50th Birthday Gift Ideas for Your Husband

Fifty is a big one, and you have probably been thinking about it for months. The best 50th birthday gift for a husband looks back at the life he has built and gives him something to look forward to. Here are 12 ideas, from free to a real splurge. Our top pick is a song about his first fifty years, because no card has room for everything you want to say.

Hear what a Songbond song sounds like

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 50th birthday gift ideas for your husband

1. A song about his first fifty years ($39.90). The town he grew up in, the job he took to support the family, the joke he has told at every barbecue since your wedding. Share them, and Songbond turns them into an original song.
2. A trip back to where you met or honeymooned. Stay in the same town and eat at the same place if it is still open. Usually $400 to $2,000, depending on distance.
3. A video of messages from the people in his life. Ask family, old friends and former coworkers to record thirty seconds each on their phones, then put them together into one short film. Free to about $50 with a simple app.
4. Tickets to the big one. A final, a championship game or the tournament he has watched on TV every year. Usually $300 to $1,500 for two, so this is the splurge on the list.
5. A quilt made from his old T-shirts. The concert shirts, the college shirt, the one from his first 5K. A quilter turns 20 to 30 of them into a blanket for $100 to $250.
6. An ancestry kit and a framed family tree. Plenty of men get curious about where they come from around 50. The kit usually costs $60 to $150, and framing the finished tree adds a little more.
7. A first edition of the book he loved. The novel he read at 16, or a signed copy from his favorite author. Anywhere from $50 to $500.
8. A proper reading chair. Leather or a sturdy fabric, with a lamp and a small side table. Usually $400 to $1,200, and it becomes his spot in the house.
9. A guided fishing trip. A full day on a river or lake with a guide who knows the water. Usually $200 to $600.
10. A day in the car he drove at 18. Rent a classic of the same model for a day and take the long way to lunch. Usually $200 to $500.
11. A letter from each of your children. Ask them to write about one thing they learned from their dad. It costs nothing, and he will read them more than once.
12. His song as a keepsake plaque. If you choose the song, a printed plaque of it can hang in his study or sit on a shelf long after the party is over.

How to pick for his 50th

Ask whether he wants to look back or look ahead this year. Some men want the stories and the old friends at 50. Others want something new to do with the next decade.

• If he loves the past: the song, the T-shirt quilt or the classic car day.
• If he wants something new: the ancestry kit, the fishing trip or the big game.
• If he needs rest: the reading chair or the trip back to where you met.

Which gifts to give at the party

A 50th often comes with a party, and not every gift belongs in front of a crowd. Give the private ones, like the letters from the children or a song full of inside jokes, in the morning, just the two of you, before the day gets busy. Save the public ones for the party. The video of messages works well on a big screen after dinner, and tickets make a good moment when he opens the envelope with everyone watching. If you play a song at the party, do it after the speeches, when the room is ready to be quiet, and tell the DJ in advance so it starts on cue.

Make his 50th birthday song

Create a 50th birthday song for your husband. Share his stories, and his song is ready within 24 hours. If the party is tomorrow, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: 50th birthday songs and milestone birthday song ideas.