Classy Gag Gifts for Women Turning 50: Funny Ideas That Won't Embarrass Her

As a woman who is rapidly approaching her own fiftieth year, I feel extra qualified to answer the question: What is a good 50th birthday present for a woman? Simple - if she has any sense of humor at all, get her a gag gift. I know that humor has helped me through bad times as well as good times, and hurdles like your fifth decade count as one of these milestones.

If you know a lady with a healthy sense of humor who'd rather laugh than gloomily survey her past and future, then check out these ideas. They'll not only break the ice at her party, but help her come to terms with reaching the big five-oh.

Oh, and not to knock over-the-hill gags, but you won't find suggestions that are heavy on the "old lady" jokes. I'm not crazy about those kinds of gifts personally. The wit I favor tends more toward the laugh-with-me sort instead of laugh-against-me.

• Tasteful gag offerings designed to break the ice at parties.
• Humorous book gifts like Fifty Things to Do When You Turn Fifty and cartoon and comic collections written to appeal to a 50-year-old woman.
• Funny T-shirts with a "fifty" theme or witty verses on the subject of her age - for example (shameless self-promotion here) my original poem on this 50th birthday tee on Zazzle.

These suggestions are affordable and good for a wife, female coworker, girlfriend, fiancé, boss, sister, mother, friend, colleague, or client. Basically, you want to choose creative presents that will put her in just that - a good humor, at a time when a woman can feel just a little sappy and sad, too.

Wine is a popular theme in joke presents - the humor comes from the contrast of the elegance and sophistication of the beverage with the angst of the human condition. I'm personally not much of a wine drinker for health reasons, but many women of a certain age are. If you happen to know she appreciates a good vintage, what better tongue-in-cheek way to gift her than to offer her a fake wine label and watch her face change as she reads the words?

Susan Swartz wrote the wildly popular Juicy Tomato books to celebrate mature women who live life to the fullest. With insightful humor, she visits the lives of women over 50, some celebrities, some simply everyday wives, sisters, mothers, and friends.

The Juicy Tomatoes Guide to Ripe Living After 50 and its sister book, Juicy Tomatoes: Plain Truths, Dumb Lies, and Sisterly Advice About Life After 50 make a fabulous, witty, not to mention affordable birthday gift as a pair or individually.

A hilarious book celebrating life and all the quirky adventures it involves is Things to Do Now That You're 50. Offering half-joking, half-serious advice like "Visit Eastern Europe quickly before it becomes just the same as everywhere else," the book offers advice for places to travel, hobbies to take up, and so much more. With beautiful illustrations by Robyn Neild.

Great Sex After 50: And Other Outlandish Lies About Getting Older is a slim but laughter-packed volume of Close to Home cartoon strips by John McPherson. These irreverent comics capture the ironies of getting older in today's society - like the cartoon strip that reads "Look at those dang-fool teenagers, wearing their pants hangin' down low like a coupla idiots" (the comic depicts two old men in old-fashioned hiked-up pants). The title's an attention getter, but the comics aren't raunchy. A perfect gift for a smart woman who appreciates multi-layered jokes captured tightly in words and visuals.

With her understated sense of humor, Wendy Reid Crisp writes on 100 Things I'm Not Going to Do Now That I'm Over 50 in this updated edition. She vows not to "bathe more often than necessary." Why? Well..."When a...soak in the tub has to be followed by $200 worth of oils and creams..."

For a woman who knows reaching her fiftieth is a big achievement, but who is not quite sure how happy-making that is, get her the gift of looking on the positive side: these comic strips by Allia Zobel and cartoonist Roz Chast that point out with wit and a dollop of sarcasm that getting older gives you certain privileges.

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Old Age: Life Changes After 50 by Stanley C. Baldwin is, reviewers agree, a remarkable book that not only manages to be humorous, but also offers real, concrete advice for women and men on getting older.  The anecdotes are poignant and communicate a valuable message about growing old with grace and wisdom.  Wonderful for women turning sixty who are sensitive to nuances.

Funny tee shirts are always a hit at 50th birthday parties. Your wife, family member, friend, or coworker will wear any of these tees with a big grin.

Try a cute T-shirt with an ironic and funny saying like Made in 1964.

A good over the hill present can be a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that she's not nearly as past her prime as she thinks she is!

If you go with an over-the-hill basket or joke, make sure you counter it in a speech or greeting card that emphasizes that she might be aging, but she's not exactly aged.

From joke tee shirts to amusing books to wine-themed puns, the birthday lady will be cheered by these inexpensive, sometimes silly, sometimes pointed, and always-in-good-taste presents and party gags.

She's lived five decades. Here's to the other five!

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