How to celebrate 40th birthday?

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It's DH 40th birthday over the summer and I'm struggling for ideas to celebrate it.

We already have a family summer holiday planned for the summer with another couple but we won't be away for his actual birthday.

He doesn't seem to want a party. He has different groups of friends in different locations and the local ones tend to be a bit flaky.

For his 30th I took him away for a weekend watching formula 1 in another country but since then we have had 2 kids, who are now 4 and 7.

Options I'm considering:

• Try to plan a gathering with his local friends.
• A couple of nights away locally with DC doing adventure type activities.
• A night away without DC in a nice hotel (but we will have already been in a hotel for 2 weeks on family holiday).

None of those options sound great to me.

Can anyone offer other ideas for inspiration?

Is there an experience he’d like? What about one of those experience days driving a racing car?

Race car experience is a good idea. A flying lesson might also be an option although while he likes travelling, I'm not sure he has ever expressed an interest in actually flying a plane.

His birthday is on a weekend so we could do an activity like that with dinner after or do the activity one day and small get together the next.