Present For My Mum ...

[larsen_huw]

Hi guys,

It's my mum's 50th birthday coming up in a fortnight.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO GET HER! HELP!!!!!!

First person to mention katana will be shot! :D

[tb055]

How about a trip to a health spa? Women love that pampering thing.

[larsen_huw]

hehe ... oops ...

I should mention i'm a student. My favourite phrase when giving presents is "It's the thought that counts"!!!! :D

Can't really afford anything over £40-£50.

[StanLee]

Get her one of those portable water foot massagers from argos or £50 worth of good quality face and body products like aveda or clarins.

[PwarYuex]

Remember, the best present is something that they would want, yet never buy for themselves.

Two nice wine glasses are always good. If she loves to cook, I'd go for 3 salt & pepper & white pepper grinders, good quality of cause.

[kage110]

Can I suggest you don't get her anything that is linked to the kitchen or house work.:eek: If she is anything like my Mum she would throw it back at you, hard!:D Wine glasses and a very good bottle of plonk might do the trick but my feeling is that it should be something nice and interesting not something too functional.

Does she have any hobbies? Can you think of anything that she might like to do for a day? Go-karting??:D Something to make her think that she isn't over the hill just yet (apologies to all you over 50s on e-budo:D).

[monkeyboy_ssj]

Some expensive perfume?

Something classy, not the designer stuff.

[Shitoryu Dude]

Easy - find her a nice bud vase. Crystal is usually best.

:beer:

[larsen_huw]

Harvey,

You are such a handy man to have for these sort of questions! That's a great idea. :)

Any idea if one would fit in my budget? (£40-£50 ... about $75ish)

Any good makes i should look out for? Again, in my budget! :D

[Shitoryu Dude]

Waterford may be a bit pricey, but you can usually find Mikasa crystal that is more affordable. Either way, I have not had any trouble finding such items in the price range you give here in the US. Any good department store that is popular for registering for weddings will have a decent selection that you can go through.

If the crystal is too expensive, look for pewter or silver plated ones.

:beer:

[bgb]

A crystal vase has potential. Consider adding one flower (preferable a rose) for each child she parented. The roses can all be the same color, gender coded (ie yellow for daughters, red for sons), or coded some other way (ie white for children who have passed on, red for those still living).

Another option is to get a nice scrapbook and some fine paper. Ask your siblings, the neighbors, old friends, etc to each write her a letter then you assemble it. Ask them to reminisce about good times or detail how much she means to them.

Depends on if she’s into stuff or memories.

Barb Bloom

[Ron Rompen]

Ummm...how about an autographed/dedicated nude picture of John Lindsey? I have it on good authority that you can get one REALLY cheap, leaving lots of $$$ left over for Guinness.

[Brian Owens]

I second Mr. Moul's suggestion of a nice vase, unless you've ever heard your mother say anything about her house being too cluttered, or not needing one more nick-nack to collect dust, etc.

If so, I'd go with the trip to a day spa.

Of course, if you get a good deal on the vase you could tie a gift certificate for a day spa to one of the flowers in the vase with a nice ribbon.

If all of those ideas are beyond your budget, how about making up a gift certificate for a certain number of hours of house cleaning by a professional butler...and then you show up in a rented butler's outfit.

Good luck.