Turning 40 is a huge milestone and one that deserves to be celebrated with the perfect gift. Not sure what to give? I have 21+ unique and fun 40th birthday gift ideas that she’ll love. There’s something for every personality and taste on this list.
21+ Unique 40th Birthday Gift Ideas for Every Personality
1. Astrology Tea Gift Set
Magic Hour’s astrology tea gift set is such a thoughtful and pretty gift for any tea lover – even for those who really aren’t into astrology. There’s a gift set for every sign that includes:
- Carefully curated and sourced tea based on the person’s sign
- An opalite Moon Tea strainer
- Luxe astrology card
- Gorgeous gift box
You can also find other thoughtful and pretty gifts to include with your set from this shop.
2. Personalized Custom Birth Art
Celebrate the birthday girl and all of her achievements with this fun personalized art keepsake. Customize your gift to include their photos and tidbits about their life.
You can choose a digital download, or you can have the art printed and shipped, ready for gift-giving. No matter which option you choose, she’s sure to love this personalized work of art that celebrates her life.
Related: The Best 40th Birthday Gift Ideas for Men
3. 40 Reasons We Love You
A personalized and thoughtful gift that anyone turning 40 will appreciate. You’ll need to put some time into this one and come up with your own list of 40 things you love about the birthday girl. You can include fun memories, silly quirks that you love about the person or anything else you adore.
You can choose the color and size of the art to truly make it your own. Just be mindful that this gift does not come printed and framed — you’ll need to handle that yourself.
4. 40th Birthday Hat Squad
If she’s having a big party or heading out into town with friends, then this is one of the best 40th birthday gift ideas. These fun, 80s style hats are perfect for her squad who plans to spend the night partying.
You can personalize each hat by choosing the hat and text colors. You can also choose your desired hat design and even your preferred delivery date.
5. Fierce at 40 Gift Basket
I love this DIY gift basket because it’s loaded with fun, quirky and thoughtful items that are perfect for celebrating the 40th milestone.
You can fill your basket with anything you want, but go with this idea of adding a fun label to each item that plays on the idea of turning 40. For example, you can add the tag “Can’t believe you’re flippin’ 40” to a pair of flip flops. Or you could add “40 sucks” to a lollipop.
Find items that she’ll love and put them all in a pretty gift basket.
6. Personalized 40th Birthday Necklace
A beautiful necklace of four rings to celebrate her four decades of life. This necklace comes personalized with the recipient’s name on the tag and a sweet message.
You can select the birthstone month and your packaging choice (luxury or standard). The ring pendant is made from high-quality .925 sterling silver.
7. 40 Sucks But You Have a “Lotto” Things to Look Forward To
I love this unique gift idea, and you can customize it any way you want. Take a pretty picture frame and arrange a bunch of scratch-off tickets inside. You can add as many tickets as you want to your frame.
Don’t forget to add the cute sign “40 Sucks But You Have a ‘Lotto’ Things to Look Forward To.” You can just print this out yourself and attach it to the frame.
8. Surviving 40 Can
Here’s a fun gift idea that pokes fun at turning 40 and can be customized however you want.
Get a clear paint can and fill it with the things she’ll need to survive her 40s, like marbles (for when they lose them), erasers (to wipe out those mistakes they’ve made), and lollipops (for when life sucks). Feel free to get creative and include whatever you want.
9. 40 Gifts for the 40th Birthday Girl
One of my favorite 40th birthday gift ideas is to go all-out and give them 40 gifts to celebrate this milestone birthday. These don’t have to be big and expensive gifts. They can be small and thoughtful things placed in a cute gift bag. Be sure to add a number to each bag and have her open them in order.
10. Funny 40th Birthday Candle
Does the birthday girl love candles? Gift her this funny candle that pokes fun at this birthday milestone. The label is sure to make her laugh.
This candle is 100% soy and has a calming lavender scent – perfect for dealing with the stress of turning 40.
11. Personalized Wine Glass
A personalized wine glass that celebrates her birthday with a fun “40 & Fabulous” design laid into the glass.
She’ll love the wine glass and the fact that it has a glittered stem.
