The Best Retirement Gifts for Women at Any Age
When you first think of the word "retirement" you might picture someone older, wrinkler, and has had quite the impressive resume, but as much as that might be the common trope, it actually isn’t true for every retiree. Typically people will retire when they have reached a degree of financial independence to support their day-to-day living as well as any extra expenses and purchases they need to or want to make.
This can happen for people way younger than the typical retirement age which is 62-63 years old as of 2024 according to the Guardian. That number hasn’t always been the same, in the 90’s it was 57, and yes, while the overall retirement rate has increased over the years thanks to longer life expectancy and economic fluctuations; there are still those who find themselves lucky enough to retire in their 40s.
Retiring is a pretty big deal, you can go from working a typical 40 hour work week to being at home all the time at the drop of a hat and that can be a big change for some. You’ll actually find a lot of retirees will take up volunteer or part time gigs to fill their time with something as, as much as it pains us to admit, doing nothing forever can get quite boring after a while. Celebrating this accomplishment with activities and gifts is an easy way to make this transition a little less jarring, so we thought we’d find the best retirement gifts for women just in case you’re looking to get them something for that upcoming date.
A Sentimental Start To The Retirement 🫂
Milestones deserve to be recognized with gifts that appropriately commemorate their achievements. So it only makes sense that we start off this list with a few gifts on the sentimental side to real ring in this new chapter of her life all while looking back on all the amazing things she’s done in the past:
An Engraved Gift
A personal, yet practical and professional gift is the perfect thing to get her. Image courtesy of: Things Remembered.
If you are shopping for a fellow employee or you are their boss, then there’s a good chance you want to find a gift that’s both professional and personal, and we’ve found the perfect place to get to for exactly that:
Things Remembered is an online shop where you can get almost anything engraved for almost any occasion. They list a number of gifts for birthday’s, holidays, seasons, births, weddings, and of course, retirements. Look through hundreds of gift ideas from transparent awards and photo frames, to bracelets, alcohol glasses, clocks, and watches. Here you can add a little message, the date(s) they worked for, and their name. A simple yet meaningful gift signifying their time there. Prices for gifts can range from $25.00 to $500.00+.
A Genuine “Thank You” Note
There are loads of tips and tricks out there on how to write the best thank you note. Image courtesy of: Emily Post.
Sometimes something simple is best and there’s nothing quite like getting recognized, and we really mean recognized, from our bosses and our work peers for all of the hard work you’ve put into your job. And the best way to do that besides searching Gift Guides for Women is to write down what you appreciate about the retiree. Write about their accomplishments, funny work memories, what you remember about their interview process or when you first met them, when you became closer with them, and your plentiful well-wishes in this next stage of their life. A note to re-read and to have in a keepsake box is maybe the best gift you can get- and it only costs as much as an envelope and nice paper!
Can’t Go Wrong With The Classics 🍐
We love the classics and what we mean by that is, every occasion whether it’s a holiday or birthday, has a cliche gift you can get them that centers around that day. So we thought why not bust out some classic gifts you can get for a retiree today?
A Retirement “Thank You” Gift Basket
Sweet and savory treat to enjoy long after the retirement party is over! Image courtesy of: Harry & David.
Anyone that anyone in the corporate or business world has heard of Harry & David. They are a part of a long list of other businesses that specialize specifically in consumable gifts. Harry & David sell gift baskets for many occasions, and they have two sections we think that’s most appropriate for a retirement: their Thank You Gifts and their Corporate Gifts. We found this Harry & David® Grand Gift Box with Sweet and Salty Treats for $81.99 under the “Thank You” section and what’s special about this gift basket is you can choose to add wine (or a non-acholic) bottle to it! The base gift basket contains:
- Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn - classic caramel (10 oz)
- Signature Trail Mix (10 oz)
- Honey wheat pretzels (8 oz)
- Three-seed crackers (4 oz)
- Pepper and Onion Relish (10 oz)
- Raspberry-flavored honey mustard dip (10 oz)
- Mixed nuts [cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans] (4 oz)
- Raspberry galettes (5.25 oz)
- 2 white chocolate raspberry cookie bars (1.4 oz each)
- 3 German chocolate cookie bars (1.4 oz each)
- Crunchy chocolate chip cookies (4 oz)
- Gummy bears (6 oz)
A Wine Subscription
Now that she’s retired she can take the “it’s five 0-clock somewhere” to heart! Image courtesy of: Winc.
Listen, are we maybe hitting too many cliches now that we mentioned wine up above and are going to give wine as a retirement gift? Maybe. But cliches are built from things that work and we think that when it’s wine like this- it works even better.
Winc is an online subscription service where you can “discover the wine of your dreams” through a quick one minute quiz asking you what your tastes are like and then you’ll get 4 bottles perfectly tailored to your answers.
