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Ideas for Golden Wedding gift?

(29 Posts)
snowybird Tue 18-Jun-13 09:08:18

I wonder whether you can help me with ideas for my parents' Golden Wedding, which is coming up in a few weeks? They have just downsized and are giving away many of their pictures, ornaments etc so nothing of that kind would be suitable. My mother is relentlessly practical now (I got it just right with the cotton pile doormat on her birthday) whereas my father is more nostalgic/romantic. They spent many years living overseas, enjoying the good things in life, so they are very choosy when it comes to holidays. My dad is active and sporty (and already has two bikes) whereas my mother prefers quilting and her health doesn't allow her to do anything too active. They don't use the internet and don't want to. They claim they don't want any presents. However they actually do expect something, ideally something tasteful and not too expensive. Any ideas please? Many thanks!

Gagagran Tue 18-Jun-13 09:13:07

snowy do they have a garden? You could buy them some golden roses. There may even be a variety called "golden wedding".

I bought my Dad some roses for his 90th birthday which he loved and brought him a lot of pleasure for the last three years of his life.

bluebellwoods Tue 18-Jun-13 09:18:06

My parents were given golden roses for their 50th which they loved. What about a photo of the family in a really nice frame? Both things will give them a lot of pleasure.

Bez Tue 18-Jun-13 09:50:22

Some years ago when it was the Golden Anniversary of my parents my sister found a very nice fancy gold photo frame and put a photo of them at their wedding in it. They kept this on show for the rest of their lives.

FlicketyB Tue 18-Jun-13 15:48:41

Why stick to a present with 'golden' connections? Is there anything that they would really love to do but have never done or some past experience you can recreate?

When my father was a boy he sometimes accompanied his uncles as they sailed the great Thames barges, full of bricks from Shoeburyness. For his 90th birthday we arranged a family outing on a Thames sailing barge sailing from Greenwich. He enjoyed it so much we repeated it for his 91st birthday!

Movedalot Tue 18-Jun-13 15:56:31

5 years ago 3 different people gave us red roses for our ruby anniversary and we still have them in pots as we knew we would move. They are a lovely reminder so I do agree with the suggestions above.

Another time we were given a tray with family photos in between sheets of glass which we treasure (don't use as a tray!)

Is your mother up to something like a balloon ride? We loved that.

JessM Tue 18-Jun-13 16:33:59

I have a nice patio rose called Arthur Bell that is highly scented, large blooms, rich gold fading to pale when fully open. it is very free flowering and does not seem to mind being in a pot. Got about 8 flowers on it at the moment, in its second year.
Golden celebrations (David Austin rose) lovely but very much bigger.

Movedalot Tue 18-Jun-13 16:49:40

Another thought: if you do decide on a rose it would be good if you could get a nice old fashioned one with a lovely scent. Some of the modern ones seem to have no smell at all.

Wheniwasyourage Tue 18-Jun-13 17:46:39

When my parents had their Diamond Wedding they were adamant that they wanted our presence, but not our presents. My sister and I both sent a cheque (neither of us knows how much the other sent) to our local branches of a charity which my parent had supported for many years and both asked if a card could be sent to my parents mentioning the donation, but not the amount, and the occasion. They received the 2 cards with lovely messages, and were delighted.

shysal Tue 18-Jun-13 17:51:38

I know it was/is a bit of a con, but I had a star named for my parents. The Star Registry sent a certificate and a diagram of the constellation. They were thrilled, and enjoyed looking for 'their star'.

shysal Tue 18-Jun-13 17:54:17

www.star-registration.co.uk/?gclid=CIzUr9-I7rcCFdDJtAodoVEA1w

Bez Tue 18-Jun-13 18:52:19

One of the other things we did for our parents - besides a big family get together with all their siblings and families etc. and a smaller meal out with just my sister and I and our children - was to drive them up to London and take them to some of the haunts they knew as youngsters and then to tea at the Tower Hotel. We sat in a restaurant with a great view of Tower Bridge. I think that was the day my father liked the best.

