What on earth can I get my mum?!

[Pickles89]

It's her 66th birthday 2 weeks from today, and I'm absolutely stuck! It wouldn't be so hard if I only had to think of one thing, but she had a really deprived childhood and she likes piles of presents now to make up for it. This would be fine by me but she is the HARDEST person to shop for that you could ever meet!

Things she doesn't like/wouldn't use:

Makeup
Perfume
Jewelry
Cushions/throws
Pamper products
Gadgets
Socks/scarves/sunglasses/accessories
Eating out
Puzzles/board games
Handbags
A theatre trip
Anything related to housework
Vouchers for an 'experience'
Anything to do with being creative

She doesn't drive so car related products are pointless. She has a garden and likes it to be nice, but hates gardening - previously I've given a voucher to pay for a gardener for a few hours, she refused to use it. She likes cooking but never uses the fancy kitchen equipment, slow cooker/food processor/bread maker that she has.

Things I've bought previously that she's liked but has run out of room for/they're getting monotonous:

Candles
Ornaments
Paintings
Notebooks
Retro style storage tins
Historical scrapbooks, like the Robert Opie ones
Audiobooks
Films - she only really likes French and German ones - she already has the classics and I don't know what else is good!
Skirts and cardigans
Plants
English Heritage/National Trust membership
Photo albums
Recipe books

She hasn't any grandchildren so I can't have them make pasta necklaces or glittery cardboard pencil pots!

She likes French and German literature, classical art, going on long walks, Border Collies and cultural/historical days out.

Please please please hit me with your suggestions, I'm starting to panic a bit!

Ask her if there's anything she would like.

Kindle?

Monthly subscription box?

A fresh flower delivery every month?

Would she like a nice pen, fountain pen?

Umbrella
Nice walking socks e.g merino wool ones
Gloves

As above, flower subscription.
New China? Pasta bowls , or 'add' on pieces
Luxury food hamper/items
Luxury basics like socks, nightwear

Would she be interested in researching her family tree. If so, maybe an ancestry subscription?

Or getting some old photos restored and framed?

A standard David Austin Rose in a bug, beautiful pot.

A lovely pen.

A subscription to a book club where they send a book every month. Willoughby have been brilliant. You tell them what she likes, what's she's read and what she doesn't like. They all fit through the letterbox, are beautifully packaged and if she's already read it, they send a replacement. You can also pause it, or change the frequency of deliveries.

A set of posh champagne flutes.

A tempur cloud pillow. Game changer.

A cookery course?

If she likes films, how about getting Netflix for her - or similar? Mubi's a good one.
I'm her age and I like films and a streaming sub would suit me down to the ground...

Subscription to Readly - access to loads and loads of popular (and some more obscure) magazine titles. Got it for my hard to buy for parents and they loved it.

I am surprised that your Mum would still wan't lots of presents, having had that whole list of things over the years, and it is now difficult for you to choose anything. I am an oldie,and didn't have much when younger, but I never wan't family to go out and buy things for me for a birthday etc. If I was actually asked about a present, it would always be either a small plant for my garden, or a pen, and writing material.as I write a lot, otherwise I don't need anything, and makes things easy for my family.

theres a book you can get (prob more than one type) where it prompts her to fill out bits about her life and her hopes and dreams and then the idea is for her to gift it back to you. would she like that?

i also think a kindle is a good idea.

My uncle (only remaining relative on that side so pretty close) recently had a birthday. He doesn't need stuff. He's never married or had kids, always had a good career so can afford to buy stuff as he wants it. I got a few token gifts (interesting coffee beans and decent chocolate is a bit of a birthday tradition and things he wouldn't usually buy himself) and got the local farm shop/deli place to do a lunch for two - homemade quiches, ham, olives, fresh bread, salad etc and went and had a socially distant birthday lunch with him. Was lovely and also something he wouldn't do for himself.

Tickets for something like Chatsworth House? I don't think it is part of the National Trust, so she couldn't use her membership to get in.

Two things have proved popular with my mum. Flight tickets for the pair of us to have weekend to European city. It was nice to have some together time and see cultural sites.

The other was a food hamper. this year I asked a local company to put a selection of puddings together.