Our friend Gill turned fifty recently, and I made him this fifty piece tray of goodies. It was so well received that I think it might become my new standard 50th birthday gift!
Our assortment included a batch each of butterscotch bars and classic brownies…
…four dark milk feuilletine-filled chocolate cane toads…
…a couple of (less than successful) experimental lollipops and some Amedei treasure chest coins…
The treats were assembled on two layers of thick cake board, and wrapped in cellophane. Merchandising isn’t my strong suit, and after attempting several different layouts, I gave up and simply stacked all the brownies and butterscotch bars on the board (nobody seemed to mind).
Gill’s littlest Beatle was quite excited, he’d woken on the morning of his dad’s birthday looking for cake!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’m turning 55 soon… does that count? xox : )
I’m sure it does!
Ha! I like that Elaine beat me to answering! And yes, she’s right, of course it does! :)
Great idea, Celia! Looks awesome!! You are a good friend!
Debby, thank you, it was a bit of fun, and we’ve been friends with G&T for over 25 years now! :)
That’s a great gift and I like how you’re doubling up on the cake boards – they’ll be able to re-use them. Your lollipop chocolates look amazing xx
Charlie, it’s so hard to find a 50th birthday gift, as I’m sure you know, most of our peers already have whatever they want!
Best gift ever! Looks delicious.
Matt, thank you! Our friend has four kids, so I’m pretty sure he had a lot of help eating these! :)
wow, your friend is so lucky…
Cornelia, thank you, that’s very kind. He’s a very good friend! :)
Perfect – you may be growing older but you don’t have to have grown up gifts, especially the experimental lollipops which I think look cool :)
Thanks love, I saved a lollipop for the Small Girl across the road, and she couldn’t finish it! They’re pretty substantial!
I will make sure I’m in Sydney when I turn fifty (you have 9 years) and I will happily accept any experiments, however successful! Fabulous present, Celia.
Of course, Jo! I’d happily bake you a board full! :)
Oh my gosh! Fabulous birthday idea and divine execution. LOVE it!
Azita, thank you for saying that! I thought it looked a bit messy, but Gill certainly seemed happy with it. I love making homemade gifts! :)
What a great gift idea Celia. I certainly wouldn’t mind this as my Birthday present!
Hon, you’d get far fewer pieces, you’re only a baby! (But I’d cut them bigger!) :)
What a lovely gift!
Thanks Tandy! I was pretty pleased with how it turned out! :)
What a treasure! Turning fifty was never so well celebrated!
Heidi, the idea is all yours, I’m sure you’ll do something brilliant with it! Much easier and more rewarding than hitting the shops! :)
Celia – I’m loving this. I had a friend who turned 50 last year and I gave her 50 small gifts that were silly, fun, indulgent but probably things she would never buy for herself. Just cheapies but lots of fun for her to open. I like your idea a lot and as there’s a few milestones coming up in the next few years, I’ll store this idea away.
Fiona, his kids bought him 50 presents too! Of course, because some of them are quite young, they included soda streams and pie makers.. :)
I’m glad you found the idea useful – I wasn’t sure whether or not to post about it, since it’s not the most artistically arranged board, but Gill was so happy with it, and it’s such an easy thing to adapt to whatever the age in years is! :)
Lovely idea!
Thanks Manuela! It was fun to put together too! :)
Good grief! I’m swooning over here! Wave a piece of 70% under my nose a couple of times and maybe I’ll revive…
Hahaha…I wish you could have seen his face when we walked through the door with the board! :)
What a fabulous 50th present. Chocolate or framing of special stuff is such a good choice for big birthdays!
Only if one knows a good framer, Rose. Oh yes, I do. :D
Now this is dangerous, you’ll have all of your friends asking for one of these and then claiming to be much older than they are! BTW I’m 85 next year ;)
A true foodie – love that you’re willing to lie about your age to get food. And not in the way most women lie about their age either! :)
What a magnificent gift Celia! I love giving gifts like this too (well mine don’t include beautiful homemade chocolates). I find it so difficult to buy gifts for people so giving something homemade is the best and it is always so well received. Added bonuses it is “uni-sexual”.
Have a super weekend.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, at our age, most of our friends already have what they want! We try hard to give consumables to keep down all the “stuff” we seem to be accumulating! I wish you’d been here to help me arrange my board – the hardest thing was laying it all out, and in the end, I just gave up! Hope you have a wonderful weekend too! xxx
What a great idea for a birthday gift…I may have to borrow it sometime! :)
Laila, having read your blog, I can almost guarantee that you’ll do a better job “plating up” than I did! :)
You are too kind Celia!
