What to Do for your 30th Birthday
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I love gift giving. It’s one of my favorite things! Whichhh is probably why I started asking nick over a year in advance what he wanted to do for his 30th birthday. It’s a big deal! Back then and even now, he told me he didn’t care as long as he got to be with me. Okay Mr. Mush, but can you please give me an idea of what you want?!
Spanx Faux Leather Leggings | True and Co Bra (c/o) | Vince Heels | Lover and Friends Sweater (almost sold out, similar here)
I’m normally really prepared. I really am! This year between the move and such, I let the ball drop. I originally said I wanted to plan a trip to Napa, but it is a somewhat popular time to travel there anddd there were all kinds of fire safety issues. Needless to say, the Napa trip didn’t happen. Not a huge deal, as we have already been twice this year and plan to go again in March. Also, we live a lot closer to it now, so we can pretty much visit any time we like!
SO. What did I end up doing for Nick’s birthday? Basically I am treating November as his birthday MONTH. We started off with the new Apple AirPods Pro. Then he got a private 2 hour surf lesson. (I bought him one from Santa Monica Surf School.) Next I got him a bottle of wine from his birth year -1989. (I bought this from The Wine Merchant Beverly Hills. Scored a Grand Cru Chateau Gruaud Larose Saint Julien Bordeaux.) For his actual birthday I made him his favorite breakfast sandwich in the morning and then we had drinks at sunset and dinner at Nobu Malibu. For his birthday cake,I made Sally’s Baking Addiction chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting sheet cake, but made into into a layer cake for fun. This weekend we are headed to Paso Robles for a little wine weekend + picking up our wine shipment from Epoch for a little birthday getaway.) Last but not least, I ordered him the Onyx Coffee Advent Calendar which has a single serving a coffee for each day!
Whew that was a lot and I still feel like I didn’t do enough. Nick promises that it was an awesome birthday, so I don’t know what I feel bad about it. Maybe it is my type 1ness on the enneagram scale? Side note I referenced the enneagram in an interview last week and the guy had no idea what I was talking about. I was taken aback when he asked me to explain it. Hah! Anyway, I always say when it comes to gift giving I prefer thoughtfulness over money spent. Maybe I think that because I was more last minute that it doesn’t count? I digress. I put a lot of thought into it, so here’s some questions to ask yourself whether you are planning someone’s 30th or your own.
What do they like to do? What is their favorite food or drink? Favorite color? I kept asking Nick what he wanted to do and when he couldn’t tell me that, I made him describe his “perfect day”. He said basically surfing, coffee, wine, and good. That helped me think of the surf lesson. I knew I wanted to do something with coffee and already had the wine year idea. He knew about my idea for Malibu, since I made the res a month in advance/ asked him if he’d want to do that. Maybe this person likes a spa day. If you can’t afford to go to one, maybe get one of those in-home manicures or massages. They usually have first order discounts too. Do they like ice cream? Have an ice cream flight night and buy pints and make them into a cake or spoon them into small bowls. It does NOT have to be expensive. Just think about it and show some love!
Bonobos Shirt (old, similar here and here and here) | Mavi Jeans
IDEAS
Rent a house (I was late on this, but tried to get a house at Malibu Beach, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, etc. Was trying to get one on the beach so we could invite friends, cook out, and spend the night. The point is this was kind of like a staycation. An hourish to drive, so not far at all! Look at airbnb, home away, and vrbo. You can also look at the place’s website ie Visit Napa Valley, as they usually list places they approve of. Might even find a cool penthouse ;) )
Rent a boat (I also tried this, 2 hours on a boat isn’t long enough to go swimming, and when you add hours on, it becomes expensive. At least in California! Would have loved to do a yacht, but again, don’t have that kind of money. I think there are cheaper ones in Texas. The California ones might have been ok splitting with people, but I was planning on paying for this by myself. The cheapest one I found was $300 for 2 hours, max 6 people. It did let you bring your own food and drinks though and some of the bigger ones didn’t.)
Pool Pass (I looked into renting a cabana at a local pool. I was reallllly late on looking at these, so most of the ones I was interested in were booked for the weekend I needed. I was looking week of. You can call a hotel directly to do this, but a lot of them only allow you to buy cabanas if you are staying there. A GREAT place to look for this is ResortPass.Com. You can search by city, state, or hotel and look at day passes or cabana options!
Have a Party (DUH. We don’t know a ton of people in LA, so it didn’t really make sense, but a lot of you said this option when I asked on Instagram stories. Surprise parties are a great option. One of you said you made it like a “funeral for your 20s”, which is DARLING. Another said a James Bond 007 party which is always fun. 90’s kid? Throw a skate rink party. 80’s kid? Have a karaoke party with bands from that era. Lots of room for ideas!)
Go on a Trip (A lot of you said this too! Whether it is couples trip or a friend trip, it is a super fun idea. Most said something 2 hours or less whether that is a flight or drive. Something like Cabo! Relatively cheap and easy. I considered looking into Big Bear for Nick, for a little weekend away.)
Birth Year (Is there some kind of memorabilia that you can find with their birth year? For Nick it was wine, but for you maybe it is a liquor or a vintage clothing item? A piece of money or maybe a designer with a founding year or date that means something to you. You can also do something fun like 30 presents for 30 years or maybe their birthday is on the thirteenth (like Nick!) and you get them a gift for every day leading up to their birthday, with the grand finale on the actual day. Lots of ways to make this work!)
Scrapbook (This takes some time, but is definitely budget friendly! I know people who had friends write letters and such and combine them all with photos of them with each person. Videos are great compilations too! Super meaningful and a great memory maker.)
Have any thoughts that I didn’t mention? Put it in the comments so other people can see! If you need more help, I recently wrote about how to make gift cards feel more personal. Might spark some more ideas!
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