One of my best middle/high school friends (and the first of us to turn the big 3-0) had a birthday, and I had to mail him something, since he lives far away. Patrick has always had a quirky, dry sense of humor (and so do I, so he could make me belly laugh, one person who can actually make me LOL during a facebook conversation!)...so I knew that a simple "Hey, Happy 30th, here's a card and something stupid that you will never use!" would be totally lame for him!
I knew I needed to put a little thought and effort into it to try and either:
a) make him laugh
b) stump him as to what the heck the gift was all about?
c) tie everything into being 30, and being an attorney for a busy place where the clients are numerous and thankless(which is all interesting, fun, and frustrating at the same time!)...or
d) all of the above!
So, I came up with the idea to fill a box with items that came in a quantity of 30. Everything from paper party napkins to Dora the Explorer stickers. It took some time and patience...and an afternoon of getting a trailer hitch installed on my car, in a shopping center next to a Target, lol.
It was painful at first, it seemed like NOTHING came in packs of 30, as my mom and I roamed the aisles. But once we started finding things, it was kinda fun! It took about two hours for me to find everything below, and then I got one or two of the items at the Dollar Tree...so I would suggest that if you want to try something like this, so it when you have some time to kill and NOT when you have kids to pick up, a screaming baby in your cart, or a dentist appointment in the next 15 minutes!
After I had all my treasures...I circled the 30 on each of them, put them in a box with a handmade card, and sent them on their way to Pennsylvania!
Patrick is one of the smartest people I know, and even with his law degree, he couldn't figure out what in the WORLD, I had sent him this big box of crap for! His best guess was "a birthday party at a children's hospital?"
I finally gave in and explained, and he thought it was pretty funny, and thanked me for the cleaning wipes, because he needed to clean his kitchen that night....typical Patrick :)
This could easily be adjusted for a 50th or 25th bday, something like that. My grandpa just turned 85...wish I had thought about it then, he would have enjoyed it! Or how about an anniversary? 25th wedding anniversary gifts are supposed to be silver...maybe try and find things in packages of 25 AND that are silver? My parent's next big anniversary will be their 40th, and thats ruby...maybe I should start NOW on trying to find things in packages of 40 that are all red!
I wouldn't suggest trying to do it for a 37th shindig though, it might be REALLY difficult!
Happy Friday!
Emily
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