50 gifts for a 50th birthday

[PurpleSock]

My auntie turns 50 in July and she's been like a mum to me since my own mum died when I was a teenager so I want to go all out for her birthday

I was thinking about getting her 50 smaller gifts that I could maybe make into a hamper (or maybe gift separately depending on what they are) but I need some inspiration.

I also don't want to fall in the trap of getting cheap rubbish just because it's cheap and I need to get the number of gifts up

Any suggestions or recommendations would be great, for background, she works in a school full time but not a teacher, and dotes on her 3 grand children, she also speeds a fair amount of time caring for/helping out her mother in law and is the most wonderful loving and generous person I know and I really would like her give her something wonderful back after all she's done for me!

I think I'd take most of the things mentioned here to a charity shop.

Although I'm not at all crafty, I'm willing to try!

This fills my heart with fear.

How about you ask family members / friends what they love most about your auntie, or what their favourite memory of her is.

This sounds as though she's about to die. She's 50 years old, ffs.

As well as decades she’s seen, gifts could represent places she’s lived.

If you are talking 50 fabulous things because you and your Aunt are Kardashians, then ok. If you are kicking around the ‘Poundland mug, ‘posh’ teabag’ level (WTF is a posh teabag?) then don’t do it...honestly, it will be mostly filler tat.

Why don’t you do ‘50 reasons why I love you’ and print the reasons on nice notecards or something? A keepsake, rather than tea lights or chewing gum because you got desperate the night before and it’s all they had in the local corner shop

Because it’s ecologically unsound

It doesn't have to be. Why not suggest ecologically sound presents?

eg I suggested vouchers for time.

Seeds for the garden were suggested - that's very green!

Because it would be hard enough to find 50 half-decent presents at all never mind 50 ecologically sound ones ...

Argh, I'm in my 30s and the idea of 30 gifts makes me wince. So much stuff!

Could you do a gift for each decade? Five gifts would be so much easier, less stuff and you could get five really lovely things.

Why all the hate against hankies. Do you all never get runny noses and sneezes. I have a hanky in my pocket right now as it is hayfever season. Hankies are always getting lost so always need replacing!

If my family wanted to buy me 50 things then I would have no problem with coming up with 50.
1- 10 = 10 Small Lego Sets
11 - 15 = 2 fancy adult colouring books, 2 packs of sharpie pens, quality sketch pad.
16 - 20 = 5 Sewing Sets from Hobbycraft.
21 - 30 = 10 of my favourite choc bars
31 = that Ladybird spoof covers book I want
32 - 40 = 8 different magazines of various types
41 - 50 = a variety of 10 paperbacks

I certainly wouldn't call my choices 'tat'. They are items I like but can't always afford to buy myself.
50 gifts can be done but I think it is very important to know exactly what the person really is into.

I'd rather have one lovely thing than 50 to find a space for.

I'm impressed at the thought you are putting in.
I got a £40 Boots voucher from my parents when I was 50.

I agree about people not wanting to receive loads of "stuff" so I'd say get her 50 roses of her favourite colour or a massive box of 50 of her favourite chocolates. This is really special and shows how much you love her without piling on the things to make room for.

I use tissues not hankies.

Although I love @bookmum08 s ideas! Obviously very personal though.

That's the point - that's my choice of 50. The OP needs to know her Auntie 100% to do it!

Oh, I like this game.

OK, what 50 would I have?

1-10 chocolate bars
11-15 five nice pens
16 - 20 - four tins of gin
21 - a nice scarf
22 - 25 - four quirky badges / small broaches
26 - new keyring
27 -30 - three nice soaps (only I use bar soap in our family so I rarely buy the nice stuff for myself)
31 - box of truffles
32 - Elderflower presse
33 - Prosecco
34 - hot chocolate
36 - packets of seeds for the garden
37 - 40 - books
41 - 50 - vouchers from my niece and other family members, promising time together - eg one is a trip to a local art gallery, one is a promise for my niece to come cook me dinner etc, another is a promise to help doing an (unspecified) boring task etc etc

I'd love that!

Once the consumables have gone, I'd only need to find space for 5 pens, a scarf, a keyring and 4 books.

That's hardly mountains of clutter!

She's 50, not 80.

I'm older than her and think I'd cry if I got given hankies.

Buy her a trip away.

I reckon you could comfortably do my list for under £70.

Heya, I've found a great app that lets me create lovely gifts - Colorscape app. Take a favourite picture of your loved one or something special and turn it into a line drawing that you can either color in digitally or print and you (or your child) can colour in! Plus you can turn them into a card or something to frame!
itunes.apple.com/us/app/colorscape-color-your-photos/id1054822637?mt=8

I'm waaay past 50 and would hate 50 bits of tat and let's face it, unless you are going to spend mega bucks some/most/all of it will be tat.

Pens/badges/key rings/hankies/soaps?

I am 2.5 years away from my 50th but have decided to kill myself now for fear of being given old lady shite like this.

No, no, no to 50 random bits of bad value nonsense.

Multipacks of pens???
No 50 year old woman needs more mugs.
Especially from the pound shop.

50 daff bulbs: nice.
50 bottles of wine - much better
Tickets - Good.

I'd cry if I got given hankies

At least they'd then come in handy!

[grin]@EdWinchester

WTF is wrong with pens, badges, key rings or soaps?!

I'm not far off 50 but have liked them all my life! I don't think I'll stop in the next few years. How are they "old lady shite"? Surely everyone uses pens (and I lose them constantly), soap and key rings?

(OK, I get mot many people like badges, but I do, so it was on a list for things for me.)