Case-sensitive gift ideas for an ex's 40th

seenitall

Ok, so I would appreciate any ideas you can come up with for this specific situation...

My ex's 40th is coming up and I don't know what to get him. If you are raising your eye-brows a bit, it's like this: as we are co-parents, we are still friends and friendly and all that jazz. Meanwhile, he has got a new (recent) girlfriend so I have to be striking some kind of a balance considering her as well, don't wanna be seen as stepping on toes etc.

So, nothing very extravagant, but something that deffo says: a friend's 40th!

I have no problem spending a bit of money, especially as he is always skint (but we are not talking hundreds of euros here ).

He is into his gaming, but I think most of it is conducted over the Internet, with other gamers, so I don't know that there would be any ideas in that direction?

He doesn't read all that much, not into sports at all, not much into music either (and he gets all his music on the net anyway).

He is very into spiritual stuff, but not the massage/Chinese medicine, more of a meditation/chakras kind of thing.

As he is skint, his clothes are always in need of mending etc. but I don't know what kind of an idea would lie in that direction.

I will post anything else if I think of something.

Any ideas greatly appreciated, thanks!

EDIT: don't know how I could possibly have forgotten this, but he is into good food in a MASSIVE way. He loves nothing better than cooking. The longer he spends in the kitchen, the happier he is. Not joking. But he always scorns cookbooks and similar, everything he cooks has to be his own invention. I was considering just giving him vouchers for buying food, but that would look so careless, wouldn't it?

Cathmandooo

I think a voucher for a nice restaurant would do the trick. If you get something too personal you could be stepping on the new girlfriends toes, and when kids are involved and she'll most likely be around them (?) you don't want to be antagonising her.

Either a voucher for a restaurant (careful not to pick somewhere that was special to you both) or vouchers for the local shopping centre for him to buy himself clothes if he's skint.

kippy

I'd second the restaurant voucher idea.

seenitall

Thanks, guys.

Restaurant vouchers are a good idea, I'm considering it. It's just that I am generally more of a practical approach person, and I'd like to get him something more "lasting", if possible. Shopping centre vouchers isn't bad either.

Argh... I am just such a perfectionist, I think somebody's 40th is a big deal and therefore I'd like to come up with something really imaginative. However if I don't manage to do that, vouchers it will have to be!

kippy

seenitall wrote: »

Thanks, guys.

Restaurant vouchers are a good idea, I'm considering it. It's just that I am generally more of a practical approach person, and I'd like to get him something more "lasting", if possible. Shopping centre vouchers isn't bad either.

Argh... I am just such a perfectionist, I think somebody's 40th is a big deal and therefore I'd like to come up with something really imaginative. However if I don't manage to do that, vouchers it will have to be!

Well, to be honest, I think in this instance you have to tread carefully about what you get..........
A voucher is something he can chose to enjoy with whomever he wants and may go down well with his new partner better than something else.

spoonface

What do you mean by case-sensitive here?

Newaglish

Get tickets or vouchers he can use with his current girlfriend - that way she won't be too put out by it! Perhaps some sort of cooking classes that couples can do?

kippy

spoonface wrote: »

What do you mean by case-sensitive here?

Appropriate would probably be a better word.
The OP has outlined the "political" issues around the person she is buying the present for,

Mr. Presentable

I never think a voucher is a good gift.

Buy him a nice set of knives, or if there's a budgetary concern, one really good one

http://www.buycatering.ie/knives-knife-sets-c9176-menu.html

At under €30.00 this is nice!

ghosttown

Not sure where you live, but a voucher for the Kildare Outlet Mall would tick a few boxes, cheap-ish but decent shirts and trousers, a Levi store etc, and a few kitchen accessories stores, Tefal off the top of my head, but there are others.

and a nice day out too.

seenitall

spoonface wrote: »

What do you mean by case-sensitive here?

As kippy said, it's for an ex who has a new partner, so a bit sensitive. It has to be something not too personal, but at the same time I want it to be nice, 40th birthday-appropriate.

Thank you everybody, I like all those ideas, and will consider them all.

I am now thinking of a mixture of a restaurant meal voucher for the two of them, and then something else for him besides, like a good kitchen tool as suggested.

Thinking about it.

Cathmandooo

A knife block to an ex would just remind me of this

spoonface

seenitall wrote: »

As kippy said, it's for an ex who has a new partner, so a bit sensitive. It has to be something not too personal, but at the same time I want it to be nice, 40th birthday-appropriate.

Okay but just so you know, case sensitive means something completely different i.e. that the upper-case and lower-case letters in a word are important.

seenitall

spoonface wrote: »

Okay but just so you know, case sensitive means something completely different i.e. that the upper-case and lower-case letters in a word are important.

OOOPS Thanks for that, spoonface. I usually pride myself in having mastered the language, but I suppose not being a native speaker will out at times...

"Appropriate" would have been more appropriate, obviously.

John Mason

why dont you do him up a hamper with nice foody bits in it.

a nice olive oil, olives, stuffed peppers, fresh pasta nice cheese, ect.

or a hamper of 2 vacum packed steaks, homemade pepper sauce, a bottle of red wine, 2 candle sticks and 2 wine glasses