by Bridgett Kelly

Created on: March 31, 2009   Last Updated: April 01, 2009

Each person is different and unique. Each person has their own ideas,opinions and feelings. I do not believe it is insulting to give a "gag" gift that so calls makes fun of a persons age. Surely if I did not know a person I would not give such a gift. Some people are fine with these kinds of gift as they enjoy humor and life. Others may be offended and have hurt feelings as getting older may be depressing.

The real question should be is rather the person is the type to enjoy such gifts and jokes. I can tell you about my mother and her two sisters. They are all in their forties now. Each one got a little surprise on their fortieth birthday.

My mother got a huge basket of fruit and forty black balloons sent to her work on her fortieth birthday from both of her sisters. She laughed and warned them that it would soon be their fortieth birthday. They shared a laugh. When it came time for my Aunt Vicki's fortieth my mom and Aunt Julia got her good. They got her a walker and a basket of goodies filled with poligrip,powder,pull-ups,false teeth,black balloons and so on. Again they shared a laugh and reminded Aunt Julia,the youngest that she was next! On her fortieth birthday my mom and Aunt Vicki placed black balloons up her driveway and left her a basket of granny panties and all the things an elderly person would probably have. Again they shared a laugh. It did not bother them,they had a blast doing it because they love one another and find humor in taking the time to do these things.

Not everyone is as easy going. My daddy will soon be fifty and it bothers him really bad. So doing something like that is a no go. You just have to know the person and know how they will feel about such gifts and tricks.

As far as insulting a person I cannot see a reason that it would be such a huge deal. At the same time we have to respect other people's feelings on the subject and know our boundaries between a good clean joke and going overboard. We all age and we cannot do anything about it. I think you just have to know who they are going to prank and know rather they would or would not enjoy a gift that picks on their age. I think that a good joke about age can be a fun thing. If you are down about aging then perhaps a good joke from a loving friend or family member or members can relieve the worry about aging, after all they age too and what can be better than payback!

It should not be insulting and I do not think it is but like I said, each person is different and knowing the person well and how they take these kinds of things can make the difference between hurt feelings and a roar of laughter.

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