# Ideas for colleague's 40th birthday gift?



## wandering gnome (May 30, 2009)

I am invited to a colleague's (female) 40th birthday party.  Any suggestions for a gift?


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## swift (May 30, 2009)

A gift certificate for a message or spa. A nice bottle of wine. A gift basket with chocolates and coffee's. Things to pamper herself with.


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## wackymother (May 30, 2009)

A book, a bookstore gift certificate, one of those gift sets from Starbucks or some coffee or tea. 

My DH recently had his 50th birthday and one friend gave him fifty different one-dollar coins in a clear glass jar with a ribbon on top...it was clever but a little embarrassing because, of course, it's money.


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## cgeidl (May 30, 2009)

*Something very insulting*

That's all I got for my 40th party and I still have some of the insults available. Did also get a personal belly dancer show.The gifts were so bad that right then and there I decided to celebrate going to Europe for a year for my 50th birthday and it was a trip of a lifetime.Now turning 70 doesn't seem to bother me at all as I never expected to live this long.
Geritol
prep h
Penile implant device
insulting books


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## Patri (May 30, 2009)

I personally don't like insulting gifts, because attaining any rounded number age is a joy and a reason to be grateful. Funny presents are fine, but not those that suggest a funeral is the next stop, or imply the person is over the hill and now worthless.


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## pjrose (May 30, 2009)

*stamps, tickets, restaurant.com*

Just celebrated FIL's 90th bday.  He's the original Energizer Bunny, works, travels internationally, on various boards.....  He requested donations to several causes, but people still gave him nice bottles of wine, fancy chocolates, etc.  One really neat gift was a sheet of USPS postage stamps with  a picture of him as a child!  

Buying for FIL and MIL (75) has been very hard because they have everything, and anything they don't have, they can buy. We've given them some II exchanges.   

One fun gift for MIL five years ago was 70 instant scratch-off lottery tickets.  She won about $15, which we turned in for another batch of tickets, which won a few dollars.  $40 may be too much for a colleague, but perhaps go in with someone and get 40 tickets?

I don't know how much the sheet of stamps was, but FIL really got a kick out of it.  Or how about some restaurant.com gift certificates?


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## MelBay (May 30, 2009)

Do you have or belong to a Costco?  We were there yesterday and saw lots of gift cards for local non-chain restaurants - and they were about 2/3 the face value.  For example, a $75 gift card for a very popular steak house was $50, etc.  Not a bad deal....  There were others for smaller denominations as well.  Just a thought!


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## rsnash (May 30, 2009)

You can make the stamps at zazzle.com. I did that for the invitations to my parents' 50th anniversary party. I'm not sure if it's appropriate for a colleague though, more of a friend or relative thing.

I'd amend the wine idea to champagne. More celebratory.


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## pjrose (May 30, 2009)

*Software for designing stamps*

http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/sto...10152&storeId=10001&productId=38101&langId=-1

http://shop.usps.com/wcsstore/PostalStore/upload/htm/custompostage/yourimage.html


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## wandering gnome (May 30, 2009)

Thanks for all the ideas.  Unfortunately. we do not have Costco nearby.  Idecided to go with a gift certificate.


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