What a very serious bunny.

What kind of things does your co-worker like? Is she a girlie-girl? A tomboy? Mumsy? Trendy? Cool? Freaky?

Pragmatic, organized, efficient, and generally happy-go-lucky.

Hmm... I'm usually good at finding gifts but I'm at a bit of a loss here. There's a rough plan of taking her out to the strip clubs (spearheaded by another female co-worker).

OTOH, anyone ever get a memorable 30th bday present?

How about a voucher for a day spa.

I think Essexjan’s idea of a day-spa voucher is great; my mom used to give these to me and my sisters every once in a while and they were the best, most appreciated presents.

My initial idea was related, in that I think you shouldn’t make a big deal out of the 30th, but that you should give your friend something that she can have some kind of relatively uninhibited fun with. Certainly nothing that has a “last hurrah” feel to it or that reminds her of the (surprisingly resilient) idea that 30 is some sort of terminal point for pleasures that aren’t laden with responsibility.

A possible variation on the day spa would be that if it suited her, you could give her tickets to see a band that she likes. I have one friend who, post-thirty, said “I can’t go out to hear music any more, it makes me feel like an anthropologist.” That really stuck with me – yikes! -- and I wished I had been around when she turned 30 to take her out to a club.

30 happened to me during a bad year in general in my life. All I got that year was a cake and the happpy birthday song from my job. Of all the gifts I have ever gotten, just my co-workers remembering me when my friends and family didn't made my year. Sometimes the best gifts are not tangible items.

The spa is a good idea. We got that for the winter holidays from the office last year. Manicures, pedicures, and facials for all. So relaxing, and a lot of fun.

We generally don't give gifts at my office, other than for major birthdays. The last two (a 50 and a 30) were gift certificates to fancy resturants.

OTOH, anyone ever get a memorable 30th bday present?

um, I got carded for a lottery ticket?

seriously, turning 30 can be great, or it can be weird, it all depends on the recipient. I echo goml's sentiments completely btw.

essexjan is onto something for sure, I think the dayspa thing may be a very good idea.

keep in mind 30 can be a big deal, in a bad way, to some women. even if they blow it off, it IS the 'end of your twenties', etc, etc, etc, and even tho I agree this is pretty much bullshit, you can't help thinking of these things at that time and if you're the type to agonise about such trivia, it can be a bit of a mindfuck.

have fun, whatever you do.

Ahh, bunny powers are indeed awesome, thanks all! (If you've got more suggestions, suggest away!)

I'm being sold on the day-spa thing; but most of us are poor students. I'm leaning towards 'passing a hat around' and see how much spa we can get out of it. I guess the next thing is to decide whether to get a gift cert from a highly-rated dayspa or from a place closer to where she lives...

Well, I'm sat at work, completely shattered having just (the night before) finished making a 30 minute documentary for a friends 30th birthday. We filled it with a couple of skits, birthday greetings, phone calls, photo's and songs.

It took forever to do.
Hours and hours and hours of work.
& it's only 30 minutes long.

How actual editors do this sort of thing is beyond me.

If you ever decide to do anything like that, may I also suggest that an old mac-mini with 512 MB of RAM is not the correct platform for such a venture.

//

Another cheap, fun but time consuming present is to find a bunch of witty stuff (include recepies) on the internet, add photo's and personal messages and get it printed.

You could do a twist on the day spa thing and get her a manicure/pedicure as a gift. It's not as expensive as a full massage or facial, but it sure feels great.

I don't remember any outstanding 30th birthday gifts. I was pregnant with my second son at the time, and my now ex was a beast so I possible didn't get any.