Only just logged onto this post so you may well have solved your present problem by now. If not, how do think your friend would feel about a charity gift. i don't mean something you bought her from a charity shop but from the Good Gifts catalogue where you buy items for children/people in, say, Africa, and the person would get a gift certificate saying what you had purchased in their name.
We're at the stage of our lives where we really don't need anything and at Christmas our kids 'bought' us: 3 operations to restore eyesight to children, (£27 each) life saving medicine for someone in india or Africa (£10) an annual pill for 50 to save them from river blindness (£8). These are just 3 examples of the dozens of items from small amounts to large sums. You can also order online at www,goodgifts.org