Wedding anniversary present ideas?

[IrishEyes]

Does anyone have any good ideas for an anniversary present?

My parents are celebrating a big anniversary this year. My siblings and I want to get them a really nice present to celebrate. They are both retired and in their 70s but very healthy and active. They both enjoy theater, museums, classic cars and classical music. They love to travel in their RV. They have been all over the country. I thought about giving them a hot air balloon ride for two since that is something I know neither of them have done.

[greymattermom]

1. Find out first if they really want to do it.

How about season tickets to the theater? I'm their age and would love that.

[IrishEyes]

3. I got them season tickets for Christmas

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

2. Do they enjoy cruising? A nice ocean voyage might be nice!

The balloon ride sounds nice though!

[IrishEyes]

4. They don't seem to be interested in going on a cruise.

They were given a weekend in a bed and breakfast. They said it was nice but they would rather be in their home or the the RV. Maybe I can send them on a day cruise on a sailboat.

[Kali]

5. balloon ride sounds pretty cool

fun experience, no crap to store

[nykym]

6. How about a

Scavenger Hunt for them in their RV.
You plan out the hunt and the items culminating in a giant party at the end in honor of their anniversary.

[Frustratedlady]

7. Have you thought of going together to make up a family album?

Gather photos from your childhood to adulthood, the grandkids and spouses of each, homes, etc. We take photos and stuff them away somewhere and maybe your parents have never seen them. You can gather everything together and work with Shutterfly or some other company to compile the book. (You might also plan on making up a book for each sibling, as well.)

As we grow older, we don't have a lot of dreams that you could make come true. I see you thought of cruises, but they weren't interested. I'm 80 and I sure wouldn't be interested. Twenty five years or so ago, my husband and I put together two books and a photo album for our children. His childhood, my childhood and a photo album of their lives up to the point when they married. They all cried when they received them. I have a feeling your parents would do likewise.

Memories are better than any gold.

[csziggy]

13. That's a great idea!

For my mother in law and my Mom we had blankets made with a collage of photos of their children and grandchildren (and for my MIL, great grandchildren) at a place called https://www.collage.com/photo-blankets

My sister had a Groupon coupon and saved a bunch of money for them: https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-customizable-collage-blanket-200

Both mothers loved them. my Mom used hers, MIL hung hers up on the wall so she could see it.

Collage.com has lots of other products and I was very happy with their service. If you do any of their collage items, you upload the photos, the program will automatically arrange them, and then you can shift them around to your satisfaction. It was pretty painless once I collected the digital images from the families.

[Yavin4]

8. "Candlesticks always make a nice gift. "

[IrishEyes]

9. I love that film.

[Cousin Dupree]

10. We had a big anniversary this year. Our sons and their spouses rented a home on the water and

we spent 5 days together with them and the grandchildren. They had dinners planned and took us out to a lovely restaurant one night sans children. The length of time was perfect. We couldn’t have asked for a better gift.

[IrishEyes]

11. My mother would like that but I can't get my sibling to do it.

We all live in different states that are far from each other.

[mnhtnbb]

12. If they like theater, get them tickets to a Broadway show and book a hotel room

for them for a couple of nights. Maybe also a concert at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall?

[IrishEyes]

14. Thank you for the suggestion

Unfortunately, they don't live anywhere near NYC and they don't like to visit very large cities. I will try to find a symphony near where they live. They like classical music.

[mnhtnbb]

17. Our North Carolina Symphony schedules performances all over the state

They play in Chapel Hill, Wilmington, Southern Pines, New Bern, as well as in their home base in Raleigh. There may be other state symphonies which do the same thing so they wouldn't have to travel far and could combine a trip with a concert to also visit a museum or do something else they like.

[RobinA]

15. How About

an RV improvement they have always wanted? Or would be a nice luxury that they've thought about? You'd obviously have to have their input, but there are all kinds of RV upgrades that make life a little easier or more fun.

[Donkees]

16. Arrange for a classical ensemble to play in their honor, as a way to give back to their community

sharing their love of music, perhaps as a charity event (?)

[Tikki]

18. Buy them a complete set of new high end tires for all their vehicles.

They will appreciate this.

The Tikkis

[MissMillie]

19. balloon ride could be risky unless you know they will both enjoy it

A lot of the things you mentioned that they enjoy are things I would enjoy. But you couldn't get me up in a hot-air balloon in a million years. (I would ride any roller coaster any day of the week, as I would only be up in the air for a few seconds, but being up in the air for a few hours... no thanks!)

How about a meal prepared by a private chef?

[jmowreader]

20. TA/Petro restaurant gift card

TA and Petro are truck stop chains with really good restaurants.

A lube/oil/filter service on the RV would also be good.

[NNadir]

21. A manager with a history degree and an MBA is in a balloon and he gets completely lost...

...and he sees someone on the ground.

He yells down to the guy on the ground "Hey you! Where am I?"

The guy yells back, "You're in a hot air balloon at an altitude of approximately 45 meters, traveling South-Southwest with an airspeed velocity of 2 meters per second."

The manager yells back, "Hey you must be an engineer! Your answer is correct, but it is completely useless to me."

The engineer yells back, "You must be a manager! You got where you are with a lot of hot air and don't know where you are or where you're going, and now you want to tell me it's my fault."

[IrishEyes]

22. That is a good joke for my parents.

One of them was an executive. The other one was an engineer. They are both retired now.