ISO 50th birthday gift

[SweetTooth]

I have been invited to a surprise 50th birthday party for a friend of mine and am struggling with what to get for a gift.

She is a hairdresser, married and they have never had any children.

I can either go serious or gag, so any ideas will be great!

Thanks!

[Catew]

My husband turned 50 this year (to my 40 -- it was a big year) and I decided that the last thing he needed was any more *stuff*. A gag gift didn't seem right either. So I went for pampering. I bought him a massage at a local day spa, arranged for friends to sit our two kids overnight, and whisked him off to a local swanky hotel for dinner, an overnight stay and brunch the next morning. He loved it.

Now that's over the top for a friend, but how about a massage or something like that? She's a hairdresser so she takes care of other people all day -- does she ever get taken care of? That sort of idea.

Or you could just get her a killer bottle of champagne. That's usually good too :)

[KimE]

When my neighbor turned 50 I had a hard time on what to give her also. This is what I decided and it was a GREAT hit. I gave her a gift certificate for a massage--but here is the kicker, I went and purchased the nicest big bath towel I could find, I mean really fu...fu...and wrapped it in the middle of the towel and tied a really nice fabric ribbon around it. It looked great was really a 2 in 1 gift and she still talks about it to this day, and that was 2 years ago. Sometimes it really in the presentation of the gift.
Hope this helps...kim
P.S. I always prefer someting nice for a milestone birthday, they will get enough teasing, the presents don't need to echo that....

[Aubergine]

having turned 50 myself this year, i can say that those are great suggestions, and i also think that gag gifts are tacky and can be hurtful. but depending on how close you are to this friend, and/or how much $$ you want to spend, i can offer another idea -- a CD (or two, or a boxed set) of one of the singers or bands that were so popular back around 1970, when we graduated HS. think Beatles, Stones, James Taylor, the Doors, Grateful Dead (if you know anything about her taste in music). it may sound trite, but i was given this and loved it.

also, you can order a copy of the front page of the New York Times (and other newspapers, i'm sure) from the day of her birth.