If you're in your 50's and financially comfortable...

[marezeedotes]

What would be a nice £30ish gift to receive from your daughter that loves you very much and is fed up of giving you marmalade and biscuits that you very graciously pretend to to love?

Bonus points for gift ideas for your slightly churlish older husband who's retired and has no hobbies other than the Masons.

@rhinocrash - choose something she'll love? What an excellent idea, why on earth didn't I think of that? What an oversight. 😂

I'm just spectacularly shit at gifts. I can't really explain it other than to say it's like a mental block. I know my mum pretty well I think. I know her sense of humour; what she gets anxious about; how she'll react to different situations; what makes her angry; what she finds challenging and rewarding about her work...but I still can't spontaneously generate ideas on how to spend £30 on her.

I'm didn't ask the vipers because I imagine all women over 50 have the same taste. I asked in the hope that a couple of them might suggest stuff that hasn't occurred to me previously, and feels like a good fit. And it worked - from these suggestions I have a brilliant shortlist of things to shop around for / save for future Christmas and birthdays. There have been some ideas that definitely aren't right for her (she doesn't garden or do crafts, for example) and that's fine, I can just disregard them.

2 tickets to a decent play locally easily done at £30 if you're organised about booking.

Where can you do this? We live in a provincial city with one professional theatre. There is no way you could get two tickets for a play there for £30.

I'm glad you've now got lots of ideas OP.

I like something thoughtful.

One son collects small occasional rocks on his global travels and brings them home for me to use as weights when I'm cutting out patterns. I think of him in far flung places when I'm sewing.

My daughter buys me sewing machine needles and other bits I need.

Other things I've appreciated:

A fine china cup and some really nice loose tea.

Slipper socks

Pretty winter scarf

Nice gloves

Indulgent chocolates

Selection of good cheese

Some cut crystal droplets to hang in the sunshine.

All inexpensive but thoughtful gifts.