A gift for Mom and Pop

July 17, 2008 9:48 AM

My parents' 25th wedding anniversary is Tuesday and I'd like to get them something significant but not typical.

I'm not opposed to sticking with the "silver anniversary" theme, but I'm not looking for traditionally silver items... frames, clocks, silverware, etc. Mom and Dad are mid-40's Philadelphia suburbanites. Mom loves to garden and dote on her children and dad loves fast cars and good food. They both love Key West and their farm house/vacation home in the PA mountains (something for the house would be great - silver wind chimes is all I could come up with but I'm not sure thats feasible).

Ideally I could pick up the gift locally as there's little time left for internet shipping. My budget is up to about $250 if need be, but in the interest of sparing my undergrad sister from sticker shock, anything around $100 would be great.

Thanks AskMe!

posted by rinosaur to shopping (9 comments total)

Have you googled for silver wind chimes, because they certainly exist (in color, if not in composition).
posted by amro at 10:25 AM on July 17, 2008

Gift certificate from Le Bec Fin. Yes they do have them (I would suggest for the whole $250).


http://www.lebecfin.com/lbf_establishments.asp
posted by Zambrano at 10:50 AM on July 17, 2008

sears portrait studio - bring silver shirts.
posted by nadawi at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2008

Get an artist's rendering of the home you grew up in or their vacation home. You send the artist a photo of the home, and they sketch the photo, which you can frame. We did this for my parents' anniversary of the house we grew up in and they bawled, they loved it that much. I think it really hit them because that house meant so much to them (proving their success financially and raising their children). At the time I lived in Cherry Hill and we found someone in Haddonfield that did this, but lots of people do it. It took several weeks, however, if not several months.

Considering your short time frame, I would buy an empty but beautiful picture frame and hand-write a note and explain why it's empty and what to expect.
posted by HeyAllie at 12:35 PM on July 17, 2008

As a new parent, I'm hoping that my daughter does this for me someday. Get one of those four-picture frames. Dig around for a good baby picture of you and put that in the first frame. Get a picture of you as a teenager, and put that in the second frame. Finally, get a current picture of you, and put that in the third frame. Leave the fourth frame empty but for a small note "not to be filled until 2033".
posted by mark242 at 12:42 PM on July 17, 2008

Write them a genuine and heartfelt letter, include memories of yours that they may not be aware of, give them your real impression of their marriage as seen by you as you grew up. Be honest. No one needs another gift from a store.
posted by pianomover at 6:26 PM on July 17, 2008

My sister and I threw an open house for my parents. We got a cake from the store that was in the colors of the wedding (lime green and daisy yellow). Silver accents on the cake would have been a cool idea if I'd of thought of it then. We also got a hold of their wedding photos and made copies which we used in a collage.
posted by silkygreenbelly at 7:29 PM on July 17, 2008

Good food & gardening = gourmet herb garden with hand written recipe. You could put the herbs in pots in a basket with other essentials for a really tasty meal.

Scan heaps of photos and doing an electronic family album. You could order it by year or family member or whatever, put it in one of those electronic photo frames or whatever.

Write a song - yeah, cheat, use somebody else's melody and write the words to fit your parents life. If possible, perform at their anniversary with your siblings. Otherwise, prepare and serve as an avi they can enjoy again and again.

Anyone can give them windchimes. You're the only person who can really give them their memories, repackaged and refreshed.
posted by b33j at 4:06 AM on July 18, 2008

Oh, and I would particularly personally like a ride in a hot air balloon but prices vary as might your mileage.
posted by b33j at 4:06 AM on July 18, 2008