Mom's 50Th Birthday

For my mom we sent an email or letter to all of her family and friends and asked them to "create a page" for mom. It could be a favorite memory, fav pics, etc then we compiled all of them , 3 hole punched them and put them in a decorative binder . My mom loved it!

Hi V.,

Megan's idea is great. The key is what does Mom like...My Dad had a boxed set of pots and pans thrown at him because he never got Mom anything personal, lol....I on the other hand would love to get a new set....

I'm over 50 and I know that sacrificing to let the kids have what they have means doing without sometimes. I said just the other day to a friend that I would love to have a "wedding" shower and freshen up the worn out towels and the mismatched silverware draw, a magic bullet instead of my old blender...

Just a thought!

M. :)

Get old pictures and make up a new photo album with good memories in it

How about a quilt with pictures of the family in their younger years. For example a wedding picture of your mom and dad, pictures of you and your siblings, then the grandkids. Pictures of your parents holding their grandbabies and then a most recent family photo of everyone. I hope this helps!

a day at a spa with a massage and the whole nie yards. it is different and she will enjoy it.
too late for a short cruise i suppose.
or how about a dinner theater date any around where you will be going?
you could do a DVD type movie with like music going and different family pictures through out the whole thing.make sure you get pictures from all the relatives so everyone will be in it -- she would enjoy that i am sure.

a picture of your mom when she was a child imposed next to a picture of her garnd-daughter, possibly at the same age...in a really nice frame...would be something I would like

I gave my mom black pearl earrings and a necklace for her 50th and she loved them.

A great gift is to compile pictures from throughout her life - her childhood, your childhoods, birthdays, etc. - and have them set to music and put on DVD. There are a ton of professional services that can do it for you.

Do you sew? A memory quilt is always a huge hit. There ia material you can buy that goes through your printer. You can print the picson this fabric, then sew it into a quilt I did one for my h=husbands great grandmothers 70 birthday an she loved it

Good Day,
From my own experience, I once made my grandfather a large collage of family pictures! I used a nice 8x10 of him, in the middle; and surrounded his picture with many old & new family pictures! he loved this gift and treasured it! I hope this can give you some great ideals! Good luck & God bless you!
Kathy N.

I think us women that have had 50th. birthdays can give better advice than those that haven't.
You and your brother should write down different memories of when you were growing up. Things your Mom did with you. Places you went together. Funny things that have happened, etc... After you get them wrote down then organize them. Put them in a scrap book with some photos. She'll love it. Celebrate her birthday seperate from the Granddaughters. It may take a little more effort but will be well worth it. Make sure you have a 50th. birthday cake. No over the hill stuff.....50 is not over the hill anymore. Also some women get depressed when they turn 50. I didn't but I have friends that did. A nice photo collage of all of the family members in a frame would be nice. My daughters have made me two of them over the years. I am hoping to get another for Christmas as money is short and it's something from love. Anyone can go out and buy a gift. If you have any special talent, knitting, crocheting, ceramics, etc.. make your Mom something. Homemade gifts from the heart are the absolute best gift a Mom could ever have. Gift ideas from the Grandkids would be a t-shirit and put all their hand prints and names on it. A coffee cup with their photos or names on it. Something like that would be supre nice. Even though I am not a Grandma yet I know my sister in laws just love it when the Grandkids color pictures for them. Just remember to do what ever you do from the heart and your Mom will love it. Relax and enjoy the time together.

You could go to shutterfly and print up a custom photo book with pictures of you and your brother while you guys where growing up e.g. birthdays, Christmas and Halloween. Any special occasions/ family gatherings you had while growing up would be fine. If you can find pictures newborn pictures of yourself, your brother and any of her grandchildren you can also include those. It's an ultra personalized gift I think any mother/grandmother would enjoy.

Hi V.,
Like the other Moms that responded, I also highly recommend a memorable photobook of you, your siblings and grandkids with heartfelt thoughts and message for her. I can almost guarantee you that it will make her cry :)

If you're interested, go to www.PhotoBookVisa.com and find the link to my blog to start with a FREE 7.5x5.5 personal soft cover book with 20 pages first to see if you like working with our software. All you have to pay is the standard shipping of $4.95 and there's no other obligations attached to it.

If you have any other questions about the program, just email me from the website or here. I hope you find the special gift you are looking for.

Along the line of what has already been said.... Have home movies put to DVD or CD, too. If there are older relatives, ask each of them to tell stories about the family when your mom was younger or just about your mother. Record them on tape or video. So much of our family histories get lost or forgotten. But you know your mother best. You may be inspired by an idea and think of the PERFECT gift. At some point she has said with a sigh - "I wish......" think of what that wish was and make it come true!

