a birthday diy

Last week a very good friend of mine turned 30 and I had no clue what to get her. I wanted her gift to be special & memorable, but knew she didn't want to make a huge deal out of the big 3 - 0.

Instead of one "big" gift I decided to put together a semi-homemade present. I called it the "dirty 30 survival kit" & it included 4 bags of smaller gifts all tied together by an activity designed to keep her young at heart. 

You could easily {and cheaply} use 4 small boxes and put them all in one large box, but I opted for bags. I used regular brown gift bags which I cut the handles off of and tied up with ribbon. Each bag also had a little note clipped to the top with a mini-clothespin. 

The main note read: "Now that you're 30 you may be wondering were the years went. This emergency kit is filled with suggestions to keep you young at heart."

Bag #1 "Have a Slumber Party": this bag had a cute set of pajamas, a sleeping mask and 2 slumber party ready DVDs {Love Actually & Magic Mike}

Bag #2 "Play Dress Up": I found some super cute sunglasses at Anthro & paired them with a necklace and a few pairs of earrings.

Bag #3 "Give Yourself a Makeover": Nail polish, files and pedicure kit.

Bag #4 "When in Doubt..Drink!": This bag had the largest bottle of merlot I could find, some cute paper straws tied up in ribbon and some single serving cans of champagne.

She really enjoyed opening up each bag to find fun surprises. I think it was the perfect balance of homemade & store bought. My survival kit managed to keep turning 30 a fun, light affair, but was still more special than any other birthday!

Here's the after: 

{Nailed it!}