Grumpy: Just go with your instincts, think about her... feel all the love you have for her from the deepest recesses of your Heart and Soul... think about all the things she does for you and how much she means to for having her in your life... let your existence feel all that she is to you... look at her everytime she is around and try to sense her.
Then close your eyes and think of her and what would make her truly happy... Feel it inside you Ma'n and let the Goddess of Love guide you!
Just make sure you havent watched porn just before that excercise or it can seriously go wrong.
The other option is to ask felloe Efers and then tell her it was your original idea.
Well, back to the original question.... things that are "in" this summer: white is "the" colour (but hopelessly impractical), as well as very seriously bright colours. Charm bracelets and necklaces are also "in" and there are some really nice ones in all the shops - even high street are doing good cheap versions - I've always been in the "cheap" camp when it comes to accessories - I don't need the real stuff, but some people do prefer it obviously.
There are some really funky bright canvas style handbags in Globus at the moment that I personally would love to get as a gift, in fact I'm gutted that I don't have a summer birthday or any excuse to get one (as I have a hundred handbags already) because I would love one.
Any kind of summer accessories would be a good choice too - something like a pair of bright colour flip flops (with a flower on the top seems to be in) with a bright sarong, a funky hair clip and some sun cream packed into a beach bag for those outdoor pool days that are coming up.
Something hand-crafted is always great.
I love handmade cards with well written words, handmade pralines, a painting, a cake, a well prepared dinner etc.
I would be careful buying jewellery, those charms for example as mentioned, are not really to everyone's taste.
If you tell us what her hobbies/interests are, then we may come up with some further ideias.
Does she do any sports? Arts? What are her interests?
Something hand-crafted is always great.
I love handmade cards with some well written words, handmade pralines, a painting, a cake, a well prepared dinner etc.
You've already had some good ideas already but I'll add my suggestion anyway.
How about lots of little envelopes containing IOU's, maybe one for each month between now and her next birthday. They don't have to be anything fancy or expensive just lots of nice things you could do for her.
You could cook her a nice meal in July, take her out for the day in August, have a champagne breakfast in September, do the cleaning one week in October etc. If you write her a nice little note for each one she will have lots of things to look forward to and not everything is concentrated around her birthday.
Definately don't go down the kitchen appliance route. My husband tried to say that the deep fat fryer he had just bougfht and the vacuum cleaner we needed were for my birthday. He's been walking with a limp ever since
Sadly I think he's passed the bad genes on to our son. I got a Spongebob squarepants sandwich toaster (picture of Bob imprinted on every slice) and a popcorn maker from him for Christmas last year. You can't really moan when they come from a 9 year old though and at least the sanwiches don't have gherkins in.