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!

50 things that are not tat but not cheap

box of (15) hand made chocolates this is going to cost over £30
years subscription to a good magazine that will be about £40 with a deal (12)
case of wine (12) will be at least £80-100
(6) beautiful wine glasses
(1) bottle of prosecco
(2) 2 nice books
(1) visit to best coffee and cake shop in town
(1) book of photos /cd of shared memories

one the other hand I was 50 last year I got the money for a digital SLR camera with money from various relatives my DD whose was 8 got me 50 squares of chocolate ie 5 bars of Lindt type dark chocolate and she made me a card using 50 buttons to make a large 50

Hi all

Thanks again to everyone who has given some great ideas, it may disappoint the rest of you to know I'm actually getting a lot of inspiration from this thread

I also appreciate the comments of warnings that I'm likely to end up with loads of crap! This is part of the reason I'm asking for other ideas,

My auntie is very much not an "old" 50 (whatever that is) and if it makes a difference, 2 of the 3 grandchildren are "step" grandchildren but very much a part of our family so didn't think to specify!

I am 100% considering your warnings that many of you would not want to be given an endless pile of stocking fillers, but knowing my auntie, I do think she will appreciate the thought that I'm planning to put in to finding 50 things chosen just for her and she has in the past loved to both receive and give the small thoughtful type gifts that I have in mind,

Also noted, no hankies, badges or keyring!

A number of the gifts I have in mind and ideas recommended are consumables so due to that and the above, I'm not too worried about giving her "clutter"

I'm reading all the posts and hugely appreciating the suggesting a put forward, please keep them coming!

it may disappoint the rest of you to know I'm actually getting a lot of inspiration from this thread

Good to hear it!

Are you able to give us any more info on what your aunt likes / does / has, so we have some more clues to help with suggestions?

Perhaps save on the unwrapping by either not wrapping them or wrapping in bunches of 10. All snuggled in layers of tissue paper in a basket would be nice.

Someone gave my friend a calendar for her birthday that had 12 things written on it - one for each month that they were going to do together. Trip to the movies, a hike, dinner, lunch etc. I thought it was a lovely idea (if you manage to stick to it)

Well actually, there are some cool key rings. If you google 1969 coin jewellery you get some lovely things come up!

As an aside, What on earth is an old 50 😂. I am in my fifties and know absolutely no one who could be described as an "old 50". Cool. Irritating. Fun. Tedious. Same as you get with your usual mix of people, just older.

Please don’t do it. Your aunt has a well practised ‘that’s lovely - thank you’ face but inside she will be cringing and wishing you’d put your thought into one lovely present.
Please listen to all those of similar age to your aunt warning you off.

If you google 1969 coin jewellery you get some lovely things come up!

Sorry but this is a perfect example of why trips or meals out are a much safer idea.

As a nearly 50 year old, who works in a school - please don't do this?
Some of the suggestions sound akin to what your aunt may receive from parents of pupils at her school.
Those are great and lovely, but a basket full of them for my 50th from a loved family member would upset me.

And then there is the environmental impact. 50 pieces of mostly tat, shipped in from the Far East, to end in landfill in the next 10 - 30 years? Please please don't do it!

Buy your aunt an experience, a membership, take her out for the day, buy one or two meaningful, expensive gifts.

This, this sounds like fun for you to put together, but I fear your aunt, once she has thanked you and put things away, may not feel the same...

I’ve googled “1969 Coin Jewellery”. Nothing there I would consider “lovely”.

To clarify - I am a 'young' 50 (wtaf is an old 50 anyhow?) with two teens still living at home.

Please, listen to those who are your aunt's age - this gift makes you happy, the putting it together, the planning. But it is not what most 50 year olds would like to receive...

I'm 46 but would prefer one quality gift for my 50th. Definitely no hankies, seeds or tea (an experience - tickets to a gig, meal, nice jewellery or decent bottle of wine). I have enough 'stuff'.

I save the masses of stocking fillers for children at Christmas.

No don't. No one needs 50 things, especially 50 potentially landfill or tacky items.

Should she also cancel the cheque, behindlocknumbernine, HandsOffMyRights and megletthesecond?

Coin jewellery
Reminds me of sovereign rings.

No.....not 50 gifts...one decent gift that she has mentioned before that she would never buy for herself.

Sorry but this sounds more for your benefit than hers.

She’ll probably get loys of token gifts anyway from other people.

OP it's a nice thought but not really in line with the way people want to live nowadays. Unless its consumables I really wouldn't. I personally would be secretly upset if someone had bought me 50 'things' (although obviously I'd be polite and feign delight). I'm trying to reduce my impact on the planet, not fill charity shops and landfill sites, so it would genuinely make me sad.

Food items she likes, alcohol, plants yes ok 50 of those would be useful. Does she have a garden?

A couple of people suggested travel-sized toiletries... If somebody close to me bought me a mini shampoo for a milestone birthday, I'd think that a plane ticket was coming next. I hate flying so I'd prefer a multipack of biros and a handkerchief to follow but some people might be a bit disappointed/thrown by it. I think most people associate tiny toiletries with getting through airport security.

When I was 40 my dh made me a book / card which detailed 40 reasons why he loved me. I treasure it. Could you do something like that? I agree with other posters that 50 "things" may be just too much.

Bloody hell, travel-sized toiletries. Please no.

They don't exactly scream "lovely thoughtful gift" so much as "3 for 2 in Superdrug" or "brought home from nice hotel to use on future holidays".

I'll be 50 soon - id love to go somewhere nice with my darling niece-

i would hate 50 pieces of tat. i mean whats the point of that?

LOL at 1969 coins.

Oh god, DH family did this for his 30th, there were a few nice things but on the whole it was useless tat (mugs, keyrings, pens etc), we've have just moved and I found a box of some it in the loft - gone straight in the bin.

I dread to think of 50 presents (and the cost)

My mum for my 21st gave me 21 photos (in frames) of memories from my childhood.

Here are a few things I got for my 50th from friends and extended family that I loved:

a simple but classy silver bracelet to remind me every day of our long friendship

a beautiful hardback book about a subject I'm really interested in

lunch for 2 at a Michelin-starred restaurant (they do a fab set menu deal at lunchtime that makes it not too ridiculously expensive) - we had a really special afternoon catching up

giant bottle of my favourite expensive bubble bath and matching body oil that I would never buy myself

tickets to see Christine & the Queens

Each of those probably cost a fraction of 50 pieces of tat but had just as much thought put into them as they are all things I totally love and wouldn't buy myself. And the ones that involved sharing the experience with the friend that bought it were just lovely.

I’m sorry to be a wet blanket, but by the time you get to 50 you have all the mugs, pens, seeds, tea, hankies( hankies??) , keyrings etc that you want or need. More to the point you will have chosen them all, and will like them. I love gardening and my mum got me lots of seeds of things I don’t like. I’m not grabby, I’d rather just have gone out for a coffee with her.

I can only see this working if you have a really sizeable budget and can get things like a case of wine that you know she loves as 12 of the 50, and make the other 38 of the same standard.
I’m 50 and I prefer give things to charity shops rather than getting more stuff, and the majority of my friends are the same.