Something special for friend's 40th

hellies

A close friend of mine from work is turning 40 in a few months and is dreading it. Shes upset about being the 'big 40' and I am desperately trying to find something to make her enjoy it. She would be mortified if I organised a party, or even told anyone at work. I would like to try to arrange something for her that would make her remember her 40th in a good way, and forget about depressed about it, without everyone having to know she is 40! She complains that her friends never want to do anything fun as they are mostly in couples with children and think she thinks her birthday is going to be very depressing. I am also on a bit of a tight budget, and her birthday is 3 days after my baby is due, so am restricted! I know this is probably impossible but any ideas will be greatly received!!

Thank you fellow MSEers!!

Sherry2k

Me too - dilemma! My friend is 40 in October and I'm just flummoxed! I have no idea what to get her. I've scoured Ebay and gift sites and still no joy. I hope she doesn't have as much bother when I turn 40 next August :eek: . Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure there are thousands of you out there who have bought a 40th pressie before (that doesn't include bottles of plonk), so suggestions would be marvellous. Something unusual, and something she'll remember. She has a wicked sense of humour so anything cheeky would be good too.

Thanks. :0)

nadine7346

I had my 40th in May. I had a "Chav & Nerd" party, where everyone dressed as the social stereotype of their choice. Most chose to be Chavs, which was easy as you just get cheap clothes from Primark, Matalan, George at Asda, or wear a bad combination of clothes you already have. I got everyone to wear a badge giving their chav or nerd name e.g. Chardonnay or Doris. I did splash out and buy my husband a Vicky Pollard wig which he liked wearing just a bit too much.... Best dressed was a teenager who came with a doll baby with a toy cigarette in its mouth! I made a "pin the tail on the pitbull" game. There are websites which can give you ideas about chav lifestyle in particular.

mummysavingexpert_2

We have had the same problem with finding a present. Last year for one friends 40th, I found a drinks tray that holds photographs at a shop called Topaz in Guildford, and filled it with all our college/growing up photos. It cost about £30, but went down really well.

rammy007

I had my 40th this time last year and was absolutely dreading it,but as it turned out it was fantastic me and my hubbie went to paris for a few days and saw George Michael at Bercy it was fab i have some fantastic memories and photos and to top it all when we got back from the concert we found out we were going to be grandparents,i think if you can try and do something special it takes your mind off actually being 40,i am now 40 and have a granddaughter its not that bad,as they say life begins at 40,well mine seems to have or at least another chapter anyway.Hope you all manage to come up with something.

hellibelli

Why not go for a pamper day at your local beauticians? It would be a treat for your friend and for you after having the baby and can cost anything from £3-£50. I was 40 in February and a really thoughtful present (in my opinion) was the 1967 sixpence my brother got from Ebay. A nice keepsake.

40something

I enjoyed a birthday breakfast. You could arrange to have breakfast on the morning of her 40th either in a cafe or at either of your homes. Croissants with bowls of sweets, crisps and fizzy pop and some little cup cakes with candles in and balloons tied to my chair. Cheap and chearful.

For an alternative to candles you can buy two Dessert Fountains (basically an indoor roman candle firework) for £3.50 off the internet.

I couldn't stop smiling all day and then when it got dark my partner had arranged a firework display. It sounds expensive but you can buy an entire display in a box for around £40. All you need to do is secure it to the ground and light the one fuse.

Mickie_2

Hi this is my first ever post. This is probably too late in the year to be of any help but it might be helpful to some for next year. I had a problem deciding what to do for my boyfriend's 40th in August - he is not normally one for birthdays but I felt we should do something. We don't have kids but a lot of our friends do so we had to take that in to account. Anyway he loves camping so we went on a camping weekend. There were 14 tents, 30 adults, 9 kids and 7 dogs. We had a section of field all to ourselves so the kids and dogs were able to run around freely - they had an absolute blast. And my boyfriend loved it - said it was the best birthday ever. Everyone brought firewood and we made a big campfire at night (you have to check that they allow fires). There was a lot going on with so many people and everyone kept thanking us for organising such a great weekend but to be honest there was very little organising apart from a couple of phone calls and texts. Best bit was it only cost £10 per tent per night plus £2.50 per kid, dogs were free and everyone brought their own food.

Mickie_2

Hi this is my first ever post. This is probably too late in the year to be of any help but it might be helpful to some for next year. I had a problem deciding what to do for my boyfriend's 40th in August - he is not normally one for birthdays but I felt we should do something. We don't have kids but a lot of our friends do so we had to take that in to account. Anyway he loves camping so we went on a camping weekend. There were 14 tents, 30 adults, 9 kids and 7 dogs. We had a section of field all to ourselves so the kids and dogs were able to run around freely - they had an absolute blast. And my boyfriend loved it - said it was the best birthday ever. Everyone brought firewood and we made a big campfire at night (you have to check that they allow fires). There was a lot going on with so many people and everyone kept thanking us for organising such a great weekend but to be honest there was very little organising apart from a couple of phone calls and texts. Best bit was it only cost £10 per tent per night plus £2.50 per kid, dogs were free and everyone brought their own food.

Strickers_2

Loads of my friends all turn 30 this year (we went to school together) so I'd be interested to see any ideas that I might be able to use for those birthdays too!

madshopper_2

I bought a magazine subscription for a friend's 'O' birthday last year. I was skint at the time, so used my Tesco vouchers. £9.50 of vouchers paid for a year's subscription to Good Housekeeping mag. She was really pleased with it.