Help me decide what to do for my 40th birthday! I am turning 40 in mid-August and would like (love!) to do something a bit special and experiential rather than receive something material. I’m also in a massive rut and would love to do something new and different that I haven’t thought of. I crave new experiences and ideas and these have been in short supply due to various personal and medical pressures over the last 12 months. I’ve had a few thoughts, but none of them have really made me think YES that’s EXACTLY what I want to do. AskMe, can you offer some inspiration, either around my existing ideas, or something completely fresh I haven’t considered?
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posted by t0astie
on May 9, 2013 -
17 answers
We're throwing a camping-themed birthday party for a co-worker next week. I need to bring some treats!
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posted by bookmammal
on May 4, 2013 -
14 answers
My husband is turning 30 in about 2 months and I need to plan a party for him in the Seattle area. I have no idea what I'm doing.
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posted by Safiya
on May 3, 2013 -
16 answers
I'm taking my daughter to NYC for her 13th bday gift around the end of June. She is going to be so excited!! I'm trying to plan some great things for a Mom and a 13 yr old to do but I'm getting overwhelmed.... We will do a broadway show for sure...but any other suggestions? Help me decide what is really cool and worth doing and what would be just "meh". She loves the arts and creating and cooking and falls on the nerdy, quirky, funny side of life. She's perfect!! We will be there 3 nights and 4 days. Staying in SoHo but can Uber Car pretty much anywhere. I also have a very dear friend who lives there and will be with us to help navigate. He loves my daughter and will be up for anything but has no clue what 13 yr old girls of her ilk are into so he hasn't been much help....Thanks all!
posted by pearlybob
on May 1, 2013 -
20 answers
My nephew is turning 18 in a week. He is graduating from high school in June. He has no idea what he wants for a gift for either event.
tl;dr: What might a socially active gaming-nerd turned forestry major find useful or enjoy before or during his first year away from home? What do you get for the guy who's pretty content with anything he gets?
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posted by tllaya
on Apr 20, 2013 -
14 answers
What would be the perfect birthday gift for a 17 year old guy who loves soccer? (Non-soccer gift ideas would also be appreciated. A book gift that he wouldn't hate would be the most amazing suggestion imaginable.)
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posted by cessair
on Apr 18, 2013 -
17 answers
What's a good place for a Saturday evening laid back birthday get-together in Brooklyn?
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posted by cheeserk
on Apr 4, 2013 -
7 answers
I've been invited to a new (<3 months) friend's 40th birthday supper. What can I bring him?
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posted by Prairie
on Mar 25, 2013 -
6 answers
Distance prevents me from being with my boyfriend on his birthday. Any idea on how to make it special? He will be at work most of the day and make to his hotel later on in the evening. I've sent cupcakes, but would also like to do something else to surprise him. Thanks!!
posted by surfer127
on Mar 24, 2013 -
5 answers
My wife is approaching a milestone birthday and she's drawn up a list of people she would like to invite. Originally, we were going to have it at our house, but when the invitee list passed 150, we decided we don't want that many people roaming through the place. She wants to cancel the event, but I want to throw her a party anyway.
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posted by IndigoSkye
on Mar 20, 2013 -
13 answers
My baby is turning 1 in 9 days (!!!) and I need an awesome cupcake recipe for his party. His older brother had banana and (separately) oreo cupcakes for his, but neither of them really wowed me (which could have been the recipes, not the flavors. So give me your best suggestions!
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posted by katers890
on Mar 15, 2013 -
8 answers
My eldest daughter (known here as Kinetic Jr.) is turning 21 this month and I want to get her a memorable present.
What would have been the BEST GIFT EVER when you turned 21?
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posted by kinetic
on Mar 12, 2013 -
42 answers
I never thought I'd be someone asking for birthday ideas on MetaFilter, but here I am, asking for birthday ideas on MetaFilter. Please hit me with your best gift and/or Denver-specific experience/venue ideas. Subject is a photographer/techie/welding/motorcycle-riding/music-making/whiskey-drinking manly creative type turning 32. In a week!