hummingbird Tue 18-Jun-13 22:05:59

Not sure if you'll have the know-how (I don't!) but for our recent birthdays, our children made a DVD of photo's of our journey through life together, set to a soundtrack of our favourite music. It starts with pictures of us as children, and ends with us with our grandchildren. It's a wonderful thing, and we watch it over and over.

absent Wed 19-Jun-13 04:06:09

How about a framed facsimile of the front page of a newspaper published on the day of their wedding? If they regularly read a particular paper, you might use that or, alternatively, a local paper from the place where they were married.

coastwallker Wed 19-Jun-13 06:43:25

My parents-in-law were adamant they didn't want "stuff to keep" for their Golden Wedding, so we put together a box of consumables with a gold theme. We had to expand it to include yellow and orange and not just food but it worked and they loved it.
I have a list of what went in if it would help you (or anyone else) with ideas. PM me if you would like it

Deedaa Wed 19-Jun-13 22:06:14

My in laws Golden Wedding was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons! I had sent flowers of course, but I also posted a parcel with a pair of rather nice "gold coloured" candlesticks and a big box of All Gold chocolates. The parcel never arrived! There were comments, passed on via my daughter about me forgetting the anniversary but I ignored them and put in a claim with the Post Office. Several days after I received the compensation cheque from the Post Office my in law's neighbour turned up with the parcel. She had been away for several weeks and a friend had taken the parcel in thinking it was for her! I kept the money as, although we got the parcel back, the anniversary had still been spoiled.

FlicketyB Thu 20-Jun-13 15:01:56

Something similar happened on my uncle's 80th birthday. He was in a Care Home had made it absolutely clear he didn't want presents, so I sent flowers, or rather I thought I had sent flowers. I went to the florist, ordered the flowers and paid for them and visited my uncle a few days after his birthday - and there were no flowers and none had arrived.

I went back to the florist and discovered that the gormless peahen who had served me had forgotten to forward my order on to Interflora. I think she didn't realise that Dover was 160 miles away and expected the order to be made up and delivered from the shop. They were not remotely apologetic and couldn't understand, when I asked for my money back, that a week after the event there was no point in sending the flowers, they were meant to be there on the day..

jeanie99 Sun 30-Jun-13 12:27:37

By the time you get to Golden Weddings you have everything.

If your parents have a garden buy a really nice shrub which is in flower for there anniversary. It will be a reminder of their day for years to come.

If you have the money you could take them away for a weekend.

I don't think buying objects is the way to go.

Stansgran Sun 30-Jun-13 12:37:53

I arranged for my MIL's 90th birthday from a good florist,local to her, for flowers to be sent every month. The florist chose appropriate ,seasonal flowers and also could check if she was going away. It was a much more personal service than interflora and their like. Not Golden Wedding but it meant it was an occasion.

Joan Sun 30-Jun-13 12:52:59

Over here in Australia you can get a gold pass to the cinema. This is a very posh part of the cinema where you watch the film in comfort and get waited on for snacks etc. If summat like that is available it would be a nice 'gold' present.

Jada11 Tue 23-Aug-16 12:30:05

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Luckylegs9 Sun 18-Sep-16 08:25:29

There is a rise called Golden Wedding, it is beautiful. Then I would get them vouchers for a restaurant or M and S voucher that they can use as and when they want.

Ilrina Sun 18-Sep-16 10:11:57

I so hate it when I see " message deleted by Gransnet", and I have not even seen it. Now I wonder what could possibly have been so offensive on a thread about a present for a golden wedding anniversary!
For goodness sakes GNHQ we are adults on here don't be so " Big Brother" I am capable of ignoring, replying to anything I find offensive on here. If you must do something to police the forums add an ignore button but let people decide for themselves. I loathe having the choice taken away from me.angry
What the heck did Jada 11 say???

Elrel Sun 18-Sep-16 13:34:55

My aunt and uncle had so many golden rose bushes that they made a bed full of them. Carluccio's used to do silver sugared almonds, do they do gold?

Elrel Sun 18-Sep-16 13:38:09

Deedaa but presumably the candlesticks and chocs weren't spoiled and everyone who had cast nasturtiums (golden?!) on you had to take back their unkind words and wind down their judgey pants. ?