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Whats the best birthday gift you ever gave a relative?


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for his 60th (ahem, i'm younger than he is) i gave my husband a hot-air balloon ride, something he'd always wanted to do. this took a few weeks of nerve-gathering for me, because while he loves flying and geography and adventure, i hadn't flown in anything for 17 years because i hate it.

 

i arranged for the hot-air balloon, then sprung the plan on him as a surprise. the most fun part of the surprise was that after getting really excited and talking about it for 15 minutes, he suddenly said, "you mean . . . you mean . . . YOU'RE GOING WITH ME?!?" and i did. it was gorgeous up there! and the ground was even more gorgeous to me when we landed!

 

he says it's the best present he's ever gotten.

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I suddenly feel like a really lousy son. My dad's 60th wasn't very eventful, and I can't recall what my gift was to him.

Something that would involve giving of yourself (quality time with him) would go a long way. Everything else is just stuff that gathers dust.

 

Kevin

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He has two sons. Me and my 31 year old brother. He isn't into sports much. He likes cars. My brother and I were thinking of taking him up to Vermont for the weekend maybe? If that falls through we will get him some sort of gift. The balloon idea was nice but he probably would freak out (not in a good way) if he were to go for a balloon ride. I think I am a good son... :stunned

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My sister and I gave my parents $50 gift certificates for Charlie Trotter's for every occasion for about a year and a half. At that point they had enough accumulated to actually go and have dinner there on us.

 

They had never had a dining experience like that before, so I thought that it would be fun for them.

They loved it.

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I gave my mom Broadway tickets and a limo to the show for her and her sister for her 60th. She loved it! The worst: a year subscription to Netflix. She was a slave to it, stopping everything to watch the movie when it arrived so she could send it back as soon as possible to "get her money's worth" when I paid for it. :lol

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He has two sons. Me and my 31 year old brother. He isn't into sports much. He likes cars. My brother and I were thinking of taking him up to Vermont for the weekend maybe?

what about a road trip w/ his 2 boys to an auto show or nascar race? you could even try to rent a pimped-out caddy or classic hot rod for the drive.

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what about a road trip w/ his 2 boys to an auto show or nascar race? you could even try to rent a pimped-out caddy or classic hot rod for the drive.

 

I like the renting a pimped out car idea....maybe I can rent a sweet ride for the weekend..We are getting somewhere... :cheers

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I have found that the best gifts are the ones that allow you to spend time with your loved ones. Most of the gifts we give Caliber's parents are our time--we give "gift certificates" for garden clean up, or flower planting or pruning or bulb planting, or leaf clearing. It gets us down there and grandma talks about all the nice things we did for her for months.

 

My mother also doesn't want stuff--she wants face time. So that's what she gets--plus usually we will do something around the house (mostly outside related--landscaping etc) or we fix their computer or printer or whatever they've broken since the last time we were there. Or we bring all the makings for dinner and do it all ourselves--cookout or whatever.

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For my husband's 60th this past sept., my daughter made him a dvd consisting of pictures of him from a baby until now. She included most important people and events throughout his life. It was entitled "60 years in the making". She scored it with 5 or 6 songs that he liked or grew up with. She thought it was more original than a traditional scrapebook. Well before he was finished watching it for the first time, he had tears in his eyes and admitted later that it still chokes him up upon subsequent viewings. Needless to say, it turned out really beautiful and he was very touched. Oh yeah, I got him a Wii.

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A 1954 Willie Mays baseball card. (For my dad.)

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For my husband's 60th this past sept., my daughter made him a dvd consisting of pictures of him from a baby until now. She included most important people and events throughout his life. It was entitled "60 years in the making". She scored it with 5 or 6 songs that he liked or grew up with. She thought it was more original than a traditional scrapebook. Well before he was finished watching it for the first time, he had tears in his eyes and admitted later that it still chokes him up upon subsequent viewings. Needless to say, it turned out really beautiful and he was very touched. Oh yeah, I got him a Wii.

 

This is what I was going to suggest....either a traditional phot album, or the DVD style. Both make the person feel truly treasured & honored. My sister made a similar DVD for our dad awhile back & he gets teary-eyed every time he watches it. Include all the beloved family members.....others in the family can help with this. And make copies of it (if it's a DVD) for yourselves!

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My wife
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My wife's grandmother had always talked about wanting to ride a motorcycle so for her 75th birthday we arraigned it and she got her ride on a harley. She said no to the helmet and egged her chauffer to go faster. After all she was 75 and what could possibly happen to her?

 

What a story! :yay

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What a story! :yay

it's great when people are quietly paying attention all the time and then, when an occasion arises, remember what someone probably thought was a never-to-be-had wish granted. says a lot about you and your wife, john smith.

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it's great when people are quietly paying attention all the time and then, when an occasion arises, remember what someone probably thought was a never-to-be-had wish granted. says a lot about you and your wife, john smith.

 

I try to listen for ideas all the time. Some times it works and sometimes not.

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My dad's 60th is in December. I'm having a hard time trying to decide what to get him, too. He's retired now and has a lot of time on his hands. I might get him cooking classes, since that will get him out of the house, and he's going to get really bored when the weather gets too bad for him to do yardwork and gardening, which are his main hobbies. He likes to cook, but I don't think it's something he'd buy for himself. If possible, I'll try to find a weekend class we could take together, either here or near my hometown.

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