[LoveBeingATwin]

My cousin is turing 40 later this month and I want to do something really special. She means the world to me and has been there since the day I was born. I just can't think of any creative ideas. We are having a suprise party for her as well. So I would like the party and the gift to be the BEST! She is a very low keyed person. She likes her music, travleing, her own time to her self. I get tired of getting the lastest DVD's and music. Please help! Thanks.

[blueeyedmanda]

I am not sure if Hallmark still sells them, but there were these crystal angels in a box, and it is called a Worry Box. It is so cute and meaningful. A very thoughful gift, that could be kept for years.

[Jestgar]

A day at the spa. If she likes company you could get several of her closest friends to get themselves gift certs as well so you can make a day of it.

Best would be if you could arrange to have her house cleaned while she's out.

[DawnS]

I don't know what your budget is like, but if she likes to travel maybe a giftcard toward her favorite airline.

Or if that's not a possibility, pick a place she hasn't been and research it. Then have her over for a day and "explore" the place together over the internet or you could have pictures/info printed out for her...or check out books with great pictures from the library about the place (no money if you check out the books from the library...or you could buy her a great book) Then play music and prepare her a dinner from that place. Or maybe make a gift basket of items that represent a certain place.

Or another thing I love to do is go on a day-long "vacation" in my own or a nearby city. Go to museums, take tours, whatever you'd do out of town and have probably never done at home. (with a little research you can probably find lots of cool free stuff and then just pay for one major item)

Good luck finding the perfect gift.

[amybeth]

I like to give things that people will not do for themselves......

A cooking class?
A yoga class?
A spa day?
A maid service for one visit?

All depends on resources ($$ and location)

Another angle you could take is a theme - a gift (small or large) for each of the 5 senses....a gift for each season.....A gift for the "work" her, "home" her, and "vacation" her.

If she's into sweets, there's a website -- something like candy we ate as a kid, and they sell collections of candy from different decades........

Discovery Channel store always has neat things, too.

[barbara789]

Congratulations for the day..
Barbara
Spa Gift Basket
Give the Gift of Beauty- give a Spa Gift Basket

[ang1e0251]

For family I like to put together a scrapbook of pictures that I have of their side of the family. These usually are pictures we took that we kept but they don't have and have probably never seen. It's greatly appreciated especially if you happen to run across any memorabilia like an old letter or card from their relative or them that they've forgotton about.

I recently gave my cousin a Christmas card that his mother sent to my aunt that listed him as the baby of the family while his dad was posted in Europe during WWII. These mementos are priceless and mean much more to him than to me.

[Ahorsesoul]

Would be fun to get everyone to go together to get her 40 gift cards.

40 one dollar bills folded in different origami shapes along with a book on origami.

Basket of 40 different teas plus a cup and saucer or tea pot.

Basket of 40 different items you need when you turn forty (laxative, aspirin, lubricating jell, denture tabs, hemorrhoid cream,...).

Basket 40 different cheeses with a cheese plate or cheese knife/slicer.

Basket of 40 books to read plus a book light and book mark.

Basket of 40 different medicines to take for a headache plus earplugs and sleep mask.

Basket of 40 spices and a spice book.

A special journal which lists 40 different reasons why she means so much to you, plus a pen and pencil set.