50th birthday gift suggestions

MichaelB

MichaelB

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MY SIL will celebrate her 50th birthday in a few days. She's really nice, so we need to get her something special - we're thinking flowers and balloons. For instance, a dozen black roses and a bunch of "Over the Hill" balloons to be delivered at her workplace.

I did something similar for my sister - she didn't speak with me for a long time and her husband never mentioned it.

SIL has a great sense of humor and will appreciate this, but I would like to hear any suggestions.
 
MichaelB said:
MY SIL will celebrate her 50th birthday in a few days. She's really nice, so we need to get her something special - we're thinking flowers and balloons. For instance, a dozen black roses and a bunch of "Over the Hill" balloons to be delivered at her workplace.

I did something similar for my sister - she didn't speak with me for a long time and her husband never mentioned it.

SIL has a great sense of humor and will appreciate this, but I would like to hear any suggestions.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to figure out if you ever want to speak to your SIL, or either of your siblings, ever again...

I don't think an AARP membership card is gonna cut it either. But a standard traditional (normal-colored) flower arrangement, perhaps with a card that says "Thinking of you", sounds like a great way to provoke some interoffice gossip.
 
Mmmm, well..here is my thought.

I'm thinking more on the lines of a vintage bottle of wine with two etched glasses (etching of your choice)...of getting better with age as a fine wine....
 
I guess you know your family best, but I vote with bbbamI. Fifty deserves a proper gift and thought for a lady you care about. Leave the black balloons to the crew at work.
 
Comon Mike, 50 can be tough, especially for a woman. Let's not rub it in her face, I don't think she'll find it very funny in this case.
 
MichaelB said:
MY SIL will celebrate her 50th birthday in a few days. She's really nice, so we need to get her something special - we're thinking flowers and balloons. For instance, a dozen black roses and a bunch of "Over the Hill" balloons to be delivered at her workplace.
Click to expand...

Uhhh....nononono!!! :nonono::nonono::nonono::nonono:

MichaelB said:
I did something similar for my sister - she didn't speak with me for a long time and her husband never mentioned it.
Click to expand...

Ya think?

MichaelB said:
SIL has a great sense of humor and will appreciate this
Click to expand...

No she won't.

MichaelB said:
SIL has a great sense of humor and will appreciate this, but I would like to hear any suggestions.
Click to expand...

Michael, you gotta think like a woman. Being called "Over the Hill" can be very hurtful, no matter how "nice" we are. In the workplace, it can be downright damaging.

Instead, think about something "special" that makes SIL feel special and valued. Flowers by all means, gift certificate for a day at the spa, perhaps? But make it classy, eh?

:flowers:
 
A few years ago a friend turned 50 and her family threw a big party for her. She does have a good sense of humor so I had some fun.

I wrapped up a bunch of silly stuff in newspaper and taped messages to each little package. A package of cough drops carried the message, "Are you getting choked up over turning 50". A bottle of Headcase shampoo carried the message, "Is turning 50 making you a headcase". There were 10-12 items all together. When I walked into the party I set the sack with the little gems in it with the other gifts and no one noticed. Later this sack was the last to be opened and everyone thought it was incredibly funny as she went through each item. The best part was that everyone suspected her kids and nobody thought I was the culprit at least until I fessed up at the end.

I also gave her a real present. I found a silver coin at a coin shop that had been cut out to render it a piece of jewelry and got a long sterling silver chain so she could wear it as a necklace.

You know your SIL so need to judge what could be seen as funny, but I hope a nice present is part of it also. Have fun!
 
Nords said:
I don't think an AARP membership card is gonna cut it either.
Click to expand...

That is what my (gentle, sweet, well-meaning) late mother gave me for my 50th birthday. After I cut it into a million pieces and finished crying I sent her a nice thank-you e-mail since I knew she didn't mean any harm. But it really was an awful, awful 50th birthday present.

How about something she would like on any other birthday, like an iPad? :D
 
Heh...I gave DH half of a dollar bill on his 50th birthday. I told him he'd get the other half when he turned 100.....:LOL:
 
Alright, ok, enough. Even I can see a trend here - consider a more affectionate, less humorous gift. But she’s got a great sense of humor (unlike my sister, who doesn’t).

So, purple roses? (she is a diehard NU wildcat fan) .
 
In a way, you seem to be saying that if your SIL doesn't find black roses, etc. hilarious, that means she's lost her sense of humor. Whereas, I believe that the people who chuckle at 50th BD stuff that says, "You're old and ready to croak," are just going along to get along. Secretly, they despise it.

Not only are the "Over the Hill" balloons, black roses, and cards featuring canes and bedpans, an unfunny cliche - they are hypocritical. Look at the 60th, 70th,and 80th BD cards in the store. Cards for those BD's never joke about being old and ready to die. When you are really old, the cards say "How wonderful for you to have lived such a terrific life." So, why not do things for a 50th BD that say "How wonderful for you to have lived such a terrific life..." and leave the cliche's to somebody with less taste.

1. An actual newspaper from her birth date. You can buy these at Newspaper From The Day You Were Born - - a unique birthday or anniversary gift - - order your birthdate paper here and many other places. I got one for my husband's 60th BD and he really enjoyed reading about the significant events that happened the day he was born.

2. See bbbam1's suggestion...very classy.

3. 1960 mint U.S. coin set, if her husband thinks she'll like it. I would like it; some women wouldn't care for it.

4. Enlarged framed portrait of her from the 1960's, if her parents are still alive (for sure, parents can provide a cute photo of her as a tyke, and your local photo shop can do the rest).

Amethyst
 
I think that people who laugh and say that the love the black flowers and balloons are just being nice and they really don't like it. Except maybe that woman on NCIS.

And get your sister something nice too. :)
 
Gift giving is best given up. I know it's hard to break the habit, but the reality is we waste lots of time and money on gifts. If you feel the need to honor her 50th with a gift, how about a donation to a charity that touches her heart? Might make her feel really special and you might get a tax deduction. Win win.
 
When I turned 40, wife made a cake in the shape of a toilet (a lot of work) and put a few half- melted tootsie rolls at the bottom of the cake. The sign in front of the cake said: "Honey, you turned 40, but nobody gives a sh!t!. But I dunno if this is something she'd like.
 
I think I would go with the suggestions for either the spa or the nice bottle of bubbly with a pair of lovely glasses. I few years back we teased one of the supervisors in our office who turned 50....we taped his office off with crime scene tape and piled up stuff on his desk like dentucreme, depends, a Viagra keychain, tube of Preparation H, Grecian formula, support stockings, AARP literature....you get the picture. He thought it was pretty funny even though he is kind of a serious guy. I think he was pleased we remembered and went to the effort. :)

But for a woman...nah. Especially publicly.
 
I agree with bbbami. I saw little humor in the black balloons, cardboard headstone, "over the hill" cards and all that nonsense.

Show a little more class.
 
Amethyst said:
Sheesh, you cheapskates couldn't even spare him any of your real Viagra? :LOL::LOL::angel:
Click to expand...

The "Viagra keychain" was one of those promotional things passed out to docs by a drug rep...it had a compartment where you could store a couple of pills. Uh, none of us had access to any real Viagra. Or, rather, no one admitted to having any.
 
Payin-the-Toll said:
When I turned 40, wife made a cake in the shape of a toilet (a lot of work) and put a few half- melted tootsie rolls at the bottom of the cake. The sign in front of the cake said: "Honey, you turned 40, but nobody gives a sh!t!. But I dunno if this is something she'd like.
Click to expand...

:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
Oh man, if someone made a cake like this for me, on ANY birthday, they would be my favorite person forever.
 
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