Retirement Gift Ideas for Women

Whether she is a friend, a sister, a boss or a longtime colleague, a woman who is retiring has usually spent decades being the dependable one. The best retirement gifts for women give her permission to be a beginner again and a way to spend weekdays however she likes. Here are 12 ideas at a range of prices. Our top pick is a song about her career, because a send-off speech lasts five minutes and a song is something she can play again.

What a Songbond song sounds like

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry her name and the stories you share about her.

12 retirement gift ideas for women

1. A song about her career ($39.90). Share where she worked, what she built there and the story everyone tells about her, and Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours. It works as a gift from one person or from a whole group.
2. An e-reader loaded with a dozen books. Pick titles she has mentioned and load them before you wrap it. Usually $100 to $200.
3. A watercolor class and a travel paint set. Painting is easy to start and easy to take on trips. Around $50 to $200.
4. Language lessons before a big trip. If she has talked about Italy or Portugal for years, a term of lessons makes the trip feel real. Around $100 to $300.
5. A soft robe for weekday mornings. Her mornings used to be rushed. Now they are hers. Usually $50 to $150.
6. A carry-on bag and a travel journal. For the trips she has been saving up for. Usually $80 to $250 together.
7. A yoga or pilates class pack. Good for her body, and a new group of people to see each week. Around $100 to $250.
8. A charm bracelet with one charm per chapter. A charm for each job, city or milestone in her working life. Usually $80 to $300.
9. A cooking class in a cuisine she loves. Thai, French or fresh pasta, on a weekday evening. Usually $80 to $150 a class.
10. Flowers for her first three months. A delivery every few weeks marks the new season of her life. Around $40 to $80 a delivery.
11. Tickets to a weekday matinee. A play or a concert at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday, because now she can. Usually $60 to $200.
12. Calling cards with her name and a new title. A small printed card with her name, her number and a word like traveler, gardener or grandmother. A light gift at $20 to $50 that she will actually hand out.

How to choose for her

Think about what she used to say she never had time for. That is usually the answer. If you know her mainly through work, lean toward something that helps her start the next chapter. If you know her well, lean toward something that shows you noticed who she is.

• If she is adventurous: the language lessons, the carry-on or the cooking class.
• If she is creative: the watercolor set, the e-reader or the matinee tickets.
• If she is sentimental: the charm bracelet, the flowers or the song.

How to give it at her send-off

Retirement parties tend to be loud, rushed and full of speeches. If your gift is personal, find a quieter moment for it. Hand her the card near the end of the evening, or bring the gift to her home the following week when the noise has stopped. If you are giving a song, ask the host to play it right after the last speech, when the room is already paying attention. Then make sure she has it to hear again on her own.

Make her retirement song

Create a retirement song for her. Tell us about her working life and what she means to you, and her 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: the best retirement party songs and thank-you songs for a mentor.