Related: 9 Best Birthday Cruises NYC: Your Ultimate Guide to Floating Celebrations
12. 40th Self-Care Birthday Gift Box
This gorgeous self-care gift box is filled with items that she can use to pamper herself on this special day, like an eye mask, candy, warm socks, tea, face masks, and prosecco gummies.
I love that you choose different “sizes” for this gift. For example, you can choose a tiny token gift or a deluxe luxury gift.
13. Birthday Flower Gift Box for Her
One of the prettiest 40th birthday gift ideas on this list. This birthday flower gift box has tons of cute items that she’ll love, like a personalized water tumbler, bath salt, bath bombs, hair clips and more – all customized with her name.
The whole thing comes in a gorgeous gift box, and you can even choose the color you want.
14. I Am 39+ Middle Finger
While maybe a little brash, if you’re good friends with a person and know that they have a humorous side, this is a fun gift to give. This Pin shows a cup with an etching on it that has the words, “I am 39+” and then the middle finger adding the one.
You can find waterproof lettering on Amazon, like these ones, or you can use a Cricut machine to really customize your gift.
15. Makeup Gift Bag
You really need to know the person well to make a makeup gift bag, and it’s one of the best gifts to give. Hitting 40 is a big milestone and one that’s made a little better with options, such as:
And you can add anything else you like to the bag.
16. Custom Charm Necklace
Charm necklaces never go out of style. You can find custom charm necklaces online, especially on sites like Etsy, or you can assemble your own. Urban Outfitters has a lot of cute options, or you can go on an Amazon hunt for special charms that you want to add to the person’s necklace.
17. New Beginnings Box
Hitting 40 is a new beginning – not an end. You can help the person enter their fourth decade on earth with a lot of goodies, such as:
- Creams
- Coffee cups
- Journal and pen
- Succulent plant
- Anything else you can think of
You can purchase these boxes already put together, but it’s always best to make your own because it’s more relevant and thoughtful.
18. Hidden Wireless Phone Charger
I like this gift idea so much that I may go out and purchase one of my own. Hidden wireless chargers are something most people need – even if they don’t realize it. For this one, the charger is inside of a “book,” so no one will ever realize what it is.
But there are a lot of great options for hidden chargers.
Amazon sells a neat charger that attaches to the bottom of a desk table, and the phone sits on a pad on top and charges. If the person is always scrambling to find their charger, one of these might be a great idea.
19. Personalized Vinyl Record with Photo
Personalized vinyl records are one of the 40th birthday gift ideas that the recipient will not expect. You’ll need to judge whether or not the person in your life is an audiophile or not. If they are, you can find these vinyl record plaques and place the person’s photo in the middle.
Gifts like this are truly unique, but you need to make sure that they hit the mark for the person because if they’re not big into music, it may not be received the way that you had hoped.
Related: Planning a 40th Birthday? These 70+ Genius Party Ideas Will Blow Your Mind
20. Bulk Gift Boxes
Sometimes, you want to buy the person a scented candle or a succulent plant or some face cream. Well, you can purchase ready-made gift boxes that include all of these items or assemble your own.
Think of these gift boxes as stocking stuffers filled with a bunch of great, small items that the person will love.
21. Candle Warmer Lamp
A candle warmer lamp offers the perfect ambiance for any space and comes in seven brightness levels. Instead of actually burning your favorite candle, the goal of this lamp is to heat the wax inside to let off the aroma you love with the:
- Flames
- Soot
But be sure to also buy the person a scented candle to go along with the lamp because it’s not included.
22. Money Tree Plant
Should you give the person money? A plant? How about a money tree plant? No, these plants do not grow money (I wish), but they are known for their symbolism. The belief is that these plants bring good fortune and prosperity to all those who care for them.
And as a gift, you might just give someone the good fortune to get a raise, a promotion or the like.
23. Bordeaux Insulated Wine and Cheese Tote
Picnics always sound like such an amazing idea. You sit outside, enjoy nature and eat without a worry in the world. But as everyone approaching 40 knows, there’s always some excuse to avoid picnicking. And with this awesome wine and cheese tote, it’s easy for the recipient to bring the party with them with a tote that has room for:
- Wine
- Glasses
- Cheese
- Cutting board
- Other goodies