Wow, do you have instructions for the lollipops? They look like such fun. Can I say I’m turning 50 too? :-P
Ha! Nice try Saucy! :) The lollipops were made with a mould from Candyland Crafts – there’s a whole stack to choose from here: http://www.candylandcrafts.com/Catalog/kidsk1.htm
I tried filling the base of the mould with sprinkles, but it didn’t work very well, as the chocolate just encased them. But they were popular nonetheless! :)
Aha! Thanks for the link, Christmas presents for work people sorted! :-D
They sell the lollipop sticks as well! :)
Great idea! It’s unique and shows a lot of thought went into the gift.
Thanks Pat! I confess, a lot less thought went into it than would have been needed to find a bought gift for someone who already has everything! :)
Ha, that’s such fun and so lovely. I was feeling a bit glum today, thinking that next year I will be 67……hellooooo, yoohoo, 67!!! She says, bouncing around in her corner. – feeling quite revived!
Oooh don’t be glum darling, imagine 67 chocolate treats laid out on a giant tray! :)
What a great idea, looking forward to seeing your Christmas treats!
Hahaha…I’m still working on those! I think the lollipops might make an appearance, albeit with the sprinkles on the back rather than the front – they all seemed to disappear into the chocolate otherwise!
My favourite salutes, Celia, always involved 50 chocolates :D
In your case, Nick, you’d get less than half of that! But I’d cut the pieces bigger.. ;-)
What fun. I may pinch your idea to make a chequer board cake of cut up butterscotch bars and brownies.
See, that’s what I was TRYING to do, and then like a doofus, I went and cut all the pieces different sizes! So then I thought I’d arrange them in alternating directions, or diagonally, and then…I threw my hands up in the end and just plonked them all on the board. Make the quantity large enough, and I reckon nobody really cares how they’re arranged.. ;-)
Fantastic idea for a special birthday. A friend of mine did that with 50 cookies for mine. I guess at my age it now is a lot more labor intensive to make enough.
Ha! I can’t believe you’re that old, Di, I still have an image of you in my head in a short skirt pumping petrol! :)
Keep that image Celia – I love you for it. There have been a few miles added since then.
Hi Celia, you are a good friend. I am sure he appreciated it.
Glenda, that’s kind of you, thank you, and yes, he did! :)
This is the very best idea yet for a chocoholic! My mouth is watering just looking at the photos of the brownies stacked up…. Love your creative gift Celia! BRAVO! Sue
Thanks Sue! It was great fun to make! :)
What a fantastic gift! I love the look of the 100’s and 1000’s choc-pops, think there would be fabulous texture!
Thanks Clare – the small wee girl from across the road came over for one, and she couldn’t get through it, it was just too much chocolate! :)
This is such a great gift! I especially like the toads.
Thanks Siobhan! Fun to make and assemble too! :)
What a clever and thoughtful gift Celia! So much better than just another ‘thing’taking up room for sure. You’re a true friend sweetie xox
Becca, thanks darling, it was a fun thing to do – easier than trying to find a gift for someone who already has all the things he wants and needs! :)
A unique and personal gift, you are always so thoughtful.
Norma, you’re always so kind, thank you! It was fun to make! :)
A 50 piece tray of your goodies is a perfect present Celia! x
Thanks love.. :) xx
Great gift Celia and I am sure they were very well received. As Charlie says….very useful to have it on two cakes boards ….spread that cake board love around
Hahaha…gotta try and use them up, T! :)
Holy cow. Now did I tell you I’m turning 150 soon?? :)
Happy Birthday, Gill!
Hahaha! You don’t look a day over 30, M! xx
I’ve never been much good at presentation either, Celia, but with chocolate who cares? This looks like a gorgeous gift and I’ll bet he was over the moon.
Thanks love, he and his family made short work of it! :)
Oooh I hope I get one of those when I turn fifty!
How awesome does that tray look :-)
Just remind me when your 50th birthday comes around, Brydie.. ;-)
What a lovely present for any chocolaholic, at any age!
Suelle, thank you! I think so, but I’m going to have to work a little on my presentation! :D
Now this is a great gift, Celia! Not only is it homemade and thoughtfully prepared but it’s CHOCOLATE!!! Now that you’ve let it be known that this will be your standard birthday gift for those turning 50, I envision chocoholics the world-over deciding to spend the 50th birthday in Sydney. :)
Hahaha…I have a swag of friends (“swag”, how about that for an Australian expression :)) all about to turn 50, John! I’ll be busy baking! :)