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Her 40th Birthday: Quick Gift Ideas

Updated on July 7, 2015
Chris Telden profile image

For Chris, choosing gifts is like writing a story: By matching the character to the gift, you learn more about people and what they value.

The Best Gift is One that Reflects the Person She Is.  Photo used under Creative Commons Attribution License.
The Best Gift is One that Reflects the Person She Is. Photo used under Creative Commons Attribution License. | Source

I passed the age of 40 a little while back. I happened to be pregnant that year, so entering a new decade was not what I'd call a milestone. There was no fanfare. I don't recall any official birthday gifts for that year; my true one (a baby) came early. So I did not have all the typical rah-rah and fuss a woman generally expects when she reaches this, er, mature age. Feeling nauseated, waddling around, I was not so much dignified as foggy, stumbling, and beaming.

But despite all this, I figure the best 40th birthday gifts are those that do two things - celebrate her - the personal, unique individual that she is - and celebrate 40, that milestone age that's almost guaranteed - unless you happen to be pregnant - to mean something to a woman leaving her thirties.

7 Reasons to Go the Gift Basket Route

  1. Gift baskets have a plethora of tasty food like chocolate and salty munchies that she may not indulge in normally.
  2. Gift baskets have gifts. More than just one. That's nice.
  3. You can make your own gift basket easily and inexpensively using baskets lying around your house or bought at thrift stores.
  4. Gift baskets have lots of little things to pick through, like candles and funny sayings and boring logo pens, kind of like a toy chest in the attic, which makes her feel young and adventurous.
  5. Gift baskets have enough goodies that she can share with others and feel virtuous for her generosity.
  6. 40th Birthday gift baskets usually have a candle or something saying "forty" that she can stick away somewhere and forget, then look back on when she turns 50 or 60 or whatever and think, "How young and innocent I really was then. Oh, to be forty again..." etc., etc.
  7. Gift baskets have food. (I feel it's worth mentioning twice.) Do be aware of any food sensitivities the recipient has, and customize at least some of the food included appropriately.

I'm a big fan of spa gift baskets for birthdays, mostly because they're inoffensive and versatile. However, there's one case where you CAN go wrong with a spa basket. If she's sensitive to chemical fragrances, she'll consider this basket a liability and proceed to give it away as soon as your back is turned.


Gag Ideas

Some women look forward to turning 40. Others grimace at the thought. Gag gifts bypass the whole problem by helping her look at the situation with humor.

Funny presents run the gamut from tee-shirts that tease the birthday lady about life changing drastically now that her thirties are behind her and her fifties loom ahead, to tongue-in-cheek books about the ironies of turning 40 or how to survive the scary world as a person of advanced years, complete with quips and jokes.

Shy or sensitive types will probably prefer humor that emphasizes the wry inevitability of getting older rather than teasing her about being hopelessly over the hill.

However, if she's got a wild sense of humor and loves to laugh at herself, an over-the-hill or 40th birthday retro candy gift basket might be just the ticket.

Funny Limerick Presented on a Tee

Feel free to use the limerick below for your personal use on a t-shirt or other merchandise at Zazzle.com and give it as a gift (no commercial use, please).

Funny 40th Limerick

A woman of forty was mad

When she found she'd been had

Her age wasn't old

Like she'd been told

Instead it was totally rad!

A Personalized Birthday Cake Highlights the Big Deal This Is!  Photo used under Creative Commons Attribution License.
A Personalized Birthday Cake Highlights the Big Deal This Is! Photo used under Creative Commons Attribution License. | Source

Forty is a milestone year for any woman. The right gift can make her feel younger, wiser, and as though she's entering an era of new challenges, having conquered the old ones. Whether you choose a rite-of-passage present or one for indulgence, she'll appreciate the acknowledgement of what is a special and notable occasion.

Photo used  under Creative Commons Attribution License.
Photo used under Creative Commons Attribution License. | Source
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