You’ll have to get a bit creative on how you get them this said gift as they will have to take the quiz themselves to get the wine they want, but we think it’s more than worth it as it takes the classic bottle of wine gift and turns it on its head. When the Winc Box comes and if they like them, they can sign up to become a member to get wines every month.
“Practical” Everyday Gifts Perfect For A Retiree 👒
Next we’re talking about gifts perfect for the retiree’s new day-to-day routine:
An Adult Coloring Book
Coloring isn’t just for kids anymore! Image courtesy of: Simon & Schuster.
In the past decade we have seen the rise of coloring books and not just for kids, but for adults too. There’s something very calming about sitting down either in the peace and quiet or with a TV show, movie, audio-book, or podcast on in the background while you color away. It’s what we did as kids to fill time and grow our creativity- why does that have to stop when you reach double-digits? There are loads of books out there but we really like the aptly named Kick Back & Relax Coloring Book By Andrea Sargent for $14.99 from Simon & Schuster. Over 100 illustrations await your marks, colored pencils, and crayons.
Audio Books That Give Back
Listen to hundreds of thousands of books with all your free time! Image courtesy of: Libro.fm.
Speaking of books, there’s going to be many hours of the day when it’s no longer marked by lunch breaks and clocking in and out of the office. So what do we do with all that free time? We read of course! But we read the 2025 way and that’s with audio books through Libro.fm.
Ditch Audible and turn to Libro as they are a “Social Purpose Corporation, Certified B Corp, and 100% employee-owned. Libro shares profits from your audiobook purchases with your chosen bookstore.”
When you sign up for Libro you choose a local bookstore to give some of your money back to as you purchase books and continue your subscription. You’ll be able to pick from their vast catalog containing over 600,000 books. A perfect way to spend extra free time.
Become A Baker From The GBBO
A stand mixer with a good reputation is what we love to see. Image courtesy of: KitchenAid.
There’s two hobbies that are integral to any retiree and one of them is baking. Baking, cooking, and creating food for your loved ones now that you have the time to try out new recipes is a great way to spend your days. But we need the right equipment for it and there’s only one choice we’re looking for: the Artisan® Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer from KitchenAid for $499.99.
KitchenAid is “#1 Mixer Brand in the World” according to multiple publications. With thousands of five-star reviews, the Series 5 Stand Mixer is one that’s more than worth the splurge as you’ll be able to use it for decades easily.
This model comes in over 20 different color options, ten different speeds, and a 1-Piece Pouring Shield, 6 Wire Whip, C - Coated Dough Hook, Coated Flat Beater, Dough Hook, and Flat Beater.
Gardening Gloves
Garden safely and in style all while helping the environment you're cultivating. Image courtesy of: Amazon.
The other hobby besides baking is yard and handy house work. Now that you’re home more often you’ll find yourselves with a lot more time to begin and finish home-projects you wanted to start long ago. But to do this and to do it safely we had to find gloves that fit the bill. These are the Pine Tree Tools Bamboo Gardening Gloves from Amazon for $9.99. Vegan, rubber-coated, touch-screen friendly, and breathable, these gloves will surprise you with their endurance and will protect you from the hardest materials.
Now That Work Is Done, Let’s Go On A Trip 🚞
Retirements, as we know, are super special occasions. They mark the day you finally exit the workforce full-time. And that means that the day calls for a surprise unlike any other. We thought, “what’s a better gift than a trip away from home?” Now obviously going out of town is a pretty big deal and there are a lot of decisions to make, so instead of trying to guess where she’d like to go and where she’d like to stay, you can have this Airbnb eGift card pop up on her phone as soon as she’s done for the day or during the first Monday when she’d normally go into work.
Airbnb is an online marketplace for vacation home and condo rentals all over the world.
With this gift card she can pick and choose between a beachfront property, a treehouse in the middle of the forest, a countryside villa, an apartment in the middle of the city, a tiny home, cabin, a castle, a mansion, and more. Airbnb makes finding your next accommodations easier than ever. All you need to do is go onto the website, (or download the app), search the city, state, or country you want to visit, add your dates and any special needs you might have, and the number of people that will be staying.
Purchase a PerfectGift eGift Card for Airbnb here!
PerfectGift.com is all about finding, well, the perfect gift! With hundreds of popular eGift card brands available, you can personalize and send someone a gift in just a few minutes. Pick between multiple restaurants, famous retailers, online subscription services, and more for your first PerfectGift today.
PerfectGift+ which takes gifting to a whole new level as it allows you to give the amount of money you would be putting on the gift card, but not tie it to any specific merchant. Instead the recipient gets to choose any merchant they want from our vast catalog. What makes PerfectGift stand out from the crowd is our flexibility.
Become the perfect gift giver.
Retirement doesn’t have to be the end of something, it can be the beginning of a new adventure and this time you aren’t beholden to any bosses or work-schedule conflicts. We hope this list of the best retirement gifts for women serves you well!
