50th birthday gifts for Mum or Dad
Your Mum or Dad has 50 years of stories. This is how you capture them.
A professionally printed hardback book of their life, in their own words. If you’re looking for 50th birthday gift ideas for Mum or Dad, this is one to start while every early memory is still sharp.
That covers everything: the guided questions, a question emailed each week, Alyson’s personal help, and one premium near-A4 hardback. Extra copies for the family are £50 each.
Nearly A4 · premium hardback · up to 200 pages · printed & bound in the UK
A real page from a finished YourStory book
See the questions first
Get a free sample of the book and the questions we ask, sent straight to your inbox.
Fifty years of memories, and the early chapters are still vivid. The house they grew up in, the friends who got them into trouble, the job that nearly didn’t happen. All of it gathered into a beautiful hardback book while every detail is still there to be told.
It isn’t a summing-up. It’s the story so far, written down while it’s easy.
How it works
You buy the gift
It takes about five minutes. Choose when the gift notification reaches your parent, on the morning of their birthday if you like, and add your own personal message.
They tell their story, at their own pace
Each week we email your parent one of their questions. They simply reply to that email with their answer and it goes straight into their book, or they can log in to answer whenever suits them. Most people start with our Perfect Path, ten of our most popular questions, then choose from over 200 more covering their whole life, or add as many of their own as they like. There’s no deadline and no pressure.
We make the book
They add their own photos and choose how the book looks. Once they’re happy, we print it as a premium hardback and post it to them within 10 to 14 days.
“I’m Alyson, and I run YourStory with my Brother David. I read every story before it goes to print* because this isn’t a factory, it’s a family.” *if you’d like me to
We started YourStory after losing our Dad young and watching our Nana’s memories fade. We know what it means to capture a life while there’s still time.
Real families, real stories
A proper book
Most memory books are the size of a paperback. Ours is nearly A4, 189mm by 246mm. The kind of book you display rather than tuck away in a drawer. Premium hardback, printed and bound in the UK, up to 200 pages.
What’s included
- A free read-through by Alyson before it goes to print, if you’d like one.
- Complete privacy. No one sees the book unless you choose to share it.
- Easy access, by email or login, whenever and wherever.
- Want to stay involved? Join as an invited storyteller to log in, follow along and add your own memories as the book takes shape.
- A premium hardback, printed and bound in the UK.
- A genuine 30-day money-back guarantee from the day you buy: if they would rather not do it, just email us within 30 days for a full refund.
No risk to you: a genuine 30-day money-back guarantee from the day you buy. If your parent would rather not do it, just email us within 30 days for a full refund.
Unlike US subscription services, there’s no annual fee and no auto-renewal. One payment, printed and bound here in the UK.
50th birthday gift ideas that aren’t another gadget
Searching for 50th birthday gifts for men or women, or a 50th present for him or her? Fifty is a hard birthday to buy for. They’re busy, they’re settled, and they already own the thing they’d have bought themselves. A gadget or a day out is lovely for a weekend. This is something they’ll add to over months, and that their own children will read one day. It works just as well from a husband, wife or partner as it does from a son or daughter.
How we compare
Life at fifty is busy. That’s why there’s no deadline here, and no subscription quietly renewing in the background.
| Us | USA services | DIY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed & bound | In the UK | Shipped from the USA | You arrange it |
| The book | Near-A4, full colour, up to 200 pages | Smaller, black & white as standard | Varies |
| Pace | No deadline, your own pace | 12-month deadline | Your own |
| Renewals | One-off, never auto-renews | Auto-renewing subscription | None |
| Personal help | Alyson reads every book | App or FAQ only | None |
The bits you might be wondering about
What if they don’t think their stories are interesting?
They always are, and at fifty they’re closer to the early ones than they’ll ever be again. Our questions are written to coax out the bits people forget are worth telling.
“When my daughter presented me with this project to write my story, I was initially apprehensive, but being prompted by the questions I quickly began to enjoy the experience and we both had great fun reminiscing.”— Marion B.
What if they’re not great with technology?
At fifty most people are well used to email, and that’s all it takes. A question arrives each week and they answer by replying, or by logging in from a phone, tablet or laptop whenever it suits them. Alyson is always on hand if they get stuck.
What if they don’t fancy it, or only answer a few questions?
That’s completely fine, and there’s no risk to you. Busy lives come first, there’s no deadline, and even a handful of answers makes a lovely book. If it’s looking a little thin, we’ll gently nudge them with a few more prompts. And if they’d rather not do it at all, just email us within 30 days for a full refund.
Will it be ready for the 50th birthday?
Yes, the gift is ready on the day: a lovely notification with your personal message arrives whenever you choose, and the book comes later. Some people answer a question a week, some save a few up for a quiet weekend, and most spend three to six months on it. Once they’re happy, the finished hardback is printed and posted to them within 10 to 14 days.
Isn’t fifty too young for a life story book?
It’s a fair question, and the honest answer is that fifty is the easiest age to do it. They remember their childhood clearly, their own parents are often still around to check the details, and they have the energy to enjoy the writing instead of treating it as a task. Nothing says a life has to be nearly over before it is worth writing down.
Fifty is the easiest age to start
At fifty, the memories are close enough to reach and far enough away to be interesting. The street they grew up on, their first wage, the music that was playing at their first proper party. It’s all still vivid, and very often their own parents are still around to check the details, settle the arguments and add a few stories of their own.
That’s what makes a fiftieth book special. It can become a conversation across three generations: them, the people who raised them, and you. A question about their childhood might send them round to their mum’s for an afternoon with the photo albums, and that afternoon is part of the gift.
And because they’re only halfway through, nobody is treating it as a summing-up. It’s simply the story so far. There’s no deadline, so if life gets busy they can put it down and pick it back up whenever they like.
Three of the questions they might be asked
What did you want to be, before you knew what you’d become?
Which year of your life would you live again, exactly as it was?
What do you know now that you would tell yourself at twenty-five?
A bit about us
YourStory was born out of a desire to keep our family memories alive. Having lost our Dad young, and witnessed our Nana’s Alzheimer’s journey, we know how it feels to want to preserve a life story before the chance is gone. We’re proud to be a UK based, Sister and Brother run business, here to help you capture the stories that matter while there’s still time to ask.
We donate to the Alzheimer’s Society for every book published.
A 50th birthday gift they’ll keep adding to
One purchase. No subscription, no surprises. The gift arrives in their inbox when you choose, and the story so far starts from there.
Looking at a different milestone? See the 60th birthday, 70th birthday and 80th birthday life story book pages, or a book for your parents.