A 40th birthday is, as we all know, an important milestone - and presents should reflect this. It’s the next big birthday after 21, really, and deserving of gifts that mark the occasion suitably. Some can be frivolous, of course, but the main presents need to be weighty (at least metaphorically!). Here are some suggestions for different types of present you can ask for for your 40th birthday/to give someone who is going to be 40. Whether you are the birthday girl/boy’s partner, parent, child, friend or acquaintance, and however much or little money you are able to spare, you’ll find there are many possible fortieth birthday presents that are all pretty well guaranteed to make the recipient happy.
Long-lasting fortieth birthday presents
If you want a gift that is going to last a long time, you could consider:
- jewellery, a watch or clock, cuff-links, a locket – perhaps engraved with a 40th birthday message
- an ornament
- a picture or piece of art
- planting a tree in the person’s name
- making a photo album/scrapbook of the person’s life, adding comments and getting others to add comments
For beautiful pearl jewellery, have a look at Orchira.
Commemorative fortieth birthday presents
If you want a gift that specifically marks the fortieth anniversary of the person’s birth, you could consider:
- a newspaper from the year the person was born, some coins or stamps from that year, a book of trivia about that year
- a special glass, tankard, box (or whatever you think the person would like) and have it engraved with a 40th birthday message
- a record released that year (either the original or a cd remake) or, better still, the song that was Number 1 when the person was born
To commemorate the 40th birthday itself and show pictures etc of the person’s life to date, you could build (or get built) a special website. We recommend Circumference Solutions for a good-quality, good-value site. Depending how much you want on it, it should take no more than a week to create. What a great and personal gift!
Active fortieth birthday presents
If you are in a financial position to do so, you could give the lucky 40-turner:
- a week or two’s holiday somewhere special
- a weekend away somewhere special
- a couple of tickets to a concert, show or sporting event
- a football season ticket
- a year’s membership of a gym
- an experience gift to reflect his/her personality and interests
An experience gift can be an activity, such as a helicopter ride, whitewater rafting, abseiling, off-road driving, hang gliding, circus skills or paintballing … or it can be something more grounded but equally stimulating, such as the chance to record a song in a professional studio, winetasting, a makeover, a photo shoot or an invigorating day at a health spa.
For more ideas, have a look at Red Letter Days.
Frivolous fortieth birthday presents
A fortieth birthday is an important enough occasion to warrant some silliness and some presents that are just plain fun. For example:
- a T-shirt with a 40th birthday message for the person to wear
- a personalised mug
- a personalised calendar
- a personalised newspaper
- a personalised bottle or several of wine or champagne
- a box of personalised chocolates
For some cool personalised gifts, have a look at Getting Personal.
Other ideas for fortieth birthday presents
A new hobby:
If your friend or family-member approaching 40 is interested in taking up a new hobby, you could buy him/her gift vouchers for some lessons in, for example:
- a foreign language
- a musical instrument
- flying
- sailing
- gourmet cooking
- horse-riding
- acting
- singing
- dancing
- painting
- chess, bridge or some such game
- tennis, squash, golf or some such game
- photography
- archery
- magic
Be inspired by other people's stories...
When Lara turned 40, she decided she wanted to become a domestic goddess. She asked her family and friends for presents to support her in this aim.
Read how Lara's 40th birthday presents changed her life.
Instead or as well, you could give the associated equipment (tennis racket, camera, paintbrushes, etc), a book about the subject or a subscription to a magazine about the subject.
Giving your time:
If you are short of money or know that the 40-turner would particularly appreciate what you can do, you could give him/her a voucher for services to be rendered. For example, you could give a voucher for:
- 3 evenings’ babysitting
- doing the person’s ironing for a month
- being the person’s personal trainer for a month
- washing the person’s car 3 times
- giving the person a massage
A lot depends on your relationship to the birthday girl/boy and on your own interests and abilities but a present of this sort should not be underestimated. (Of course, don’t give a voucher for something you would do anyway – that’s cheating!)
And if you're still not sure what to give as a fortieth birthday present...
You can, with just a few clicks, have delivered to the imminent 40 year old's door a nice case of wine. This doesn't have to be horribly expensive, it's extremely easy and it makes a very good impression!
Fortieth birthday presents