30 Gifts for a 30th birthday… And those who know me will know that I love giving gifts. My family and I especially love celebrating those ‘BIG’ birthdays. There is something about giving someone a gift and seeing their face light up with surprise.
So this year Dean turned 30, and obviously, I had to go big.
Dean and I believe in collecting memories and not things. Both of us love being at the beach, so I thought the best gift would be a weekend getaway for his birthday. Luckily, his was on a Sunday, so it worked out perfectly. So I’ve booked us two plane tickets to KwaZulu-Natal (this is his favourite place to go swimming) and thereafter the accommodation.
But, a 30th birthday being such a big birthday, a weekend getaway just wouldn’t have cut it. So I’ve decided to do a 30-day birthday countdown.
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Want to book a weekend getaway, check out for accommodation options below!
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How it worked
Since he turned 30, I’ve decided to buy 30 gifts. 30 gifts for 30 days. And every morning, for the 30 days leading up to his birthday, he would open up a gift.
The gifts weren’t all big, expensive gifts, but rather small/everyday gifts, with the occasional ‘bigger’ gift. (Think more like Christmas stocking stuffers)
What you'll need
Here is a list of things you might need (some being optional):
- 30 Gifts
- Envelopes for all 30 gifts (these can be different sizes or all the same size)
- Countdown numbers (you can be creative with this)
- Ribbon
- Gift wrapping paper (I’ve decided to still wrap the gifts before I’ve placed it inside the envelope; this is optional though)
- Small pins to pin the countdown numbers to the envelopes
- Clue cards, this was to just give a bit of background as to why I chose that specific gift (also optional)
- Cello tape
- A wooden plank to hang all the gifts on
Make it personal
You can make it more personal. I’ve added pictures of Dean, from when he was young to now, to his countdown cards.
I’ve printed these retro prints at a photo shop online, and these got delivered within a week.
The planning
The planning was probably the hardest part.
Every time I thought of a gift idea, I would write it down on my notes app. Thinking of 30 gifts (that won’t break the bank) is quite difficult.
After I’d gotten everything, I was only able to set everything up the day before the countdown began.
So I’ve wrapped all the gifts and added the clues (this also helped me to keep track of everything). Afterwards, I laid them all out on the bed in the order I wanted them. I’ve added the wooden plank to the wall and then hung the gifts.
Gift ideas
Most gifts were some basic gifts and his main gift was his weekend getaway. The last few gifts hinted towards his ‘main gift’ which included things like SPF30 sunscreen, a travel wallet, etc.
Here are 30 gift ideas:
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Gift Guide – Support Local South Africans
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Gift Guide for Him
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The Perfect Gift Guide for a Traveler
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Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
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Best surprise – a weekend at the beach! His first birthday at the beach in his life! Well done at keeping it quiet and truly being a surprise for him. Lots of love
Who doesn’t want to have their birthday at the beach 🙂
This is sooo cute! What was his favorite gift?
The weekend getaway was his biggest surprise as he did not expect that. And then he also loved his travel wallet and the star poster of our wedding night.