My 40th is coming up and my parents and some other people have asked what I would like as a gift.
I have a couple of ideas but I'd like to hear what other people received as presents to give me some inspiration.
FWIW I'm having a big party with all my pals and plenty of naughty stuff in a big mansion with a hot tub, have bought myself a Ducati and have a divorce and a Les Paul, so already got most of the cliches out the way. Never banged a prozzer though...
Stay classy hero.
I had a mountain biking weekend and stayed in the Old Canon Brewery in Bury St Edmunds....
Bought the other half a leather motorbike jacket for his 40th
Ooni pizza oven from my ma which is the best thing ever - mostly just loads of whisky from pals. I did tell people not to bother though because I'm not a child and I can just buy stuff if I want it generally. 😉
Did have a big rave party in a barn (which also had a hot tub outside in fact) in a beautiful spot in Cumbria, which I DJed at and also played with a ludicrously excessive smoke machine. Good times!
My friends mostly bought me booze. My wife bought me a nice camera, and my parents (bless them) gave me £500 to put towards a new synthesizer of my choice. Which felt kind of odd, but also appropriate, since that was pretty much the first time they'd bought me a present since my 18th... when they got me a synthesizer 😆
Pretty sure I got some socks! Maybe some other bits but didn’t really need anything!
That all sounds very middle aged 😂
Following. Over a year till mine but still useful info.
Nothing significant because thats what I told them to do. My family and friends do not do big pressies anyway - never have
I did have a big party tho
My partner gave me the most expensive present I have ever had for my 40th, but it has been so worth it.
A weeks holiday on Bryher, Isles of Scilly, somewhere I had always wanted to go. Why the most expensive? Well, we have been back 15 times since……
A massive pie.
highly recommended.
Went touring with friends for a few days from Aviemore - Inverness - ft William - Oban. Doable for everyone, great times. No tangible gift but probably the best "present" for them all to come along
(They also bought me a bottle of Scapa 16 whisky, a favourite which had stopped being made - nice touch).
Roberts custom built road bike from Mrs Kilo and a trip to the Ghent 6.
Close friends and family chipped a few quid each and bought me a new snowboard. I was well happy.
A chainsaw and a weekend off D I bxstxrd Y
Once in a lifetime trip to Lofoten Islands - a place I'd always wanted to go to but never managed until then.
Mine fell slap bang in the middle of lockdown last summer, so was a bottle of gin and a stack of IOU’s to “do something nice when we’re allowed” that, if I’m honest I’m not expecting to come to fruition.
Nothing as far as I remember. In fact, come to think of it, I'm not sure anyone's ever bought me anything of any significance for any of my birthdays. I'm 50 in a fortnight, anyone want to buy me a nice pair of socks?
I got some nice knives. A 2 day Indian cookery course at a very good chef school.
I bought myself a hewitt cheviot se tourer and did lejog
Can’t remember, it was 27 years ago…
Grum - for my 18th, or my 40th? 😉
For my 40th, it was a Novation Peak. I got a 2nd hand one off eBay. Really handy little beast 🙂
Our kid got me/us tickets for LCD Sound System at Hyde Park, a mountain of class A’s and a first class train ticket to that London
It was quite a weekend 😃
I’m not sure anyone’s ever bought me anything of any significance for any of my birthdays.
I'm glad it's not just me then...
You should definitely ask your parents to pay for that last idea of yours...
I think I got a bottle of whisky. I mean, it was only last November so I should remember, but it was also in lockdown. I know we got a nice takeaway meal from Prashad, though.
Went bankrupt! It was a great year! 🤪
Just been discussing my 40th with my OH. I don't want gifts. A week in Iceland fly fishing.
I am quite jealous of Binners's 40th though!
My dad died on mine. Birthdays have been a bit of a shite concept since.
So using that as a base datum for having a great day, I'm sure yours will be fine and dandy whatever you do or get bought for you.
My friends clubbed together to get me this:
https://thebigcatsanctuary.org/photography/
I very briefly stroked a Tiger (but don't tell the keeper)
This is how close I got.
Just after this I had to wipe Tiger dribble off the lens after the Tiger licked it.
One of the best days of my life.
I got a decree absolute 👍👍
My mother gave me a "surprise" family and friends birthday party at a hotel that has stages most big family events in our lives for more than fifty years. Was a lovely sunny day, the kids played in the outdoor pool, we all had fun. It was great. Presents? Well I bought myself a Titanium Merlin Cyrene - subsequently stolen. I can't recall any others. Activities will trump things when it comes to look back.

My family got me one of these. State of the art.
A bottle of 40 year old port, and a white gold copy of a cheap pewter pendant I'd had on a necklace for 20 years.
My 40th happened last year a few days after the restrictions came back in after christmas. As I wasn't working and all my friends were too far away to even meet in a park I spent the day doing bugger-all and ordering in a pizza. As for presents I got a Haynes Manual for my from-me-to-me 40th present and a new set of tyres for one of the bikes. Never really been a birthday person anyway (having yours a few days after christmas means it's always a bit shit) so doing nothing special sort of suited me. Was planning an Alps trip this summer but that got canned due to restriction uncertainty so haven't done anything special for the big 4-0 at all. Didn't for my 30th either, my 21st was reasonable (met my mates in the pub, nothing special) and my 18th was just a complete disaster. Not planning anything for my 50th.
A party at Carreg Cennen Castle followed by a trip back to Iceland to cycle the Kjolor.
Stuff all
Cotic BFe frame in green that I built up over a few months. Its still hanging in the garage, I'll be 49 next week.
My fabulous wife took me to the British Grand Prix. Which also happened to have Mansells FW14b running as a bonus! I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Such a great weekend.
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Wife got me VIP tickets for Wales v All Blacks in a few weeks - limo from home, the works.
Mum and Dad got me MTB coaching with Andrew Mee.
5 year old got me an imaginary dragon that lives in the back garden.
Made up with all of that!
For my 40th i got my first (and only) child
He was a few days late though, ive told the wife for my 50th i want a present that dosen't cry, piss, shit, eat and sleep
For my 60th i want him to move out!
Just thinking back to other 'landmark' birthdays:
Don't remember doing anything for my 18th, (probably went to the pub and got pissed)
Was away camping on my 21st and forgot it altogether
On my 30th I had just moved to a new city and was crashing at someone's place. My girlfriend refused to go out, so I went to meet the one person I knew for a pint, and then went back to kip on the floor.
At least I managed a party for my 40th!
For my 40th i got my first (and only) child
My old man (courtesy of my sister) got his first grandchild, same day. There seems to be a bit of hero worship back and forth between them, but it's nice to see considering she's now 37
Thanks for the reminder of good times
I got to drive 1600km (with my family and all of our bikes) to do this*
And then when the weather went south we drove 300km to this
I suppose I also made that trip an excuse to buy a new bike to it justice 😛
*Disclaimer - i don't appear in these videos








