1. Skype! The saviour of many relationships, not just long distance ones. Free calls and video calling, but of course, an Internet connection is needed.
2. Rebtel – cheap international calls. I use this all the time and it’s amazing!
How it works: you sign up and receive 5 free minutes to try it out. Calls for me to Algeria are 16.9p/minute, no connection fee and 6p/minute cheaper than Skype, or 4p/minute cheaper than a Skype subscription (mine is ending soon thankfully!). You sign in with your mobile or home number and that number is then rerouted through an unused landline in the UK (that’s how it’s so cheap!). Once you call a person you are given a “local” number to call and if you’re on a contact it uses your contract minutes without charging you any extra. Bonus! It’s totally legal, and if your refer a friend and they add credit to their account, you get £7 free credit to your account! I’ve signed up all of my friends and got loads of free credit. If you think hard enough, you can cheat the system a bit… I highly recommend it!
3. Love letters. Male or female, young or old, there is nothing like the feeling of getting post.
4. Be creative. Write poems, create pictures collages, videos… your loved one will love how much effort you’ve put in and feel closer to you when looking at what you’ve made.
Closing the Gap 
You forgot sad films! Everybody needs a good cry every once in a while, and crying to a film seems much less lame than just, well, crying 🙂 A good release of some pent up frustration.
Agree totally I remember when I first started communicating with April (my now wife) we were spending around £300 a month on calls and text. £200 this end and £100 in the Philippines as at that time Skype wasn’t mobile. How my phone bill went down when Three (mobile network) brought out the Skype phone. Put £10 on that phone in 2 years.