Answer:
If I happen to be caught in the sticky situation where I don't have a gift for my friend's party, I wouldn't panic! I would first think of something that would be more important to her/him, possibly a card or maybe even our friendship. And if I couldn't resort to that, I would text/call them before their party and politely and apologetically say, "Hey, I totally forgot about a gift for your party, and don't have enough time to run out to get one. Is it cool if I get a gift for you next week?" Or, if you really don't want to get a gift for this person, just say, "Is it okay if you don't receive a gift from me this year? You still mean so much to me!" And hopefully, your friend will understand!