Personal, Creative, & Unique Retirement Gift Ideas

“Happy days are here at last, the days of nine to five are passed, you’ve worked your life and paid your dues, now you can do just what you choose!”

Everyone loves to hear the words ‘retired’. However, work has been defined for that loved one, friend, or coworker for most likely several decades of their life, hitting the point of retirement and saying goodbye to a daily grind is truly a milestone to celebrate. This once in a lifetime momentous occasion deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated. There are several different ways to show your happiness for the retiree. From giving meaningful or sentimental gifts, to throwing a party, to offering something useful and enjoyable for the next chapter of their lives. It will depend on the individual- will they be interested in pursuing a new hobby; furthering their education; love gags and practical jokes; rather create memories versus acquiring ‘things’; ready to explore and travel the world? Follow along to find some inspiring and thoughtful retirement gifts, for both men and women, that will encourage your giftee to kick back, relax, and enjoy some hard-earned freedom.

Host A Party

Organizing a unique surprise retirement party specifically tailored for your honoree will be an extremely meaningful gesture and a gift that he or she will remember forever. Some ideas to make the event significant include:

• Put together a personalized video, collaborating with all his/her family, coworkers and friends. Add favorite music; record a montage of answers to questions about the retiree or well wishes and messages from everyone; or a photo slideshow sharing moments over the years.
• The same concept can be organized into a scrapbook, compiling pictures, notes, funny stories, and other memories.
• Arrange a round of speeches at the event. Ask different people to share different parts of the retiree’s career: successes, contributions, and personality. You can mix it up with serious, deep comments as well as more humorous presentations too.

On The Road

Some people have saved up their whole lives to take to the open road once they hit retirement age. This fantastic book from National Geographic shares where to go, when to go, what to see, and much more. It covers all 50 states, with more than 5,000 ideas. Includes Net Geo’s famous photos of America’s national parks, beaches, trails, and many additional adventures.

Traveling Partner

And if your retiree is planning to travel, gifting them with sturdy luggage would be a thoughtful gesture as well. Find the perfect sized tote, maybe with wheels that rotate 360 degrees, and something that stands out. You can add a DIY personalized logo for that special touch.

A Different World Map

Sticking with the adventure theme, this extremely cool scratch-off map is not only quite a lovely decorative piece for the home, but also a fun way for them to keep track-of and share new adventures.

Experiential Memories

With an open schedule and the world beginning to open back up, gifting your retiree tickets to a musical concert, a play, maybe an opera they’ve never seen, or other performance is a wonderful way to celebrate their newfound freedom. Other ideas to consider:

• Tickets to a festival, theater, movie, museum, or sporting event.
• Workshop weekends, or lessons in cooking, art, sustainable gardening, foreign language, dance, etc.
• A bucket list experience; get their list and see what you can contribute to. Skydiving? Riding a horse on the beach? You get the idea.
• Set up a special trip. Maybe back to their honeymoon spot, or their ancestors' country. Even a weekend away with family and friends is a meaningful and thoughtful gift.
• The series of Master Classes should also be included on this list as it makes for a truly unique and personal gift idea. The Masterclass are lessons taught by the most successful and famous teachers in the world. Some examples include:
  • The Art of Home Cooking taught by Alice Waters
  • Acting taught by Samuel L. Jackson
  • Tennis taught by Serena Williams

Nature Zen Lover

To inspire the inner zen master, and honing the essence of patience, a gift of the Bonsai tree is a noteworthy one. In Japan, the Bonsai symbolizes harmony, peace, and balance. A Bonsai starter kit is the perfect retirement gift for a retiree that enjoys nature and the more delicate aspects of life. This one here includes all of the following:

• Book: 101 Essential Tips on Bonsai
• Glazed ceramic imported container
• Willow Leaf Ficus Bonsai Tree
• Annealed training wire
• Multi-colored textured rock
• Decorative pebbles for the soil
• Ceramic miniature figurine
• Humidity/drip tray
• Traditional bonsai shears
• Slow-release fertilizer pellets 

Elevated Home

If your newly retired mate is more likely to be spending much of their time relaxing at home, gifting an upgrade or addition to the house may be the ideal way to express your appreciation for them. If you’re the handy type, transforming a backyard into a paradise; adding an outdoor dining area, a new deck, and weatherproof covering. Creating a screened in sunroom, or new food growing and gardening area. Gather a crew of the retiree’s friends and make a weekend of painting and redecorating/transforming a garage into an organized hangout area. There are many ideas to ponder in this category and more importantly, ways to do it eco-friendly and low cost by using recycled materials.

Summary

Your newly retired friend has the world open to them and many options to choose how they spend time during this new life phase. Some may take to the outdoors, golfing, hiking, biking. Some may join the volunteer movement, helping youth, building homes, feeding the hungry. Others will take to the roads and skies, exploring the world. Whatever they’re passionate about you can find a meaningful way to honor them. There are many more possible gift ideas, mostly of the material kind that you may consider. The ideas above share both material ones as well as sentimental, do-it-yourself, and memory making experiential ones. Get creative and have fun in your gift making venture!

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