Yes, 2020 has been a year for the books. But on top of everything else 2020 brought, it has been a remarkable year for my family — my father, my mother and my mother-in-law all celebrated their 90th birthdays, and my father-in-law turned 89. Each of them is funny and smart and enjoying life, and we were thrilled to gather (all pre-covid) and have some fun with them in their honor.
Of course we wanted to shower them with presents, but nobody seems to need anything anymore. It can be challenging to think of a present that will be beloved or will bring delight.
I’m not particularly creative, but I can scour Pinterest with the best of them. I’m also blessed to have some creative family members, who came up with brilliant ideas.
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Birthstone necklace
This was a huge hit for my mother-in-law. It has a birthstone for each of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
My sister-in-law Cathy assembled the birthstones from this on Amazon, and bought a pretty silver chain to put them on. My mother-in-law said, with tears in her eyes, “Now I can carry each of you with me all the time!”
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Something for the garden
My parents love their backyard, and my brother is a genius for finding items they will love for their backyard: a tree that he plants for them, a lovely bird feeder, or vegetables plants that will yield wonderful treats in the summer.
A wind spinner looks terrific in my parents’ backyard, and my dad loves napping in front of it.
We got one similar to this one from Amazon. Other hits have been bird baths like this, and squirrel-proof bird feeders like this.
Pie of the month
This was my best gift ever. My Dad loves pie. I mean HE LOVES PIE! So now he gets a delicious freshly-baked pie from me six times a year. Check out Grand Traverse Pie Company Pie of the Month. Another favorite is ice cream from Cincinnati’s own Graeter’s Ice Cream.
Ninety $1 bills
Mom was turning 90, so I gave her 90 $1 bills. But she had to work for it a little bit.
I taped the dollars end to end. Ninety bills is a lot! Then I rolled them up, and taped the end to an index card that said “pull me,” and put it inside an empty Kleenex box. When she pulled on the index card, it unspooled yards and yards of dollars! Very fun.
This gift may not be a great fit for everyone, but for my fun-loving mom, she loved it. I got the idea here.
A photographer to capture the moment
My sister-in-law JoAnn had this beautiful idea. The birthday celebration was a rare event where we had every family member present, from 4 months to 90 years. JoAnn provided a photographer to capture the entire family together, as well as many combination of family units.
If you’re in the Cincinnati area, Alyssa Brooks was our choice. She gave us electronic access to all the edited photos, so every family member can use them as they like. As toddler Tom said, “GOOD JOB WITH THE CAMERA!”
This picture was taken in February, two weeks before everything shut down before Covid. I’m so grateful that we all got together, and that we got a great picture of the whole group. We didn’t realize how good we had it then, to get to spend precious time together.
Of course the greatest gift is our presence, not our presents. When it is safe again, give a hug, share a cup of coffee, raise a toast, and blow out some candles. Let’s celebrate these awesome folks!
For more posts about aging parents, please see:
