My mum turned fifty in March. She is the kind of person who spends a lot of time making other people feel celebrated and not nearly enough time letting herself be celebrated, which meant that her fiftieth birthday was, in my view, a significant responsibility. I needed to get it right. Not just adequate — right. Something that said: I see you, I know what you like, and you deserve to be properly looked after today.
I had been thinking about what to get her for weeks. She's not someone who drops hints. She doesn't have a wishlist. She says "don't make a fuss" and means it, which is exactly why you have to make a fuss anyway, just in a way that doesn't feel like one.
What I Was Looking For
My mum works full time, runs the household, and has been putting everyone else first for as long as I can remember. What she almost never does is stop and look after herself. A spa day had been on my mind, but she's not someone who's comfortable being pampered by strangers — she'd spend the whole time worrying about whether she was doing it right. What I wanted was something that brought the spa to her, that she could enjoy in her own time, in her own home, without any performance required.
The Jolof Store 50th Birthday Gift Hamper was exactly that. Ten pieces, thoughtfully curated, everything she needed for a proper home spa session and a few everyday luxuries besides. I read through the contents and felt, item by item, that someone had thought carefully about what a woman turning fifty actually wants rather than what a generic gift guide suggests she should want.
What's in the Box
The hamper includes a 12oz rose gold wine tumbler — which my mum immediately said was "too nice to use" and which I told her was specifically for using — a lavender-scented Happy Birthday candle, a donut-shaped bath bomb, a makeup bag, a compact mirror, a heart-shaped jewellery dish, comfortable socks, a 50th birthday keyring, and a funny birthday card. Ten items, each one chosen for both style and function, presented in a ready-to-gift box that required no additional wrapping on my part, which I appreciated more than I expected to.
The lavender candle was the detail that made me certain I'd chosen correctly. My mum has always loved lavender — she grows it in the garden, she has lavender sachets in her wardrobe, she's been buying lavender hand cream for as long as I can remember. A lavender birthday candle felt like it had been chosen specifically for her rather than generically for a woman turning fifty.
Her Birthday Morning
We gave it to her at breakfast — the whole family, my dad and my brother and me, gathered in the kitchen before she'd had her coffee, which she pretended to be annoyed about and wasn't. She opened the box and went through each item slowly, which is how she opens gifts — properly, giving each thing its moment rather than rushing to the next one.
When she got to the lavender candle she looked up and said "how did you know?" which is the best thing a gift can make someone say. I told her I'd been paying attention for thirty years. She laughed and then looked like she might cry, which she didn't, because she's my mum and she doesn't cry at breakfast.
She used the bath bomb that evening. She lit the candle. She texted me at 9pm: "Having a lovely bath. Thank you darling." That's the whole review, really. That text is the whole review.
The Items She's Used Most
Three months on, the rose gold tumbler is on her desk at work — she caved and started using it, which I'm glad about. The jewellery dish is on her dressing table holding her rings and earrings. The makeup bag has replaced her old one. The keyring is on her keys. The socks, she told me, are "genuinely the most comfortable socks I own," which she said with the slight indignation of someone who didn't expect to be impressed by socks.
The candle is almost finished. She's been burning it on evenings when she wants to wind down, which is exactly what it was for.
My Verdict
If you have someone turning fifty who deserves to feel genuinely celebrated rather than adequately marked — someone who puts everyone else first and needs permission to be looked after — the Jolof Store 50th Birthday Gift Hamper is the one to get. Find it in our Gift Giving collection and our Party & Celebration collection. Make the fuss. She deserves it.
— Kezia Adeyemi
0 comments