tools are worth having year-round.