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posted by sockpuppet yo
on Mar 9, 2013 -
1 answer
We will be in Calgary this weekend for personal business, and I got to thinking, since it's also birthday of one of us, are there any restaurants, coffee shops, attractions that have birthday discounts? We will be staying in the SE, but anything is game. If it matters, older couple with mobility issues. Thanks!
posted by batikrose
on Feb 27, 2013 -
3 answers
For work reasons, I'm spending this week far from home, which means I'm going to miss my girlfriend's birthday tomorrow. Boo! We're going to make up for it when I get home, but I still want to mark the occasion by having something delivered to her at work. The obvious choice is flowers, of course. But can you suggest something else romantic and sweet that would be less obvious? Something I can arrange remotely and have delivered to an office in Herndon, Va. tomorrow?
posted by Naberius
on Feb 27, 2013 -
13 answers
My husband mentioned to me some years ago that he'd never had an actual, cake-and-candles, friends from the neighborhood invited, hats and horns birthday party in his entire life. I'd like to give him a small surprise birthday party for his upcoming birthday in late March, but I have questions about how to actually word the invitations.
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posted by Oriole Adams
on Feb 26, 2013 -
14 answers
My cousin, who also happens to be my favorite little dude on the planet, is turning nine in a couple weeks. For most of his life, I've lived on the other side of the country so he really only knows me through infrequent holiday visits, but for the next few months we're going to be in the same city and I'm super excited for us to get to know each other better during this time. Because I've been a deadbeat cousin, I don't know specifically what he's into (although he likes typical high energy 8 year old stuff like wrestling his friends, reading books, video games, and exploding coke bottles with mentos) but I'd like to get him something completely awesome anyway.
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posted by justjess
on Feb 10, 2013 -
16 answers
I've been divorced for several years now. My ex-wife and I get along amicably. I am single and she has been involved in an LTR since the divorce became official. Everything's fine, everyone's happy. Our kids are thriving.My ex-wife's birthday is in three weeks and up until now I've been the one to coordinate helping the kids get her something for her birthday. It occurred to me that it's probably time for the New Guy to take this over, right? They're not engaged, he still has his own place, but he does spend a lot of time there in your standard domestic situations. I have no problem discussing this with my ex, I'm just looking for a sanity-check on this idea before I bring it up. Am I missing something? Is this even a good idea? (For the record, I am single and she will probably be responsible for
my birthdays (vis-a-vis the kids) for the forseeable future.)
posted by Setec Astronomy
on Feb 8, 2013 -
20 answers
My husband is going to turn 30 in a couple of weeks. We don't usually give gifts on birthdays but since this is a big one I want to get him something special. I could use some help deciding what that could be! Details about him within.
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posted by mireille
on Jan 31, 2013 -
6 answers
Please help me think of a shared experience my mother and I can have to celebrate her 60th birthday that does not include a spa or salon. I'd like to leave the parameters mostly open, but my budget is somewhere around $150 - $200.
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posted by smirkyfodder
on Jan 31, 2013 -
28 answers
Our son will be turning 11 during our trip to Germany in a few weeks. We're planning on traveling from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt by train that day, and we're flying home the next morning, so where should we go in Frankfurt for a memorable birthday dinner?
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posted by ulotrichous
on Jan 27, 2013 -
5 answers
I'm looking for recommendations for lounges in Boston for a birthday party with around 10-15 guests. We'll all be in our early 20s.
Ideally, the place will play livelier music but not blast it to the point where I have to shout to have a conversation.
Price range is pretty flexible. In terms of location, closer to the financial district is preferable, so nothing near Allston, brookline, etc.
This would be for a Saturday night between 8 and 11 PM and I'd like to be able to make reservations.
A decent sized crowd is appreciated, as we don't want to feel like we're the only group of people in the place.
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posted by 6spd
on Jan 23, 2013 -
3 answers
My birthday's coming up, and I'm looking for a place near Dupont Circle (DC) to get together with friends and co-workers after work on a Friday where many of us can have dinner, but which will also smoothly accomodate some people coming in and out for drinks only (and people ordering their apps and/or entrees at different times.) Basically I'd like to be there for at least 2 to 3 hours but for it to be no problem for some people to come late or leave early, and for people to feel equally welcome either to stop by for a few drinks or to arrive at any point, have dinner and stick around to possibly continue elsewhere afterwards.
