50th Birthday
You can’t ignore turning fifty. Someone you care about is reaching a milestone that feels momentous, that warrants more than an apology of an effort, and all of a sudden popping down to the shops for a bottle of wine and a card feels woefully insufficient. We felt that too. Which is why we’ve put more effort into this collection than we usually give ourselves credit for.
Choosing gifts for a fiftieth birthday is hard because by the time someone’s had fifty birthdays they’ve had fifty years to collect all the kitchen gadgets. They’ve got the nice wine glasses. They’ll never be short of scarves. You need to shift your thinking. You need to move beyond things that clutter up a shelf and towards gifts that feel like a celebration of who they are now, and what they should get to experience next.
That philosophy is evident in everything we’ve selected. Some of it is truly indulgent, things crafted with care that they’d never splurge on for themselves. Some of it is about creating memories; doing something to celebrate that won’t end up on a worktop. And some of it is simply thoughtful; gifts that say you were listening instead of just browsing. We were strict about what we included. If it felt half-hearted, it didn’t make the cut. If we could’ve put it under any birthday heading for any age, it didn’t make the cut.
We also considered just who has turning fifty these days, because they definitely aren’t all the same. They’re the friend who spent their twenties and thirties gathering stories and is ready to start making some more. They’re the parent who now has time to follow their own passions, the projects they had to put on hold when the kids came along. They’re the colleague who deserves a little something completely indulgent. We searched for gifts that’ll work for all those friends, which means accepting that one gift recommendation won’t suit everyone.
Ultimately, we’ve ended up with a selection that’s small, intentional, and most importantly, specific. Each of the gifts we recommend here are ones we’d happily give ourselves. It’s the only requirement we demand of anything on Tree. If someone you care about is turning fifty, they deserve that much thought.