Next month, my parents will be marking 30 years of being married. I really want to do something nice for them, but I have no ideas.
That's not true. I have a few ideas.

For one, my mom has always wanted to go on a hot-air balloon ride. There are a few reasons I'm concerned about pulling this one off, including the fact that I have no idea where my dad stands on the issue.

Buying them a nice dinner is also an option, but I don't know how to pull that one off at all. I mean, my mother *hates* gift cards, and how messed up would it be if I handed them cash or mailed them a check?

I guess I could always send them nice flowers and a few seperately-packaged bags of candy (mint is not allowed to touch anything my dad eats!). But that seems so.... blah.

So...

Help! Anyone have any ideas?

(cross-posted to LiveJournal)

Uniique gifts or Diamonds or poetry or jewelry or the last choosing grounds, there is a lot here. I am too lazy to find more. Try google. Good luck and wish your parents a happy anniversary from me. If you could please mention my name.

Well, traditionally 30 years is pearls. Perhaps something cute in mother of pearl?

Traditionally it's pearl. Modernity has changed it to diamonds. There is a whole new system.

The fact that the new system is entirely gems and jewelry and is sourced as is endlessly amusing to me.

daladus

The tiny detail that Diamonds are specifically for 60 years is neither here nor there, right? Gotta move those blasted carbon crystals...

Umm, even that nonsense lists 'Pearl Jubilee' for 30 years.

my mom, me and my sister once volenteered for a summer helping launch the balloons and I have to say that they're really cool. You get to watch the whole thing being unrolled and blown up (takes like an hr or so). It's very stable and so there's no need for panic at all and afterward they usually have the "pilot" and the guests have a nice picnic basket of wine/champagne and cheese or something. I think it'd be a great idea!

Me too, but I want it to be for both of them, so I want it to be something my dad will really enjoy, too. So, espionage :)

Plus, I know it's kind of expensive. No problem is my brother and I split it, but he's blown off this sort of thing before, and I'm not sure I can shoulder the cost on my own.

The pearls give me pause. My mom would like that, but I don't think my dad would have much use for jewelry...

Thanks, all. Keep them coming!

Pearl earrings or necklace for Mom, pearl cufflinks for Dad. If you go with something like mother-of-pearl, you might be able to do some kind of 'significant' engravery or some such to signify the 30 years.

Failing that, you could probably get a lead crystal oyster with a pearl inside, such as this one from Swarovski. Rest assured, there are less expensive versions around (It's not my fault I have champagne tastes and a beer budget), and you should be able to find even the Swarovski locally rather than over the net.

Yeah, get the number '30' engraved on there in Roman numerals. I think it would look classy.

:snicker:

Or the first letter of your last name in a Gothic script.

What? XXX? (You could perhaps also make a case for XXL, but that would just look silly...)

I personally prefer the binary: 11110. Or base 7: 42. Or you could factorise it into it's prime factors, interestingly enough the first three true primes (2, 3, 5).

Alternatively, you could arrange the hot-air balloon ride and make arrangements for the ride operator to hand them the flowers and candy (with suitable card) at the start of the ride... that takes the "blah" right out of them.

Yeah. XXX. And a joke dies a pitiful death.