FREE DELIVERY ON ALL UK ORDERS OVER £75
FREE DELIVERY ON ALL UK ORDERS OVER £75
February 25, 2022 4 min read
Retirements can be so bittersweet - on the one hand you're losing a colleague, and if you've worked with someone for many years this can feel like quite a sad affair.
On the other hand you're sending someone off to the next exciting stage of their lives where they have true freedom to spend their time as they see fit! Despite working with someone for years it can be hard to know how to mark an occasion like this, and hit all the right notes.
We've compiled some of our favourite ideas for gifts to celebrate someone's retirement, because of course our T-Shirts are the perfect accompaniment to this kind of milestone. Take a look through our ideas below to see if anything suits the feel you're looking for:
1. Bonsai Tree
The beautiful, finely crafted trees manage to convey longevity and quality, and would be a perfect gift for someone you feel needs something with a little sophistication. They can also fit to any budget, as you can buy bonsai from tens to hundreds of pounds and a variety of temperaments and styles.
They're also perfect for the retiree that you sense doesn't have a big plan, as it gives them something to research and learn about, to start their free time with something to occupy them!
2. An Experience
An experience voucher is a truly exciting way to send someone off to their freedom, and could be anything from a helicopter-driving experience, rock-climbing, race-track day or sky-dive! If they love the beach but have never tried surfing, get them a day of surfing lessons, or perhaps a session with lessons at the Bristol artificial-wave surfing centre. If they love their cars get them a racing day at a nearby race track, or an off roading or rally experience.
If you’re not sure and don’t want anything too athletic you could pick a glider experience, or plane flying experience – something that may just give them a fun day to plan, or kick-start a new hobby.
Experiences can suit all budgets too, so you can pick based on what you can manage.
3. Engraved Crystal, Beer Mug or Whisky Glass
Especially if your colleague has been at your workplace for a long time, it’s a lovely idea for them to have something to really commemorate that and take away with them. This could be customised to their interests – for many of the fans of our Drinking T-shirt Series an engraved beer mug or whisky glass would be perfect! Something they can use and also keep on the shelf to remind them of the work they put in and their hard-earned retirement freedom.
Equally, if you don’t know whether someone likes to drink, or that feels too specific, an engraved crystal that shows their career dates and has a celebratory and thankful message on it can go down perfectly.
4. Personalised Leather Wallet or Purse
For a colleague that you may not know so well, a personalised wallet or purse is a sure bet, as something that they will undoubtedly want to own and use. You can also be flexible on budget, and buy a valued boss or long-term colleague a really fine leather wallet with their initials stamped – something they can treasure and use for a long time.
5. Photo & Timeline Career Book
This is really an option reserved for those who are truly creative, dedicated and have the time and material to use.
There are a great many printing services that will allow you to pull in text, quotes, images and press cuttings and print a book. If you’ve had a member of staff that has been with your workplace for many years, you are likely to have original joining dates, headshots, perhaps news articles or office photoshoots, and maybe specific projects or accomplishments to highlight along that person’s path.
A customised book could feature message from all current (and even past) employees, and could become something really meaningful and treasured. This needs to suit your workplace and your capabilities, so this option isn’t for everyone, for those few special occasions it could be a wonderful way of commemorating someone’s time with a company.
5. Old Guys Rule Retirement Tee Shirt
Last but by no means least, our retirement tee shirts and shirts are an ideal present for a retiring colleague, whether they are fans of the beach, motorbikes, beer or simply embracing the easy life, you’ll find a design to suit the tone you’re looking for.
Our New Season of designs is now out, with some new designs and some retro classics, from dogs to fish to adventure! You could definitely pair a gift from our range along with one of the other gifts in this list – if you send your colleague on a surfing lesson you can gift them some Old Guys Rule Surf Wax along with the card to set the mood!
We also have beanies and caps, the kinds of extras that can go along to a t-shirt and bring to mind long afternoons by the shed with a beer and some friends, firing up the BBQ.
We hope the gifts in this list help you make someone’s retirement truly special. Have you given an Old Guys Rule gift to someone for their retirement? We’d love to hear how it went, see a photo and hear a little about their role at the company – we may even share in the celebration by posting it to Facebook (if you give the go ahead).
10% off your first purchase when you Sign Up Here!
Don't miss out again! Simply enter your email and join our VIP subscribers list to get Secret Sales, Exclusive Offers, and VIP Discount codes!
We don't email often but when we do you'll be very pleased!