Gift giving is not my forte. my aunt is a doll and always does nice stuff, give great gifts, wrapped up pretty the whole 9 yards. Now she had a milestone and i'd like to do something nice but have no idea. she gardens, and cooks, but I can't think of anything she doesn't have in those catagories. I would really like to NOT give a gift card or if that is my last resort pair it with something tangible to open.
so have you found something really cool that has just tickled you pink that maybe she might like too??
My sister in laws gardens and she LOVES having extra stuff around...
- knee pad/kneeler
https://jet.com/product/detail/1ba9af58f1e6487fa7d7ac246b...
- trowel
- basket to put cultivated fruit and veggies in
- new seeds
- shovel
- gardeners seat
http://www.target.com/p/picnic-time-5-pc-garden-tool-set-...
You have a whole world open to you!!! Don't fret! You can do this!
My husband turned 60 in July. His favorite candy was Reese cups.
Daughter and I came up with "60 reasons we love and appreciate you" and glued each reason to a small Reese cup.
He never finished them all before he passed away and we had it displayed at the funeral with other momentos.
I don't know how feasible it is in your situation but I'll tell you what I did for my moms 60th. We (me, hubs, kids and my mom) had just moved to a new state so we didn't know anyone so having a big party was out of the question. So I ended up sending a letter to her entire Christmas card list. She is old school and still sends out about 150 - 200 cards every year. So I printed labels and basically sent everyone a letter saying SHHHHH it's my moms 60th.....asked them to send ME a card/letter for HER to MY address and that I was going to surprise her with them. I ended up getting close to 100 for her. I put them in a basket and wrapped it and gave it to her on her birthday. She cried and LOVED LOVED LOVED reading all the letters and some even sent pics from when she was young and memories they shared. She still has the basket with all of them in it and it's almost 10 years later. Hope you find something that she'll like. Good luck.
What about combining her love of gardening and cooking? Places like Whole Foods and many larger nurseries sell edible herb plants (rosemary plants in a pretty pot, for example). Teleflora sells an edible herb bouquet. If you look online there are many herb ideas that would be lovely as a gift (sage, basil, rosemary, Italian parsley) that she can either set in a window sill and cut as she needs them, or re-plant outside when spring arrives. I would love one of those rosemary trees (they almost look like little Christmas trees that are about a foot high) and the cook can just snip a sprig of rosemary off the tree. You could include a new little pair of herb shears that are just for indoor use on herbs that will be used in cooking (instead of using the outdoor gardening shears). Tie some raffia (available at craft stores) around the shears and the pot, and wrap the pot in a red and white checked cloth that looks like a picnic tablecloth (find some at a fabric store. You don't even need to hem it.)
Of course, this assumes that she's not Ina Garten, the Barefood Contessa, with an entire herb orchard in her backyard .
Instead of more "stuff" (which at 60 I'm sure she doesn't need) how about tickets to a show, play, music? Or take her out to a hot new restaurant (I know for a fact that those of us who love to cook LOVE to eat!) Or both!
Whenever I give tickets as a gift, I usually include a flyer or printout of the the event, and put it in the card, to make it more festive and fun to "open" like the gift that it is.
Honestly, if you want to give her something to treasure, why not write up 60 things that she has done for you or that you admire about her? They can be funny, touching, emotional, serious, goofy...anything. You can categorize them, or they can be random. Write them up, have 2 people proof them for you (2 fresh sets of eyes, you know?) and then figure out how to print them. You can take them to your local quick printer for ideas on printing and binding. You can order a hardcover book through places like Shutterfly - they provide templates and you can personalize it as you wish with photos or different layouts. It's pretty foolproof. You can give it a title, you can do a dedication, you can do a cover....and on and on. It's actually not all that expensive. We did one for someone's 95th bday - we called it "How Do We Love Thee? Let Us Count The Ways" and then we put in something about it totalling 95 things. (Feel free to steal the title - we appropriated it from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous sonnet! And, by the way, we didn't violate copyright laws!) You can include photos of her, of her and you, her with your family, even photos of any of those gifts you admire. Anything.
My husband and I each did a section, our son did a section, and then we had a 4th section that was our shared memories with the recipient. You can do it any way you want. My son sent the thing off but I think the book cost something like $40. Not bad at all! The more lead time you have, the less you have to spend on express shipping - although you can have it shipped to her instead of to you if you want.
It's a lovely keepsake and a treasure she will be able to look at any time. You're right - a gift card is fleeting, and she has everything she can buy herself. This, she can't buy. It's one of a kind.
If you don't want to do a printed book, you could do a scrapbook if you have enough stuff to fill it. We also did that for a milestone birthday for someone, with a big group of us each doing a double page spread with our thoughts about the person, and photos of her from youth to old age and everything in between. (Not that I think 60 is old age - I'm talking about what we did for someone's 90th.)
Some people get a chuckle out of the typical "60" things like an AARP membership card or a bottle of vodka and a bottle of prune juice. Some people hate that. So give thought to it.
Well, gardening is a great hobby but not knowing what kind of gardener she is still makes for a wide range of choices.
Does she raise flowers, food crops, herbs, indoor or outdoor plants?
Maybe a little bit of everything?
Take a look at these and see what you think about them for your aunt:
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/gardeners-tool-tote/8591995....
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/wine-crate-wall-garden/85896...
(I actually own quite a few tubtrugs in all shapes, colors and sizes - they are all purpose all around useful for EVERYTHING! I even use one in the car to hold dirty shoes, beach items or to keep groceries from rolling around the van.)
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/colorful-garden-tub/35-592.h...
http://www.gardeners.com/buy/love-you-terrarium/8590328.h...
Similar to Diane B, how about "60 things to do now that you're 60"?
I got a cute little handmade booklet from my stepsister this year when I turned 40, called Madison's 40. I'm from Milwaukee, but living in Madison for school, & she has been in Madison for years, so she picked out the 40 MUST DO things, from festivals to sight-seeing, to menu items at specific locales.
Whatever you give, make it heartfelt, & it will be perfect. T. :)
How about giving her an experience with or without you? Theatre tickets, a fancy brunch, limo ride to nice dinner in the city etc.
If there are certain meals she likes to cook you could get her a cookbook pertaining to that specific item, like cakes or crockpot meals. I on the other hand like giving personal items like bath products or candles. If she is picky, like my aunt, I would give her a gift card to her favorite store. Good luck.
