A Big Happy 30th Birthday to Mr. Finn


Today is a very special day…it’s my husband Finn’s 30th birthday! I remember back when we celebrated his 18th birthday and I was so excited to go all out for his big day. I ended up getting his favorite things…18 of them. Diet Coke, a basketball, his favorite candy, etc. I wrapped up each gift and he just beamed when he saw all of the gifts. It was a really special time and I still remember it all these years later.

Finn and I in 2005, right around his 18th Birthday
2005, right around his 18th Birthday

Now here we are at the big 3-0, and I had absolutely no idea what to do for him. I think I started a little too strong at the age of 18, ha!
Finn's birthday always falls around March Madness, so planning a party would be hard.

Since Finn’s birthday always happens during March Madness he usually asks that we just keep it low-key so he can watch all of the games. So even though I did want to throw a big 30th birthday party, I knew it probably wouldn’t be what he wanted. But I still wanted to show him how loved he is by all of the people in his life. So I came up with another plan…

30 Years of MemoriesI opted for thirty years of memories from 30 of Finn's friends as part of his gift.

A couple of months ago, I reached out to 30 of his closest friends and family and asked them to email me a favorite memory of Finn. It didn’t have to be anything crazy, just a paragraph was all I was looking for. A couple of weeks later, and the emails started rolling in!I printed each of the letters, put them in envelopes and tied them up nicely.

I received so many beautiful letters from Finn’s favorite people. Memories from his childhood, pictures from long ago, and stories about him that I had never even heard. Every single person I asked wrote back to me and I ended up with 30 letters for my birthday boy! I printed them all out, put them in envelopes (along with some of the photos), and tied them up with some pretty string. By the time Finn reads this post, he’ll have received all of his letters. I cannot wait to give them to him!

Time to #ExploreI had to get Finn some "real" gifts too.

With the personalized part of the present crossed off my list, I still wanted to get my guy a few other things he would love. As I’ve mentioned before, our word for the year is “explore” and we’re trying to travel as much as possible before starting a family. I decided to go with that as my theme for his birthday gifts.Our word for this year is "explore", so I went with a travel theme.

After lots of online shopping, I ended up getting him a monogrammed leather passport cover, this awesome bucket list book (seriously can’t wait to fill it out together), and a nice rain jacket from Patagonia that he can use for our upcoming Iceland trip. I also got one of those little Polaroid Instax cameras, along with extra film, and a photo album that is just waiting to be filled up with pics from our travels!ย I wrapped them in fun wrapping paper with travel accessories.

I got some wrapping paper from HomeGoods and then picked up some travel accessories in the scrapbooking section of Michaels to bring the theme together. I’m hoping he’ll love all of the fun items to celebrate our upcoming year of travel together.The birthday boy himself, ready for the big 3-0.

When trying to figure out what to get Finn for his 30th birthday, I did a lot of research looking for ideas. I wasn’t sure if I would blog about what I got him, but I figured if I could give at least one of you out there some guidance for an upcoming birthday then the post would be well worth it!

If you have someone in your life who is hard to buy for consider doing a theme. I promise it makes shopping a lot easier! And if you want a personalized gift, the 30 years of memories was another idea I’m happy I ran with.

Happy 30th Birthday Mr. Finn
Casey and Finn share a fun smooch on the street.

A big happy 30th birthday to my favorite guy. A guy who always makes me laugh, who makes me feel safe, and who makes every day special. I love you Mike Finn and I am blessed to be your wife. Here’s to 30 more years together side-by-side.

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.