40th Birthday Gift Ideas for Your Husband

Forty lands differently for every man. Some treat it as a joke, and some go quiet for a week before it. The best 40th birthday gift for a husband says you are glad to be halfway through life with him, not that he is getting old. Here are 12 ideas, and our top pick is a song about him, because it gives you a way to say that out loud.

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12 40th birthday gift ideas for your husband

1. A song about him at 40 ($39.90). The man he was at 20, the dad he turned into, the thing he always mutters when the car will not start. Share it, and Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours.
2. A weekend with his oldest friends. Men at 40 often go months without seeing the friends they grew up with. Organize a cabin, a golf trip or a city weekend with three or four of them. His share usually runs $200 to $600.
3. Good noise-cancelling headphones. For the commute, the flight, or twenty minutes of peace in a loud house. Usually $150 to $350.
4. A discovery flight. If he always said he would learn to fly, a first lesson puts him in the pilot's seat with an instructor beside him. Usually $150 to $300.
5. A round at the course he has always wanted to play. Or a set of lessons if his swing needs help. Expect $100 to $400.
6. A bottle to open at 50. Buy a good whisky or wine that will keep, write the date on the label and put it away until his next milestone. Usually $60 to $200.
7. A family portrait session. He is usually the one holding the camera, so there are hardly any photos of him with the kids. A photographer for an hour usually costs $200 to $500.
8. Something from his youth, restored. His first guitar, the bike in his parents' garage, his old baseball glove. A repair shop can bring it back for $50 to $300.
9. A night away in your own city. Book a hotel twenty minutes from home, find someone to watch the kids and go out for dinner. Usually $150 to $350.
10. A backyard pizza oven. A gift for the weekends ahead, and a reason to have friends over. Usually $300 to $600.
11. The front page from the day he was born. A framed newspaper from his birth date, easy to order online. Usually $30 to $80.
12. One very good jacket. A tailored blazer or a proper wool coat he can wear for the next ten years. Expect $300 to $900.

How to choose for his 40th

Watch how he talks about turning 40 in the weeks before. If he is joking about it, lean into fun. If he seems a little flat, choose something that reminds him who he is and who loves him.

• If he is a thrill-seeker: the flying lesson, the golf round or the weekend with his friends.
• If he is worn out: the headphones, the night away or the pizza oven.
• If he is sentimental: the song, the restored guitar or the bottle for 50.

What to write in his 40th birthday card

Skip the over-the-hill line. Most men have heard it from every coworker by lunchtime. Instead, write three short things. First, a memory from the year you met, as specific as you can make it. Second, something he does now that you have noticed and never mentioned, like the way he checks the locks every night or waits up when the kids are out late. Third, one plan for the next ten years, just the two of you. It takes ten minutes to write, and he will keep the card in his desk drawer long after the party.

Make his 40th birthday song

Create a 40th birthday song for your husband. Tell us about him, and his song is ready within 24 hours. If his birthday is tomorrow, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: 40th birthday songs and milestone birthday song ideas.