Have you considered a family photo quilt? They screen shot photos in individual squares and then piece them together on the quilt. It could be of different moments in her and your lives (i.e., the birth of each of the grandkids, you and your brother when you were a baby, maybe your mothers wedding photo - if that is an option, etc.) They are very cool and last just like a regular quilt. You can choose the back of the quilt to match your mothers home decor - even give her a quilt stand.

What I would do is get one of those frames that have the slotts for several different pictures and put pics of all of you guys in it for her to hang on her wall at home. Try to take a pic of all of you all together to put in it also. Moms always love stuff like that.

How about an embroidered blanket or something related to a hobby she enjoys; put her name on it via engraving or embroidery. Special flowers, plants or trees. maybe a sweatshirt or t-shirt with a picture of all her grandbabies
on it.... Or maybe if you can pull enough pictures and slides or what not and produce a video of her life or like a power-point presentation. Not sure what your looking for
but good luck!

For the grandmas and great-grandmas I made a collage. I went to Office Depot/ Staples & Craft stores and bought the dry-erase boards that are magnetized.

I then bought that flimsy magnet sheet that you get on the back of business cards and adverts and taped squares to the back of pictures.

This way you can build your own collage for them and add cute stickers (on magnet sheet) and magnets to the mix as well as send them new pictures that they too can add to their new gift.

I find it gives them something to do and they can make it their own. It actually makes my 91 G-Grandma happy that she can focus her creative talents toward something she can show off to everyone.

as an artist, my first thought is to take lots of photos and make a collage for your mom.
Perhaps her favorite comfort food, cake flavor, etc...just make memories; and may they be delightful!

for my grandfather's 80th bday we did a family scrapbook. It's a lot of work, but you guys have a few months. You can collect up photos of her grandparents, parents, her as a baby and child, siblings, wedding, having her own children all the way up to now.

It's a priceless gift.

Hi!
I would do a photobook/scrapbook. Scan in old photos oh her thru the years til current, you can do it on Shutterfly or homemade (Shutterfly is so easy to use, the book will come bound and ready to go. They have sample photobooks on their website for you to get some ideas, after placing pics for an hour on the site you start to get the hang of it.
Since its not til February you will have plenty of time to collect photos from family and friend she has had over the years + you can display them on a wall at the famly cabin. That would be unique and I think anyone would like and enjoy for years. Just pick flattering pics of her, that could upset her if she hates some old pic of her. You will need a scanner for the old pictures, when you scan them in I would save to a disc.
Goodluck,
M.

for my Daddy's 50th birthday we had everyone in the family do a memory page (for the little ones they drew pictures)that included a paragraph or 2 about either what we thought was the most important thing he had taught us or our favorite memory with him, I put it all together and formed a book, we also included pictures of us with him over the years.. we then passed the book around and we each read our paragraphs to him and added whatever words we wanted to and video taped it.. so he not only had the book to reflect on but our presentation.. some read.. some sang..it was funny and heartfelt.. he loved it!! Hope this helps you.. have fun with it... God Bless!!

How about a photo album or video of her/her children's/grandchildren's life?
My husband did a video in imovie for my 40th and it was the best gift I could've gotten. He also did one for my son's first birthday and it was beautiful, as well. it wasn't anything extravagant, just a photo montage of my life (my son's life) set to music. Almost like a video slide show.
When I graduated from high school (pre-pc era) my mother gave me a photo album of my life to that point (starting with photos of her and my dad as kids). It is still one of my most treasured possessions.

haven't had time to read the other responses-- I've seen this done for my friend's 40th so I stole the idea and did it for my mom's 65th...
Make a questionaire type thing, photocopy it, send it out to friends and relatives, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so they'll send it back to you, then put it together in a binder.

You decide what to put on it... stuff like...
one word to describe her
your fondest memory
how you met
how long you've known her
draw a picture of her (or a picture of what she looked like x amount of years ago or whatever... my friend's questionaire said to draw what she will look like in 20 years)
something she has done or said that you will never forget
etc

Hi, V.. I don't know how much time you have to plan, but what about something like a memory quilt? You don't necessarily have to build it from scratch, but if you get a really good quality quilt, you can sew and applique things on it. Wedding lace, special buttons, photographs, even birthday cards and other little things can make a memory quilt a very special gift on a special occasion. Of course, this is the kind of quilt you would mount and hang on a wall, so it could be a small quilt with mementoes sewn onto it. Otherwise, perhaps something practical that she might not get for herself would be a good gift.

Hope it's a wonderful party!

Peace,
Syl