Jump to content

Recommended Posts

My lovely mum is turning 80 this year and has requested 'no presents' - she is in the fortunate position of being quite well-off, in good health, well-travelled etc, so she doesn't really want for anything and doesn't want us to spend any money.


However I want to give her SOMETHING - something sentimental or imaginative perhaps. For my parents' golden wedding a few years ago I made them a collage based around an old wedding photo and including things that were important to them and all the places they had lived round the world, which went down really well. So something along those lines perhaps? I had a go at writing 80 happy memories of her but it felt like I was just writing all about me and my childhood, which sort of missed the point. I feel like there must be a good idea out there that would bring her joy but gets round the 'don't spend anything' rule. But I can't quite put my finger on it.


Anyone got any good ideas??? I've got a couple of months to come up with something.

Hi redjam my dad recently turned 80 and sounds similar to your mum- he doesn't want/need anything material. I asked my two children, who he adores, to write him a poem and draw him a picture each. I then got the pics professionally framed (not cheap so it felt like I was actually spending something on him!). Once framed it looked great and he shed a tear when he unwrapped the gift. It's now hanging in his kitchen and my dad loves it. Not sure if that kind of idea would work for your mum?

Lochie, that is a fab idea, I love it. Thank you! She is very sentimental, especially when it comes to her grandchildren, so that sounds right up her street.


Jules-and-Boo, we are already having a big birthday lunch for the family (which is what she wanted) so we've got that covered. She's the kind of person who would hate a surprise party so nothing doing on that score, unfortunately.


Any other thoughts? Otherwise I think I will nick Lochie's idea...

When my mum had her 80th birthday, I booked for us both to go on a day trip on the Orient Express. She had no idea beforehand and thought that we were just passing through Victoria and her face was a picture when she saw the train. It was expensive, but I was surprised that I thought it was actually worth every penny. The food and service were wonderful, and we had an escorted trip around Cambridge. The trip lasted about 12 hours, and almost all of the other people on the train seemed to be fairly ordinary people celebrating a special event. Ten years on, and my Mum still talks about it.


I had thought about getting pictures or drawings framed, but it never feels quite right to give pictures of grandchildren etc to parents, as they feel obliged to have them on display when they really might not want to!

When my dad was 75 we made a poster for him entitled


What we learned from Bob


With lots of phrases from everyone in the family (eg its's important to tell the truth, how to sail a dinghy, use really hot water for washing up, how to light a fire), put together in different fonts and colours and then had it printed and framed as a large poster. He loved it. It was easy to put together and it was fun to work out who had said what and also how important he was to the family in all sorts of ways - some quite surprising. My mum was quite jealous and very pleased when she got hers a few months later.


They now have pride of place as companion "works of art" in their house. And do actually look pretty good.

Gosh, you lot are amazing, what nice people you are! Some brilliant thoughts here. The play idea is fantastic, really original (we're quite a small family so I don't think it would work for us but what a lovely idea - I got a bit teary myself when I read that!). And I love the poster one too - I'm going to have that one up my sleeve for my dad's 80th as that would be right up his street. The embroidered cushion is also really sweet, though my artistic child only likes drawing pictures of dying cats (don't ask) so not sure that would be appropriate for us. But I'm finding this all very inspiring. An idea is starting to crystalise around doing something along the lines of a 'This Is Your Life'-style book with photos/memories from family members, incorporating Lochie's poem idea... I will think on. But thanks so much for these thoughts - there are some lucky parents out there!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Gone to the better hunting grounds during this local ongoing dry spell.
    • The Dreamliner has an impeccable service history, you are more likely to get mugged on the way to the airport than having any issue with your flight, that's how safe it is!  Have a great trip.
    • Maybe. Does that kill grass? If so, possibly the same dog that has left its poo outside my house - pretty sure it's not fox poo.
    • Here you are, intexasatthemoment (you seem to have been in Texas for a very long time!) We went to three of the recommended places yesterday,  as they were all in the same road (just near Wallington)  and I needed to give the car a run to avoid another slap on the wrist from my garage (and another new battery). Here's my findings. BARNES Parking We thought we would go here first as it was the earliest to close on a Sunday (3pm). There was no apparent entrance or anywhere to park. One notice said do not park on grass verge, and another one said staff cars only! Flittons was opposite but I'd already passed the entrance, so I had to drive down the road, turn round at the next available place (covered in signs saying do not park here) and park in Flittons car park! Plants Barnes  specialise in hardy perennials, so that was basically what they had, but an excellent selection, and many more unusual plants (or at least, plants you probably wouldn't find in a garden centre), eg Corydalis,  lots of different varieties of Epimediums, Trollius, some lovely Phygelius, lots of different ferns). The plants were divided into sections according to whether they needed sun or shade or could cope with both. They had a particularly good selection of  shade loving plants. There was really useful information above  each group of plants, which meant you didn't have to look at individual labels. All the plants looked in good health and  very well cared for. They don't produce a printed catalogue, but they  said their plant list was online (I haven't looked yet). I assume most of  the plants they have at any one time are when it's their flowering season (if they flower). I wasn't intending to buy anything, though was very tempted, but I'd definitely go here again once I've sorted out my overgrown garden. Other Stuff Don't think they sell pots, compost, etc. No cafe/tea room and I didn't see a loo, but Flittons is just over the road. FLITTONS  Parking Easy to park Plants Sorry, but mostly terrible. There was one section with vegetables and the rest was flowering plants. There was a general feeling of delapidation. Some of what was on display was actually dead (surely it would only take a minute to remove dead plants) and a lot of the rest was very poorly maintained, eg gone to seed, weedy, apparently unwatered, or with a lot of dead leaves. There was a notice asking for volunteers to work there, so I can only assume they can't afford to pay staff. Other stuff There was a notice to a play barn (?) saying invited people only, so I think they must host kids' parties or something. They redeemed themselves with a cosy little cafe with savoury stuff, nice cakes, iced chai and oat milk, and a loo. Also a selection of books and CDs on sale for charity. If you want an Andrews Sisters CD, you can find one here. There is a small shop with gift shop type stuff and a display of the history of Flittons, which apparently is family owned since the sixties (I think it was). I suspect that the arrival of Dobbies down the road must have greatly affected Flittons' fortunes, which is sad. DOBBIES  Parking Easy in theory once you had navigated a rather narrow entrance, but it was very busy so it took a while to find a space. Plants  Lots of plants, well maintained but I imagine their turnover is high. Lots of nice bedding plants for hanging baskets, window boxes etc  to cater for all tastes (ie some of it wasn't mine, but fine if you like those horrid little begonias (my opinion only) but they did have some nice (in my opinion) stuff as well. I was tempted but decided to buy from North Cross Road market. Fair selection of climbers, various different Clematis etc. I'd be happy to buy plants from here. The prices seemed reasonable and they were in good condition. Other stuff  It's a big garden centre with all that entails these days, so a large area selling garden furniture and storage, tools, animal collars, pots, all the usual stuff you would expect. Very helpful staff. There's a cafe which we didn't check out, charging points for electric cars, a Waitrose (no idea how big, we didn't look). Only on our way out did we see that there was a drive through "express section" for compost etc, which was annoying as I wanted compost and hadn't seen any anywhere,  but I was getting tired by that time. Just Down the Road A ten minute drive away is Wilderness Island, a nature reserve in Carshalton, which is well worth a visit. We heard eleven different kinds of bird (according to Merlin) and saw a Kingfisher flying down the tiny river!
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...