50th Anniversary Gift For Parent
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:37:57 +0000
Comments (13):
Heidi said:
I don't have time to look for the exact product, but for my parents, we ordered an album from Exposures that had pages with room for a half-page of text along with a 4X6 photo. We sent pages out to family members, old friends, etc., and included a letter announcing the anniversary and asking them to attach a family picture or some other picture that would be meaningful to my parents. We also asked them to write something in the blank space and sign their names. Of course, all the kids filled out pages too. We presented my parents with this on their 50th anniversary, and it was a BIG hit. It's a great record of their lives together. Lots of legwork on our parts, but totally worth it.
Posted on March 1, 2010 11:04
Katy R said:
I love the personal chef idea, but knowing that my mom usually stresses over having the house perfect for visitors, I would help to clean the house the morning of too :)
Posted on March 1, 2010 11:20
Lar said:
For my parents' 35th, I contacted as many of their friends and relatives as I could find--their college alumni office was helpful, as was their church--and asked them to send me a card or note for an anniversary scrapbook. Most people responded with lovely notes and some even sent pictures, and it's now one of my parents' most-treasured possessions.
Posted on March 1, 2010 11:27
Bliz said:
My family got a digital photo frame for my grandmother a year and a half ago, and loaded it with a bunch of photos, which were copied in a folder on my parents' computer. This year I loaded a new memory card with the old photos AND a bunch of newer ones, and I swear, EVERY TIME I talk to my grandmother she tells me how much she enjoys just sitting and watching the automatic slideshow. It was so easy for me to do, and it brings her SO MUCH pleasure! A great recommendation, Amy.
Posted on March 1, 2010 11:38
Kristen said:
My dad has health issues and while he is mobile, he doesn't like to be in public and my mother loves to go out. She takes care of him and its pretty isolating. If you have $750 to spend, I'd do a few things - I like the photo book idea or better yet a slideshow/montage on a DVD. I'd also send your mom out with her girlfriends for dinner or a day at the spa - perhaps you could come and spend the day with your Dad? Everyone wins!
Or, contact their favorite restaurant about setting up a private space - somewhere close so it isn't too hard to get there but something private if he is self conscious about anyone looking on.
Posted on March 1, 2010 12:34
KittyMarie said:
Amalah! That was my question, and I am ecstatic you answered! Your suggestions are truly excellent, as are yours, fellow commenters! We live in the very rural Midwest, so there aren't a lot of delivery or cleaning services available, but the other ideas are exactly what I am looking for. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for the inspiration! This will really be a special year for my parents (and my thoughts are with your parents in their strikingly similar situation!). You rock my face off.
Posted on March 1, 2010 12:56
kakaty said:
My first thought before reading through all of Amy's suggestions was a personal chef! If you wanted to do it up big time, maybe go for an entire day of services. For instance - have a maid service come a do a "deep clean" of the house; most companies offer this as a one-time service and it can include all kinds of stuff like cleaning out the fridge, doing the windows and vacuuming the mattresses. Then see if a salon can send someone to the house for some pampering - lots of places will do cuts for both men and women in the house for you and maybe add in some pampering treatments - hand massage, manicure, etc. Check with local nursing homes and retirement apartments for references. Have flowers delivered and make a mix of popular love songs from the year they got married. If you wont be there, ask a family friend to come over and set the table with their wedding china so everything is ready for the arrival of the chef.
And even if you don't do the whole day of services and just do the chef, I would do the maid service AND the personal chef, because I know my mom would work herself to death making sure the house was spotless.
Also, I’ve had tremendous success with www.scancafe.com in restoring old photographs and scanning my parent’s slides to digital files. They do a fantastic job (and I don’t get anything for saying that…I was just impressed with their services).
Posted on March 1, 2010 12:58
Darcey said:
A mere week before my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, they both had to have major surgery that preempted our plans to take them for a nice dinner out. Instead, the family gathered with a couple close friends (there was maybe 15 people there, and 12 of them were immediate family), we all pitched in to clean the house, decorated with a few anniversary items (a banner, napkins, etc - my grandma loved that stuff) and put together a DVD that featured pictures of them growing up and all of the children and grandchildren. We then opened a bottle of liquor that was given to them on their wedding night and had been sealed in a glass cabinet for all those 50 years and passed it around for good luck.
To this day, still a favorite memory of mine with my family. And I can't remember my grandparents smiling so much.
Posted on March 1, 2010 17:00
Nancy said:
check out personalchef.com to find a personal chef in your area... (from a former aspiring personal chef who ended up becoming a mom instead!)
great ideas, Amalah!
Posted on March 1, 2010 21:03
Megan said:
A variation on the web frame for the parents who love their TV - AppleTV. Last Christmas we sent my parents an AppleTV, got a dedicated Flickr account, and hooked it all up to their wall-mounted flatscreen.
I live abroad in Germany and my brother is out of state. This way we can upload new pictures remotely and when my parents turn on the TV they have a huge, ever-evolving picture frame. We've now synced it with extended family in the US and in-laws in Europe.
Works great, plus now Mom is all into Youtube and iTunes.
Posted on March 2, 2010 08:18
Michele said:
if you have a lot of extended family & friends strewn about the country check out www.voicequilt.com VoiceQuilt It is a very personal and unique gift for such a milestone event! It takes a little coordination but maybe you could seek out people who were at their wedding (maybe their wedding party best man/maid of honor & other family that was at the wedding to record a message for them. The resulting collage of voices is similar to the toasts given by party guests after a long and joyful meal. TOp it off with their favorite special drink to toast with!
Posted on March 2, 2010 18:20
Jon said:
I really liked the photo album idea. My parents got my brother and I a book this past Christmas chronicling our adventures growing up and I love it!
Posted on March 2, 2010 21:09
Jasmine said:
Maybe it's because I'm Asian, but something that my parents/grandparents would really enjoy is a family tree.
Posted on March 2, 2010 23:26
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This is a nice album, understated, not gaudy or anything like that. It was reasonably priced, and arrived well within the estimated ship date. We also printed out captions for each photo, and used a glue stick to put them in with the photos, as most of our photos were 4×6, and thus had extra space. It seems almost impossible to find the 9×12 albums that used to be almost the standard, and even finding one that would hold the 5×7’s was hard, but this one did the trick. My parents are even keeping the album within the box it came in (it has a clear plastic front, and is “nice” for a protective box).
Rating: 5 / 5
