Choosing a 60th birthday gift for a special woman in your life is tough. After all, older women often say, “Please don’t buy me a gift. I don’t need any more stuff!”

The truth is that everyone, especially women over 60, secretly love to receive thoughtful surprises and gifts. The key word is “thoughtful.”

60th Birthday Gift Ideas for Women: Cash Or Something Creative?

Most of us won’t get too excited about a gift card or cash. But, if your present shows us how much you care about us, or brings utility or beauty to our lives, we will cherish it for a long time.  The simplest things sometimes have the most meaning.

So, if you’re stuck for 60th birthday gift ideas for women, here are a few to consider, based on our experience with the 500,000 women in our Sixty and Me community.

Give Experiences, Not Things

Every woman has her own unique bucket list. Fortunately, making your wife or mother’s dreams come true is easier than ever.

There are even companies that have emerged to provide experience-based gifts, which women will love. These range from spa visits to glassblowing, chocolate tours to helicopter rides.

If you are in the U.S., Virgin Experience Gifts may be a great place to start. In the U.K, Buy A Gift offers everything from beauty makeovers or drawing classes to flying adventures and culinary surprises.

So, pay attention. If you hear a woman say “I have always wanted to __________,” you can help to make her dream come true.

Use a Picture to Say a Thousand Words

Another option is to use the power of pictures to generate nostalgia. You can make a simple handmade scrapbook with pictures, quotes and colorful paper and stickers. These scrapbooking albums on amazon are a great place to start!

Or, if you’re not that creative, you can use a service like Shutterfly or Blurb to turn family pictures into a lovely photo book.

Give a Gift for Good

In the past few years, many wonderful online charity sites have emerged. With these services, you can buy a gift to help someone less fortunate than you.

By the time they reach their 60th birthday, most women have favorite charities and causes, so, giving a donation on their behalf can be extremely meaningful.

Many services send regular updates, which can give your mother a social connection to the person who received your help.

A few of my personal favorites include:

• American Red Cross
• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
• Hope for the Warriors
• Scholarship America
• Prevent Child Abuse America

Personalize a Gift Box

Why not consider making a homemade gift basket containing the food items that your favorite older woman loves? If you have been paying attention over the years, you know all those little things that she would buy just to treat herself.

You were paying attention to what she was saying, right? Of course you were!

So, find a gorgeous basket and fill it with an assortment of her favorite teas, coffees and chocolates. Add some bread, cheeses, homemade jams or honey.

Perhaps you can add a bottle of a wine that she loves from a place you visited together. You can even add homemade cookies decorated by the grandkids.

There are also wonderful places you can buy ready-made gift baskets like Gourmet Gift Baskets or The Hamper Emporium for our Australian friends.

But, if you have the time, it’s better to make the gift basket yourself. After all, the best gifts are the ones that we have a hand in creating.

Give Her a Healthier Future – This May Be the BEST 60th Birthday Gift for a Woman

Nothing is more important to getting more from life after 60 than good health. But, what kind of healthy gifts make the most sense?

One option is to pick a gift that relates to a physical activity or sport that your friend loves.

Why not look at a yoga retreat helping them feel more balanced and relaxed – you could even get a place for yourself and go along with them. 

When I reached my 60th birthday, I was an emotional and physical mess; I had very little energy, my joints ached and my balance was horrible.

After a year of doing gentle yoga, I felt like a different person. If I had started earlier I would have been able to spend more time exploring and less time sitting! Good food and a healthy diet is just as important for saying healthy as exercise. With that in mind, if physical activity isn’t their thing, why not get them a cooking class experience?

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

If in doubt, give flowers. But, give it some thought first. Don’t settle for a random flower arrangement from the local shop. Think about the flowers that you saw in her house. Most women don’t care about how much flowers cost. They do, however, have their favorites.

Perhaps she loves freesias, lilacs, tulips or even simple daisies. If you don’t like the idea of cut flowers, you can give her a live plant. Or, what about a collection of herbs that she can put in her window?

Here are a few of our favorite places to order flowers online:

• 1800Flowers
• Bouqs
• ProFlowers
• Or really treat them and get a subscription from Enjoy Flowers

Whatever you choose, give it with love. Make the experience of giving a positive one for both of you. Hugs are a great accompaniment to a gift.

You also can’t go wrong with a simple smile and giving 30 minutes of your time to just be together and share the event being celebrated.

Have you discovered a thoughtful 60th birthday gift idea for an older woman that you would like to share with the community? Please leave your comments below.