Mo’s 60th Birthday Letter Bonanza

For my Mum’s 60^th birthday gift we wanted to give her something extra special to open to remind her how important she is to us. At the time we first set out to do this we really had no idea our gift would provide so much delight and that the end result would be quite as wonderful as it was. 

In the first instance my sister Beth took to Google in search of unique gift ideas. This is where she came across the article ‘Sixtyyears of Memories’ on a girl called Holly’s ‘Nothing But Bonfires’ blog. Holly, from San Francisco, asked 60 of her Dad’s friends to secretly send her a memory of him, and then she neatly enveloped each one for him to open. Beth read about it and an ‘OMG we have to do this’ moment was quick to follow. 

We thought this would make for a great gift with lots of sentimental value and proceeded to mail all of our Mum’s contemporaries to ask if they would contribute a memory. Here is what we wrote:

Hello,

Our Mum, Maureen Colston, turns 60 next month on Friday the 14^th of August. To celebrate her birthday, we'd like to put together a little surprise to let her know that we are all thinking of her and to remind her why she is so special. We're going to try and create "60 Years of Memories" by filling 60 envelopes with a nostalgic note from her friends and family.

If you have a spare moment in the next few days, we would be grateful if you'd jot down something to say what makes Mo special with a nice memory or any favourite memories that you have of her. This can be as short or as long as you like, and you can mention anything at all. Find enclosed a card to write on, or feel free to use your own.

To keep it a surprise, please post your lovely letter to our Dad’s work address. Alternatively email us and we will print and place them in an envelope.

Thanks so much,

From Sarah and Beth XX

Her friends remarked that the idea was ‘so sweet’ and ‘a lovely thought’.

We put all the letters in a big silver box with some little pieces of memorabilia such as photographs and gifts. After a small family doo the box was given to her along with, what mum likes to call, ‘a nice wee cuppa char’.

Each one resulted in smiles and tears, sometimes both of these combined, as she read through them passing each one around as she went. I think the tears were happy tears because Steve (Beth’s partner) exclaimed ‘mine was meant to be funny’ as he watched her sob.

Each letter offered nostalgia; some were heart felt and romantic, and others were cute tales of a few of adventures shared with pals.

We couldn’t be happier with the response from her friends and acquaintances who wrote a memory and made the gift possible. We were so happy that we were able to remind our mum how special she is.

Everyone’s letters were made into a small album which was given to her one week later during a surprise 60^th Birthday meal celebration.