Ideas for birthday present for 85 year old grandma!

[bloomsburybaker]

My granny turns 85 next month... she insists she doesn't want a fuss made but we all want to try and celebrate if we can. I have 5 siblings and we all want to put £100 in each, so we have a pretty hefty budget! She likes her garden (quite small but beautiful) but more for pottering and sitting rather than actual gardening now... can anyone suggest a gift that will be special and that she could either use or look at and enjoy?

A new bench / garden furniture?

Bird bath?

My nan was 87 last week and I just asked her what she wanted. She replied that she didn't need anything but a cotton headscarf would be lovely. I tell you, cotton ones are a bitch to find. I'm sure she was testing me for her own amusement. (I did find some in the end).

That's fantastic that you've got such a healthy budget, but I'd recommend asking her what she wants as my experience is that the older generation feel that they already have everything they need and even the most thoughtfully intended gifts miss the mark.

We got her a beautiful birdhouse one year as she also loves pottering and sitting in the garden.

Perhaps a set of friendship lamps for each of you plus your granny www.friendlamps.co.uk/about-us/ My gran, DM and DSis love our set.
Another nice present is a flower subscription. My DM has one delivered every month from Arena flowers. It costs £20 plus delivery charges. You can get it fortnightly too which would be about £500 per year.

Over the years we have bought 70-99 year-olds for their significant birthdays/ anniversaries:

• a bird bath - very popular with endless entertainment when watched from the favourite chair in the lounge
• a new bird house/ feeder - ditto
• a solid wooden chair with their initials carved on the back
• a personalised sundial ('golden' for a golden wedding)
• personalised photobooks of holidays, family, their life
• a video of the history of the town where they grew up
• a book of historical pictures of the town where they grew up

Some gorgeous ideas here!! Thank you all so much. Off to show this list to my siblings now to make a decision x

What about one of those portal things where she can talk to you on the screen?

Does she enjoy fresh flowers? We got my 80 year old mum a flower subscription for a year.

Maybe get her a photo album or a photo book with family pictures and photos from her youth and maybe her parents' photos if there are any? Collect all of the photos possible, scan them and then reprint. If there are some really old or destroyed ones, you can get them fixed in photo restoration programs like Photodiva or Photoworks so that they would look better. I did this for my grandma's Birthday and she was surprised to see the pictures she absolutely forgot about.
A personalized video about family history is also an option. If she's interested in genealogy, then maybe some books on that. I wouldn't go for the gardening stuff, to be honest, as it doesn't seem to be very special or personal.