80th Birthday Gift Idea

I will admit it is very difficult to come up with a gift for someone turning 80!  They most likely have everything they want or need.  Such is the case with my father in law.  So after searching Pinterest for a while, I took a couple ideas and combined them in to the perfect gift.

80 index cards with 80 special memories that he (my father-in-law)  helped make throughout his lifetime.

My husband has 3 siblings so each family was give the task of completing 20 index cards. One card for each memory they wanted to share.  That was only 20 cards per family.  

If we had to do it again, I probably would have asked extended family and friends for memories, but this worked out fine.  It was not difficult to come up with the memories. 

I painted this box to put them in, something as a special keepsake.

 I collected all the index cards and tied them with a piece of yarn and put them in the box.

During his Birthday Celebration we present him with the box.

We had him read several of the index cards out loud, which of course sparked chatter and laughter from all of us.  It was a great way to make my father-in-law feel special and thank him for all the great memories he has made for the family.

GoldFish Races

GoLdFiSh RaCeS  - Fun, FUn, FUN!!! 

This is a great activity to do at a club meeting, birthday party, carnival or family reunion.

Not a lot of prep work or explaining to be done.

Supplies

2 gutters

goldfish

cups

water

squirt bottles

bracket chart

Basically you need 2 gutters with end caps sealed so they will hold water.  The gutters we used were about 5 feet in length.  On the inside bottom mark the start and finish lines with permanent marker.

Go get the cheap, feeder goldfish from WalMart (about 28 cents each).  Have at least one for each participant.  I recommend buying extra, as we had some that didn't make it from WalMart to our meeting.  

Place the gutters on a table side by side and fill about 1/2 full with water.

Assign each participant a place on a bracket chart.

Have each person pick a goldfish from the tank.  They can hold their goldfish in a plastic cup until it is time for their race. Some may even want to write the name of their goldfish on the cup.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!!!!  

Participants dump their goldfish into the gutter at the starting line.  With the squirt bottles they spray water just behind the goldfish.  The goldfish will start swimming toward the finish line.

If you are unable to get goldfish you can use ping pong balls, but it isn't quite as fun!

Lots of FUN for everyone!