50th Help please

mummyofboys

Hi

Its my dads 50th in feb and he has been the best dad to me and really helped me over the years. I have a budget of £100.00 to get him something really nice which i could use some help with ideas!!

He is well off so whereas it is a massive treat for me to buy say for example a bottle of my favourite perfume, he would just replace his aftershave whenever he fancied. This can be a pain because it means if he wants something he normally buys it himself and also means that I cant ever really buy something he wants as it is too expensive.

He doesn't drink, he likes nice food, likes man utd has a season ticket, LOVES gadgets is into apple computers ect, likes mont blanc pens ect. So even though I would never spend more than around £20 for a gift usually I fear my £100 will be lost on something that isnt really special.

I also would like to make a this is your life type book, I dont really know how much detail to put in and what to include. My mum and dad actually had a messy divorce and hate eachother and both are remarried so I fear if I did this and include my mum and the marriage ect it wont bring up good memories and might annoy my step mum... but if I dont include it , it looks odd as he has three children from that part of his life and it covers 10 years.

Any advice? Thanks

Sally_A

As your dad has cash to buy whatever he wants when he wants it sounds like you'll have to think a bit sideways here.

Do you think you could get the Man U players to do him a card? It doesn't hurt to ask. Or can you buy space on the scoreboard to scroll "Happy birthday Dad"? or even an announcement at half time?

Different, and may well be on TV to record for prosperity.

lipsthefish

The new kindle comes in at under £100, perfect for gadget lovers and readers

gallygirl

mummyofboys wrote: »

I also would like to make a this is your life type book, I dont really know how much detail to put in and what to include. My mum and dad actually had a messy divorce and hate eachother and both are remarried so I fear if I did this and include my mum and the marriage ect it wont bring up good memories and might annoy my step mum... but if I dont include it , it looks odd as he has three children from that part of his life and it covers 10 years.

Any advice? Thanks

I would forget about putting pics of your mum in there but include pics of him with you all when little, also do you have any funny or special memories of that time you could write in it?

torbrex

Spending money is not the answer to a perfect gift for your dad, it should be something from your heart, something that no one other than his favourite daughter could get him. When was the last time you just gave him a big hug and said thanks for being there.

Or

It should be funny or clever and as unique or individual as possible.

Again it does not need to cost a lot, I did a simple present for a friend of a t-shirt printed with a series of 'over the hill' challenges for her and she had a wonderful day out trying to complete the list and still treasures that shirt to the extent that she has put it in a frame and it hangs proudly on the wall in her house.

ClootiesMum

The "This is your life" type book sounds great - I've often seen offers on this site where you can get them made up quite reasonably & they are made up as a real book.
A friend was given one for her 40th & she loved it.

You could also include pictures of his parents as well - or him as a child

Good luck

travelgran

What about an 'experience' type present? They are available in WH Smiths for example - driving an aston martin or ferrari, hot air ballooning, or contact the local club and book him an introductory gliding or flying lesson.

jimimi

Would he be interested if you researched his family tree? A friend is doing that for her dad's 80th. You can get some nice books to put it all in.

katie1234

I made my mum a photo book for her 50th a few mths ago. Got pics off friends and family from her as a baby up. Scanned them all on the computer and bought the photobook from apple costing about £40.

My parents are divorced to and i had the same problem with wedding photos, family pics etc that had both if them in it. In the end i included them but only a few. You will be able to decide nearer the time whats best.

Everyone though it was great and a good keepsake.

Mojisola

katie1234 wrote: »

I made my mum a photo book for her 50th a few mths ago. Got pics off friends and family from her as a baby up.

For my parents' 60th wedding anniversary, I contacted all the family and their friends and asked them to contribute a "page". Anything was welcome - photos or memories. The response was amazing and the book is something that can be looked at again and again. No amount of money could have given them so much pleasure.

**curlywurly**

As others have said I would focus on the book. I did one for my parents' 50th and it is much loved and the constant focus of many favourable comments. I used Bob Books. But don't underestimate how much time it takes. Many of the photos you will need to include will need to be scanned/enhanced, and 50 years' photos may (a) not be easy to come by and (b) will take a massive amount of time to collate and deal with. It took me nearly 8 weeks and I was working on it a good few hours a week. The Bob Books software is very easy to use. You can even use your own backgrounds (for example I took a photo of my mum's wedding dress, close up, and used that as a background for their wedding photos) and I took pics of patchworks she had made and also used those. The book I did had very little writing in, just a title on the front "50 years of golden memories" and a message from myself and my sisters on the back.

Personally I don't think you need another gift on top of that. However, if you feel you do, how about an Experience as mentioned above, or take him for a meal in a place he wouldn't otherwise go. We took my parents for afternoon tea and they loved it.