What to buy my 91 year old nan for her birthday?

[whatdayisit7]

My Nan turns 91 on Saturday (we are very close). She's very independent: still drives and goes to the shops daily, does gardening, reads the newspaper and completes crosswords daily. I've always got her garden ornaments in the past but I feel as though I've exhausted this gift now! Any suggestions of what I could get her? I did ask and she told me not to get her anything as there's nothing she wants 🙄. She's right to an extent because anything she needs or fancies she will get for herself but of course I want to get her a special gift.

@Dilkhush that's such a lovely idea! Will look that up for my grandad, he would love it!

A heated blanket? (Currently snuggled under mine!)

Spend the day with her, day out at the ballet, visit to a country house and afternoon tea. You will never think you wish you'd bought her more pressies, but you will always wish you had spent more time with her.
The gifts in the last year's I'd given my grandparents included taking them to see something they loved, photos of our family, homemade lemon curd and raspberry vinegar from great grannies recipe book.

Posh chocolates for me every time

Theatre tickets or cinema if that's closer/easier?

Voucher for afternoon tea or similar.

Ride on a steam train.

My very active & healthy MIL has cleared her attic, garage & cupboards back to bare minimum as she hates the thought of DH or DSIL having to deal with her stuff, she's never had much in the way of clutter but she really went to town on the house after DFIL died. She's sorted everything including money & said it makes her feel better so she wouldn't really enjoy 'stuff' as a present although probably wouldn't say so.

She does like flowers so we're thinking of a subscription of fresh flowers once a month type gift.

raspberryk
Spend the day with her, day out at the ballet, visit to a country house and afternoon tea. You will never think you wish you'd bought her more pressies, but you will always wish you had spent more time with her.
The gifts in the last year's I'd given my grandparents included taking them to see something they loved, photos of our family, homemade lemon curd and raspberry vinegar from great grannies recipe book.
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That's a lovely idea, raspberry.

I should have said "Those are lovely ideas, raspberry".

Thanks @bluerussian , I'd do anything to take my nana out for the day again!

I took my grandpa to watch The Flying Scotsman pass over a big bridge a few years ago as he loved trains, didn't cost me a penny but he loved it. would have loved to go on it but it's expensive!

Hi there. I name changed as my mum is on here!

For my dad's birthday I made him a crossword. There are websites that let you type in your clues and answers and then it puts it all together to make a proper crossword and then just print it out. I did a cryptic one, but a normal one would work too. I did it for people and places in his life. Then I printed a copy to frame and a copy for him to complete. He really liked it.

If anyone's interested in historic maps, then Alan Godfrey Maps are good. (I've bought a few for family history.)

Angela Kelly has just released a book - mine was delivered today. If she's a fan of the Royals she might like that?

DH's 95 yo grandma used to love hot chocolate and Maltesers. She didn't want things anymore but she loved her chocolate!

I once saw a present in Harris’s many moons ago . It was 6 quarter bottles of an excellent champagne and a box of very expensive truffles . I was impressed . Seriously impressed . If I attained 91 years I’d want that .

I would spend the day with her, even if it’s something low key so long as she enjoys it.

Me and my sister took our Nan to the garden centre one birthday (it’s a lovely place btw, won awards and everything!) she loves gardening and she loves the chocolate cake they serve in the cafe. I bought her some plants of her choice too. Sounds a bit naff but she was banging on about how much she enjoyed it.

I think she enjoyed our company more than anything of material value.

I bought my nan her favourite perfume for her birthdays. I had to smell a lot of perfumes to work out the right one!

Homemade fudge and her favourite biscuits always went down well. Also, a subscription for her favourite magazine.

I miss her so much.

Personally, I would love to do @raspberryk suggestions. Lovely ideas.

What about a portrait session for the two of you with a local photographer, getting dressed up etc, that might be fun.

Or as she likes gardens, some postbox flowers every month during the winter, Bloom & Wild or M&S do them.

For my grand 91st I had photos of her 90th birthday made into a jigsaw... And it's gone down so well. Every visitor gets a shot at the jigsaw... And it's extra challenging as half the family wore black... In case you need a thing thing that she wouldn't buy herself. If she likes crosswords she might like jigsaws...

Favourite sweet treats, favourite specialist tea, photographs of her loved ones in beautiful frames.

An electronic photo frame loaded with family pictures.

As my gran got older we used to buy her extravagant presents but that she would use, like Chanel body lotion, a Gucci bag, lunch on the orient express, a beautiful diamond brooch. She loved them! She really developed a taste for the finer things later in life as she grew up very poor. My parents, who became wealthy, always said they wanted to spoil her, and they did.

This is a bit morbid but when she died in a hospice, in her late 90s, she was still putting on her Chanel scent every day, which she would pull out of that Gucci bag.

Some of the other oldies where she lived would say “oh why do you want that stuff” and she was like “well I’m 92, there’s no point saving it for the future!”