60th Birthday Gift Ideas for Someone Who Grew Up in the ’70s

Sixty is a big one. It's a birthday that calls for a real celebration, and a gift with more meaning than another gadget or gift card. The trouble is that most people turning 60 already have everything they need.

So skip "need" and aim for "remember." Someone turning 60 this year was born in the mid-1960s and grew up in the '70s: Saturday morning cartoons, Star Wars in the theater, ABBA on the record player, and Jiffy Pop on the stove. A gift that brings those years back is one they'll actually talk about.

Here are unique 60th birthday gift ideas for someone who grew up in the '70s, whether you're shopping for your dad, your mom, your spouse, or your sister, plus ideas for a '70s themed 60th party.

A Gift That Takes Them Back to the '70s

4 Weekly Letters · Nostalgia

The 1970s Nostalgia Series

Four letters from Amy, a friend who grew up in the '70s, mailed one a week with their name woven into every letter.

See the Series

Fiction Mail sends stories as real letters in the mail. In the 1970s Nostalgia Series, Amy's parents are leaving the house they've lived in since 1969, and she's the one sorting through the attic, the basement, the pantry, and her old bedroom. She writes to your birthday person like an old friend from the neighborhood, sharing every treasure she uncovers.

What's inside the four letters

The TV Guides. A box of TV Guides from 1970 to 1979 sends Amy back to the console TV with the channel dial: Sesame Street, Mister Rogers, Saturday mornings with Scooby-Doo and Schoolhouse Rock, Charlie's Angels, Wonder Woman, The Carol Burnett Show, and the line around the block for Star Wars.

The basement. An Atari 2600, the family Monopoly set and its house rules, a Magic 8 Ball, Stretch Armstrong, a pet rock named Herman, a View-Master, a mood ring, and Dad's prized quadraphonic stereo.

The pantry. A can of Billy Beer, Tab, Tang ("the astronauts drink it!"), Hamburger Helper night, Velveeta fondue, Jiffy Pop, Space Food Sticks, and a Jell-O mold or two.

The bedroom closet. A Bay City Rollers album, ABBA's "Dancing Queen" played 157 times, a case of 45s, a Leif Garrett scrapbook, a Bee Gees ticket stub, roller disco skates, and the Farrah Fawcett poster.

Each letter is printed in a realistic handwriting font on its own letterhead, dated, and mailed in a kraft envelope. It's a one-time purchase, and shipping is free in the US.

60th Birthday Gift Ideas for Dad

If Dad had a CB handle, a beloved stereo, or a strong opinion about Star Wars, he'll love a gift that remembers it:

• A vinyl copy of the album he wore out in the '70s, and a modern turntable if his old one is long gone.
• A "year you were born" keepsake, like a framed newspaper front page from his birth date.
• The 1970s Nostalgia letters. Amy's dad is a lot like many of ours, with his "it'll be worth something someday" Billy Beer and his three-day jogging career after Rocky.

60th Birthday Gift Ideas for Mom

For the mom who tried to feather her hair like Farrah, knew every word to "Dancing Queen," and still makes a casserole with cream of mushroom soup:

• A family recipe book with her best dishes, plus a few of the '70s classics she'd rather forget.
• A memory jar filled with notes from her kids and grandkids, one for each of her 60 years.
• The 1970s Nostalgia letters, a few weeks of real mail that feel like catching up with a childhood friend.

60th Birthday Gifts for Your Husband or Wife

You've probably heard their '70s stories a hundred times. Use them. Recreate a date from your early years, frame a photo from the decade you met (or the decade they grew up in), or plan a getaway to a place you've always talked about. Then let the 1970s Nostalgia letters keep the celebration going for a month after the big day.

60th Birthday Gifts for Your Sister

A sister remembers the same TV Guides, the same pantry, and the same arguments over the last Popsicle. Pull together a scrapbook of your childhood photos, gift her a stack of the paperbacks you both read growing up, or send her the 1970s Nostalgia letters and call her every week to compare notes on what Amy found.

Ideas for a '70s Themed 60th Party

• Dress code: bell bottoms, platform shoes, leisure suits, and feathered hair.
• Music: ABBA, the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, the Jackson 5, and a few Casey Kasem countdown favorites.
• Food: a fondue pot, a cheese ball rolled in nuts, deviled eggs, a Jell-O mold, Watergate salad, and Tang punch.
• Decor: lava lamps, a disco ball, and blown-up family photos from the '70s.
• Activities: '70s TV theme song trivia, a roller disco or dance contest, and a table where guests write down their favorite memory of the birthday guest.

Give Them a Gift Worth Remembering

At 60, the gifts that mean the most are the ones that bring back the people, places, and moments that made them who they are. For someone who grew up in the '70s, a month of letters about TV Guides, Tang, and ABBA does exactly that.

Shopping for another milestone? See our gift ideas for a 50th birthday for someone who grew up in the '80s and a 40th birthday for someone who grew up in the '90s, and a 30th birthday for someone who grew up in the 2000s. You'll find more ideas on our birthday gifts for readers page, and in the Fiction Mail Gift Guide.

See the 1970s Nostalgia Series