Recently I surprised Mr. TCC with an easy personalized milestone birthday gift for his 50th birthday. This was one of those “big deal” birthdays….hitting the 5-0 mark. While neither one of us gets hung up on age, I wanted to mark the memorable birthday with something really special.
While browsing around on Pinterest I found an image of a personalized birthday gift wall hanging. The poster featured statements about the birthday person and immediately caught my eye.
This was the pin I saw:
I could immediately tell the gift would be an one of a kind piece that would touch his heart. I got in contact with This Happy Mommy and found out that you can purchase various personalized milestone birthday gift layouts on her website ThisHappyMommy.com. You can purchase the downloadable template for just $10. You receive a Photoshop version of the image you pick, in the size you specify (you will need Photoshop to edit the image). You can personalize it with your own words because the text is editable. You can change the title, text, etc.
Initially I was going to purchase the download because I do have Photoshop. I decided that instead of doing that, I would opt for the fully customized copy. I bought the custom copy (for $39.95) in the 16×20 size and immediately This Happy Mommy was in touch to start the process. You can pick from 3 sizes: 11×13, 16×20 and 24×36.
The process of gathering statements
I knew I wanted the “50 things we love about you” to include sentiments from our extended family because to Jim, family is everything. I wanted to gather their thoughts about experiences, memories and characteristics that they love about Jim. I decided to use Facebook messenger and sent everyone a message explaining what I was doing and asking for their responses to the question “what do you love about Jim”. I sent out 24 messages, attaching the image from Pinterest so they understood what I was having created. (Tip: send individual messages or text messages instead of a group message. That way, you are not annoying everyone with a notification every time someone responds. I also found it easier to make a note of the responses as they came in.). Once people started to respond I copied their message and printed it. I gathered the responses in a folder and once I had responses from all 24 people I started a spreadsheet. I knew I wanted to be able to let Jim know who said what on the finished product. Many times people responded with similar statements (like for example, “he is always so helpful”). Most people responded with 2 to 4 statements.
Finishing up the project
Once I had the responses in the spreadsheet and added my own statements, I needed to pare it down to 50. That was tricky, but I didn’t mind because I knew I was creating a special personalized milestone birthday gift.
I emailed the list of 50 statements to This Happy Mommy and less than two days later I received the completed .jpg file via email. She captured the magic of the statements perfectly and I was even more excited now that I could see the personalized milestone gift complete.
I decided to have the poster printed at Walgreens (I had by chance just received a photo promotion code for 40% off – my lucky day). I uploaded the .jpg at Walgreens.com photo service and was able to pick up the finished product the next day. Here is a list of the regular prices for Walgreens poster prints. I assume Walmart or similar places would be about the same.
I then stopped into Walmart and found a perfect poster frame for under $15. The wood look frame will match our flooring in the new home perfectly. You can find frames at most stores with a home decor department or order one from Amazon.com.
The outcome
Once I had the poster framed it was so hard not to give it to Jim right away. I was so excited and thrilled with how it came out. It captured the essence of Jim and I knew he would be floored by the statements everyone shared about him. I wrapped the framed personalized milestone birthday gift and waited until his birthday party.
Needless to say, he loved it!
I think what was more magical about the gift was once everyone left the party and he pulled it back out and took the time to read each statement. Seeing his face as he realized what people love about him was priceless.
I had decided to include a list of everyone’s responses, even those I didn’t include and those that were duplicates. I glued an envelope to the back of the frame and printed the list.
This Happy Mommy provided the perfect personalized milestone birthday gift that touched Jim’s heart. I can not recommend her easy to customize projects enough. She has a wide variety of layouts available online here. Have a question? She is quick to respond, I found communicating with her through the This Happy Mommy Facebook page super convenient.