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posted by EmilyClimbs
on Jan 18, 2013 -
9 answers
Went to birthday thing at a restaurant/bowling place for a work friend. There were 6 of us here. I consider the people there work-friends, in that I generally don't hang out with them outside of work. I was surprised that 3 of the friends gave gifts to the birthday girl, while the other guy bought her drinks and food. I tried to offer to pay for part of the entertainment cost but was begged off. So I felt like I didn't contribute much to the birthday celebration and possibly commited a faux pas in not getting a gift. I was under the impression that people at work who weren't that close don't give birthday gifts to each other.
Did I commit a faux pas? Should I give a belated gift?
posted by Pantalaimon
on Jan 9, 2013 -
11 answers
Photographers and photography buffs! Please help me find a really cool photography book (or photography-related gift) for my photographer boyfriend.
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posted by ad4pt
on Jan 5, 2013 -
15 answers
I'll be turning 30 in April, and I'm planning a trip in celebration. There are a lot of places in the world I'd love to go just to hang out and look around, but I decidedly do NOT want to do that for this trip. I want to travel somewhere and do something active. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, my front runner so far is a one week stay in Jamaica learning how to make wood fired pottery. What similar "enriching" type experiences are out there?
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posted by Calicatt
on Jan 3, 2013 -
13 answers
I just got a great Christmas present from my sister-in-law, help me give back as good as I got.
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posted by msali
on Jan 2, 2013 -
10 answers
help me buy myself a birthday present!
a generous family member gives me cash for my birthday every year, but i'm not allowed to spend it on occasional manicures and lattes, i have to buy myself a gift with it.
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posted by sabh
on Dec 19, 2012 -
16 answers
One of the downsides of being born in mid-January is that it's always snowing, which leads to a certain inertia when it comes to birthday parties. People don't like to expend the effort to come to a birthday until they think it's going to be exceptionally fun.
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posted by wolfdreams01
on Dec 3, 2012 -
11 answers
K. So my big 3-0 birthday is on Saturday, December 8th, and I'm looking for a good place in Portland (like a semi-private event room in a resturant/bar) to host folks for several hours. Let's say 7-10pm. More specifications inside...
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posted by redsparkler
on Nov 23, 2012 -
6 answers
My fun-loving, adventure-seeking sister is turning 35 this weekend! It so happens she'll be visiting me in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving at the time. Help me think of something memorable and uniquely weird to do over the weekend to make it a great birthday!
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posted by captainawesome
on Nov 18, 2012 -
7 answers
It's my mom's 75th birthday and I have a great gift planned. Help me figure out how to present it!
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posted by cabingirl
on Nov 10, 2012 -
13 answers
I need a gift idea for my wife's birthday. She is a nurse and mom to five awesome kids, but her passion is making awesome cakes.
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posted by tacodave
on Nov 5, 2012 -
19 answers
Help me compose the perfect playlist for a five year old's Dr. Who themed birthday party!
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posted by Wavelet
on Oct 23, 2012 -
28 answers
My boyfriend is a very spiritual devotee of Krishna (via ISKCON). Before we were dating he lived in an Ashram for a while, and has been involved with the temple since he was in early high school. I'm happily Jewish, and not personally disposed toward that sort of devotion, and I think sometimes my inability to understand comes off as skeptical or disapproving.
His birthday is coming up in about a week, and I'd like to get him something, or do something for him that will demonstrate a commitment to his spirituality - or at least something that shows I'm trying. I'd love your suggestions. More details beyond the fold.
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posted by howgenerica
on Sep 27, 2012 -
12 answers
My lovely girlfriend has been throwing me fantastic birthday parties for a few years, and this year (in November, in Los Angeles) I want to return the favor in kind. She lived in Hawaii in her youth, and has visited every year except this one, so I thought I'd try to bring the big island to her for her birthday party. I'm thinking 25-30 people, suggestions for any level of fancy from not fancy at all up to very posh appreciated.
posted by thedaniel
on Sep 18, 2012 -
10 answers
Help me plan an awesome and affordable surprise birthday trip for my pregnant wife between Christmas and New Years. Details inside.
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posted by avrobie
on Aug 29, 2012 -
10 answers
