Present ideas :)

[heymatilda]

This is probably the wrong place to put this but I wasn't sure where it went!

It's my DH's 30th birthday coming up and I have absolutely no idea what to buy him! We've just been married for 6 months so it seems like a special birthday and I want to get something nice. He is very thrifty though and would not want anything too expensive so max £60/70. (he would still say this was too much!). I don't have much time either and not particularly crafty so, although he would love it, handmade would not be a great option for me! Thanks guys xx

How about an experience day or theatre vouchers?

A watch - you can get a nice one for that on the site of the River!

A bit stereotypical male stuff maybe, but how about boxsets of films/tv programmes that he likes? A few seasons of NCIS or something.

Nice meal / night away?

Thanks so far guys! any more?

A family member was recently 30, a big group got together and went segwaying. Everyone thought it was a brilliant day. Maybe google could show up something similar in your area.

I emailed all my DP's friends and family and asked for a memory of him from the past 30 years, then I put them in 30 envelopes and gave them to him :)

I love giving presents!! What are his interests/hobbies?

not sure were you are but google" blokarting" a couple of hours taster you will easley get for your budget - there are places all over the country .. also look here www.facebook.com/groups/Westonwindsport/

its a small land yacht btw, best fun on 3 wheels.. ever

My two best presents I gave were a typographic picture print of my friends names and words that described them. Got around 50 words typeset and it cost £65.
I got it from "not on the high street" which does a whole load of nice reasonably priced personalisable gifts.
The other present I bought was a mushroom foraging day. I ended up going too and it was brilliant fun.
No other suggestions I'm afraid. I would say that Not on the high street might be worth a look though. They do all kinds of other personalised gifts.

A photobook doesnt have to take ages or be expensive if you can find a voucher offer. Then you could email friends/family for any memories and then copy and paste them in to the programme that makes the book with some relevant photos.
Also creative but doesn't need loads of time is making a mix cd/memory stick of the big hits of his 30 yrs (you know, number one on the day he was born and do on.) Easy enough to put together if you still have cd collection/itunes.
Or, even with the limited budget, you could see how many little things you could do in a day with each activity having to start with a letter, which will eventually spell out 'thirty.' A little research and creative thinking needed to keep costs down but could be a thoughful little adventure. Voucher offers again come in handy if you're near a big town/city. 'T' could stand for 'tress' as you go for a walk in the park, 'H' could be for 'handprints' where you go to a pottery cafe and decorate a mug or a plate each, etc etc. You can make them as simple or clever as you like, just takes a bit of thinking.
Good luck, I find men are a complete pain to buy for!!

Some ideas:

• Do lots of little things rather than one big one
• Make him a cake! Even if you're not that great in the kitchen and it comes out a bit wonky, it shows real care
• Surprise him when he gets back from work by decorating the front room with 30 balloons, banners, etc (you can pick stuff up really cheap from supermarkets).
• Throw a surprise party if he likes to socialise, and ask the guests to bring a dish each.
• Make him breakfast in bed
• Do a '30 years' theme, with presents that are 30 years old: an album that came out 30 years ago, a book that was published then, a design item that is 30 years old etc.
• Arrange a day out somewhere special - it doesn't have to be expensive, as there are loads of things you can do for free (museums, galleries, etc.)

Does he like real ale? A CAMRA membership was really popular with someone I know and triggered lots of visits to pubs further afield to get the Cask marques.

Footy fan? Club shops are usually pretty good.

My husband loves to socialise so I cleaned our flat till it sparkled, bought some beer and invited his/our friends round for his 30th, and made him his favourite cake. There was a really good turnout. Now that the evenings are getting longer people are more willing to do things after work and usually less busy on weekdays. (And they usually bring a bottle to parties!)

We did the same again last year, it was on a Tuesday and a bit last minute but worked really well despite us having a 9mo baby at home too. That and a boxset of a tv show he'd mentioned went down really well. He took the day off work, I made breakfast in bed and we went to sit in the park and play with the baby for the day too. Really special.