To make Wealthtender free for readers, we earn money from advertisers, including financial professionals and firms that pay to be featured. This creates a conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Read our editorial policy and terms of service to learn more. Wealthtender is not a client of these financial services providers.
➡️ Find a Local Advisor | 🎯 Find a Specialist Advisor
Is a woman in your life retiring? Whether it’s your wife, mother, sister, or aunt, this major milestone deserves to be recognized and celebrated.
Years of hard work have come and gone, her proverbial hat’s soon to be hung up, and she’s readying herself for a whole new chapter of life. It’s a significant moment – a rite of passage, even – and you’d like to celebrate it by giving this special lady a well-deserved retirement gift.
But now comes the tricky part…
What should you buy?! What are the best retirement gifts for women? What items or experiences will they appreciate, treasure, and use? In the coming article, we’ll do our best to help. Read on for 7 retirement gifts for her that tick all the right boxes.
1. Personalized Jewelry
Timeless, generous, and superbly sentimental, personalized jewelry is a classic retirement gift for women that she’s sure to appreciate. From locket necklaces with a photo of you both inside to delicate bracelets with a few thoughtful words engraved upon them, it’s a gift she’ll treasure for years to come.
Of course, the piece of jewelry itself would probably suffice! But we definitely recommend you personalize it. After all, the presence of an engraved message, the date of their retirement, their initials – or anything else of that ilk – tailors it to the recipient and makes it extra special in the process.
2. Spa Days for the Special Lady
After decades of early mornings and stressful days, retirement’s a well-earned opportunity to step back, relax, and revel in the final third of life. If you want to assist your female friend in that endeavor and help get the unwinding process off to a winning start, then consider buying her a spa day!
Another of the best retirement gifts for women, an afternoon of pampering will be a perfect way to show how much you appreciate and care for her. Furthermore, she should walk away from the massages and manicures feeling rejuvenated and ready for whatever her golden years will hold – and have you to thank for it.
3. Customized Photo Albums
A handmade album full of cherished photos is one of the best budget-friendly retirement gifts for women we can think of. Rather than spending lots of money on a material item they may never use, you take the time to collate a meaningful photobook that she can hold onto forever, reminiscing with every turn of the page.
Don’t worry if you lack the time to create it the old-fashioned way, though. A range of services, such as MILK books and VistaPrint, now let you do it online. Simply upload your photos, put them in position, and order a copy to get the finished product delivered to your door.
4. Flowers and/or Plants
As symbols of life, vitality, and new beginnings, flowers and house plants make particularly thoughtful retirement gifts. Oh, and the fact they’re beautiful and – in the case of house plants – become treasured additions to the home doesn’t hurt either!
If this doesn’t seem like enough of a gift, though, consider combining it with something else. For example, a bouquet of her favorite flowers would make a lovely addition to those personalized pieces of jewelry we talked about earlier. Or why not greet her on her final day of work with some flowers and then cook her favorite meal in the evening? It’ll mark the occasion, make her smile, and show you care.
Expert Insights: What Retirement Gifts do Financial Advisors Suggest for Women?
My favorite retirement gift for women is Storyworth. Storyworth is a service that collects their favorite stories and memories and preserves them in a beautifully bound book. The subscription sends questions via email as often as you’d like. You can use Storyworth’s questions and add in your own written questions.
Storyworth gives women the opportunity to receive questions meant to bring to life buried memories and perspectives previously unknown. Like, who was their first boss? What was their favorite job? What beliefs do they have? How do they like to spend a lazy day? What do they admire most about their family members? Many people have legendary memories that get told time and time again through the years, but they don’t necessarily scratch the surface of who they were when they were young, their career history or what they are really looking forward to in retirement.
I gifted Storyworth to a client last year and have learned so much about her as a child, her testimony, how she fell in love with her husband, her bucket list items and what she loves most about each family member. She said it was the most thoughtful gift she had ever received! My client’s legacy will be known for generations to come.
Alexis Woodward, CFP®, CKA®, CDAA | Blend Wealth
5. Short Breaks/Trips Away
Unless the lady in your life’s a true home bird, you really can’t go wrong with travel-related gifts. They’re generous, meaningful, and provide happy memories that last long after the trip itself ends. With that in mind, why not pay for a short break in her favorite state? Or arrange a weeklong getaway somewhere further afield?
Remember, for all the positive connotations surrounding it, retirement’s a big change that can take some getting used to. Going on a trip will help them celebrate the shift, ease them into it, and provide an opportunity to process this new beginning.
6. Cooking Classes
For ladies who love to cook – or want to get better at it – a set of cooking classes would be a practical (and tasty!) gift to take advantage of in retirement. Take a look at what’s available in your area. Any hands-on classes that revolve around their favorite dishes, foods, or types of cuisine are sure to be happily received.
If you’d like to make this gift extra special, then consider doing the classes with her. That way, she’d get to learn some new culinary skills and eat some delicious new food, while also spending quality time with you. The shared nature of the experience could turn into the most precious part of the present.
7. Gift Baskets
Gift baskets are like the buffet dinners of the gift-giving world. Ideal when you can’t think of any single thing to give, you get to combine lots of smaller gifts into one thoughtful package. This has multiple advantages, but chief among them is that it improves your chances of giving her something she’ll like!
There are many ways to do it too. The easiest is to pick a theme (e.g., artisanal cheeses or vegan beauty products) and buy a readymade gift basket from a service like Gift Tree or Man Crates. But you’ll get extra brownie points if you put it together yourself – thinking about what she’d like, sourcing each item, and then assembling everything into an attractive package.
Buy the Best Retirement Gifts for Women
Gifts are great ways to mark someone’s retirement, celebrate this exciting new phase of life, and show how much you care. Unfortunately, they can also be tricky to choose from! If you’re on a quest to find the best retirement gifts for women and know the struggle, then we hope the suggestions above have been useful.
With a wide range of gift ideas to choose from, there should be something in there that does the trick.
➡️ Related Article: Unforgettable Retirement Gifts for Men
Find a Retirement Financial Advisor on Wealthtender
📍 Click on a pin in the map view below for a preview of financial advisors who can help women approaching retirement transition into their golden years with a personalized plan. Or choose the grid view to search our directory of financial advisors with additional filtering options.
📍Double-click or pinch pins to view more.
Related Articles from Wealthtender:
To make Wealthtender free for readers, we earn money from advertisers, including financial professionals and firms that pay to be featured. This creates a conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Read our editorial policy and terms of service to learn more. Wealthtender is not a client of these financial services providers.
➡️ Find a Local Advisor | 🎯 Find a Specialist Advisor