It's not surprising that if my favorite gift of all time to have received is one of "words", my favorite gift of all time given would also be.
My husband hit the Big Four Oh a few years ago, and because I love him and completely understand and respect his aversion to surprises and parties…I managed to pull one on him, anyway.
A few weeks before his birthday, I sent out this letter that explains the gift:
I made it as easy as possible, including an 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock piece of paper and a pre-addressed large manila envelope with each letter.
Completed pages began coming back in days, and although this was a gift for Tad, people were blowing my mind and blessing my socks off with their "word gifts". Each page amazingly, perfectly radiated the personality of the sender AND reflected his/her relationship with my hubby.
I'll share a few of my favorites (some I can't share because they give too much personal info–mainly our family :/)–
Mine:
Apparently Tad was born the same year as several notorious notable athletes (Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, Jerry Rice….). This was the actual "Sports Illustrated" cover a few weeks before his birthday; as soon as I saw it, I KNEW what I was going to do for my page.
My children's pages were precious to us. At the time, they were 10, 8 & 5 and this is their work, not mine (well, Stephen's I helped more with, but it was his words).
I'd upload more pages, but you get the idea (and TypePad is slow right now); suffice it to say, it's a treasure made of paper. More than words on a page, it reflects life lived with those he loves, those who know him best.
So…if you're looking for a great milestone gift idea, something special to commemorate an important birthday or anniversary, you're welcome to take this idea and make it your own! Years after the event, I'm pretty sure he'd agree it's one of the best birthday gifts he's ever received.
What a wonderful idea. My husband’s (41st) birthday is tomorrow, think I can swing it LOL?
I LOVE IT!!
I’m turning 50 this year and this is what I want!!
My blog is called transformed by words…so they are quite special to me.
Thanks
What a brilliant idea!
This is a fabulous idea. I may do this for my parents’ 45th wedding anniversary this year. When my 13 year old nephew died, we asked for written memories, and I put them together in a scrapbook for his parents. It’s a great way to ease a grieving family’s pain, but wouldn’t it be nice if we did it before folks died?
This is so sweet. We did something similar for my grandparents anniversary a few years ago. It was a hit.
Great idea. Friends did this for us when we moved from Indiana. We still look at that book. For husband’s 40th I sent out a similar letter but instead of a scrapbook we had each friend sign their name to a photo mat. I was sent all over the country, and after 3 months I gave it to my husband as a gift. Now we have a beautiful photo of him surrounded by the signatures of our most precious friends.
That is so darned nice.
I absolutely love this idea. How wonderful!
Great idea my Maid of Honour did this for my hen party and it was one of the best presents I ever got. I loved it!
That idea ROCKS!!! =) I love it!!!
Great idea – my DH’s 40th is passed though. ANd his 50th is too far away for me to remember LOL
i LOVE this idea…perfect for my nan’s 100th bday (with a bit of tweaking)!!
and love the cards to your hubby….cute 🙂
How annoying – I’ve now clicked over here TWICE from the wordless wednesday site – and you don’t even have a WW posted. Am I missing something?
What a lovely idea!
You are so creative. I usually get my husband something I want for HIS birthday. This year he (we) got a new telephoto lens. I kind of suck.
I love this. I don’t know anyone turning 40… but my dad is turning 45 this year. That’s close enough right. I really like this idea.
This is a great idea!
Love this idea… My husband has a couple of years until his 50th… That gives me plenty of time to plan!
Fantastic, I love it! What a beautiful keepsake.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! I’ve done some similar things, but not quite like this. Hubby is turning 50 in July and DOES NOT want a party (he didn’t mind at first…hmmm), so I may be doing this instead. Knowing our friends and family though, I’d better start sending out envelopes and paper now. I still may not get them all by July!! BTW, I love paper and paper crafting, so I may enjoy this as much as he does or more!
what an awesome, sweet idea– my hubby turns 30 this year… thanks for letting us borrow your gift!
(p.s.– I found you through the Roaming Southerner, saying you lived in the Carolinas too. It’s my favorite part of the country! I was born and raised there and miss it terribly)
Looking for a FABULOUS 40th birthday idea?
This is an idea for a memorable milestone birthday gift. Especially for those who value the gift of words and shared memories, it’s something that will be treasured for a lifetime.
Very creative! You can really see all the thought and love that went into this project. Fantastic gift idea – thanks so much for sharing!
amazing gift!!
Great idea!
Hi,
I love this idea, I must find a way to include a similar concept into my poetry gifts.
All the very best, Allen
I found your post today through Incourage… I love how your husband’s gift turned out!! I have been in the process of making a “birthday book” for the past couple months for my husband’s 50th. He totally won’t be expecting it since his birthday was in SEPTEMBER!! it gave people more time to contribute. I love your personalization idea. My pages are the stories people sent me through email that I’m putting in a scrap book format. I too think this will be something my husband can cherish, not some gadgety thing he’ll tire of or clothes that will wear out, etc.