Buying 2DS for a friend, what to do?

Hi!

I am looking to buy my friend a 2DS for christmas as it seems to be one of the budget-friendlier devices to purchase that can still play a lot of games.

The issue at hand is that i’m in Europe and they’re in the USA. Obviously a console bought here will have its limitations concerning games that are region-locked. It’s a lot cheaper and easier for me to buy one here, of course.

Will it be better to buy a console from the USA or is the option of modding a EU console (mainly taking off the region lock) viable for someone who’s never done anything of that kind before?