Retirement gift ideas

30 Best Retirement Gifts to Celebrate Their Next Chapter

For the tea lover, this gift set has it all. It features a large assortment of unique teas to taste and enjoy. Over time, your recipient will certainly be able to find a new favorite.

19 Thoughtful Retirement Gifts

Celebrate a retiree’s next chapter with retirement gifts they’ll actually love and use.

Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.

20 Thoughtful Retirement Gifts

VIA MERCHANT

Entering retirement can be a bittersweet period in one’s life. And it’s worthy of a spectacular celebration that honors a retiree’s accomplishments and impact. Whether you’re celebrating near or far, we rounded up thoughtful retirement gifts they can enjoy well into their next chapter.

Speaking of next chapters, check out these thoughtful graduation gifts, too.

Happy Retirement Gift Box

For the Co-worker: Happy Retirement Gift Box

If retirement had a theme, it’d be peace and relaxation. This Happy Retirement gift box offers exactly that thanks to fun goodies like candles, bath bombs, a wine tumbler and more. Choose from five box themes: Comfort, shower, spa, charmed or deluxe. As one of the best retirement gifts, it’s topped with a card fit for the occasion.

retirement gifts Personalized Golf Balls

For the Golfer: Retirement Golf Balls

Fore! Retirement means more time to spend on the green. Celebrate a retiree’s milestone in full swing with this golf balls set. They boast a celebratory engraving and it’s such a fun gift option to help a golf lover tee off retirement.

Atlas Coffee Club Subscription

For the Caffeine Fiend: Coffee Subscription

Looking for retirement gifts for a coffee lover? Look no further than a coffee subscription box. Atlas Coffee Club hand-selects coffee options from all over the world. Your retiree will receive a new and unique coffee from a different country each month. Trust us, we tried Atlas Coffee Club and it’s the best way to experiment with new blends.

Funny Candle Gift

For the Comedian: Funny Candle

This funny-yet-thoughtful candle is guaranteed to make a newly retired loved one giggle. Whether they’re near or far, it’s a sweet way to show a loved one you’re proud of them. Pair with a practical candle accessory, like this candle warmer lamp.

Celebration Gift Basket

For the Snacker: Celebration Gift Basket

Retirement is a good occasion as any to send a celebration gift basket. Packed with artisan meats, cheeses, crackers and sweets, the box is complete with congratulations-themed packaging to shower them in love. Check out more gift baskets to send to loved ones.

National Parks Color Map Mug

For the Camping Enthusiast: Coloring Map Mug

Help them map out (literally!) their next adventure over morning coffee. This National Parks mug is a fun and interactive retirement gift for those hoping to do a bit more exploring now that they’re out of the office.

Home Brewing Kit retirement gifts

For the One in Need of a New Hobby: Home Brewing Kit

Retirement is the perfect time to discover a new hobby. Gift them a kit to start brewing, kicking off with the popular West Coast-Style IPA. This brewing kit comes with everything your recipient will need to brew 10 bottles of beer at home.

Spiral Snap Journal With Pen Loop Black S95 135 Fullsize

For the Writer: Treasured Travel Journal

For many, retirement means more time to travel. Give your retiree a beautiful spot to jot down travel plans, memories and more with a custom leather journal to use and cherish for years to come.

Shine On Assorted Chocolate Truffles

For the Sweet Tooth: Celebratory Chocolates

Celebrate your retiree’s free time with treats. This sweet package from Seattle Chocolate includes a variety of delicious truffles in eight different flavors, complete with sweet packaging to honor the beginning of a new chapter. These care packages also make sweet retirement gifts.

retirement gifts Dream Destinations Poster

For the One with Wanderlust: Dream Destinations Poster

Give a gift to celebrate their sense of wanderlust. This scratch-off poster lists 50 of the dreamiest destinations to travel to in the U.S. This is sure to make the perfect bucket list for retirement travelers.

Flower Bouquet

For the Classic: Flower Bouquet

Want to send your well wishes in a simple yet thoughtful way? You can never go wrong with a beautiful flower bouquet. It’s bright, cheerful and sends good vibes their way whether you’re celebrating near or far. Keep the party going for months with a flower subscription.

Personalized Crossword Puzzle

For the Old-Fashioned: Personalized Crossword Puzzle

There’s no better way to start the morning than with their very own crossword puzzle. You’ll create six clues based on their life, which will be mixed into the puzzle. Pro tip: Through in some real brain teasers for an extra fun gift.

Grill Masters Club

For the Backyard BBQer: Grill Masters Club

Time for more grilling! This BBQ box set sends spices, rubs, sauces, grilling accessories and even unique wood chips to the pit master in your life. This is a great way to allow them to try new things while working the grill. You can’t go wrong with these grilling gifts, either.

Congratulations Ice Cream

For the Kid at Heart: Congratulations Ice Cream

Send the sweetest congrats with these celebratory pints. The retiree in your life will indulge in chocolate turtle sundae, cherry chocolate chunk, peanut butter cup and butter brickle ice creams. Yum!

Masterclass Subscription

For the Lifetime Learner: MasterClass Subscription

Just because they’re retired doesn’t mean they’re finished learning. For the home cook who wants to learn new skills from Gordon Ramsay himself or the music buff who wants to learn the essentials of electric guitar, a MasterClass subscription offers something for everyone.

The Challenger Bread Pan

For the Budding Bread Baker: Challenger Bread Pan

More time spent at home means more time to brush up on their bread-making skills. Designed to bake better bread, the Challenger bread pan is the ultimate gift for bakers. The cast iron pan offers a sealed environment to create the perfect amount of steam while baking—meaning bakers can cook in confidence. Bonus: It works with baked goods beyond bread, too.

Just Breathe Eucalyptus Spa Gift Set

For the One Who’s Still Stressed: Calming Gift Set

For those with a bit of a green thumb, this eucalyptus spa set does the trick. Your recipient will get to plant their own eucalyptus to tend to, along with enjoying the kit’s bath salts and body scrub for ultimate relaxation. It’s the perfect spa gift for some well-deserved R&R.

Personalized Decanter Set

For the Spirits Lover: Personalized Decanter Set

Whether they prefer whiskey on the rocks or in a mixed drink, a personalized decanter set makes a fun gift for retiree who’s always mixing and experimenting. This retirement gift comes with two whiskey glasses and glass decanter carefully wrapped inside a wooden box.

Tea Forte Petite Pressentation Box Tea Samplers

For the Tea Brewer: Tea Drinker’s Gift Set

For the tea lover, this gift set has it all. It features a large assortment of unique teas to taste and enjoy. Over time, your recipient will certainly be able to find a new favorite.

Additional research contributed by Taste of Home writer, Molly Allen.

Want more fun product picks and money-saving deals from our shopping experts and Test Kitchen? Sign up for the Stuff We Love newsletter .

As Associate Shopping Editor, Madi covers the best cleaning gadgets, organizing gear and home buys. She’s constantly testing internet-made-me-buy-it splurges and home goods—if there’s a viral product taking the internet by storm, you can count on Madi to give her honest review. Her work has appeared in various home outlets including Better Homes and Gardens, Reader’s Digest, The Family Handyman and Birds and Blooms. When she’s not decorating her apartment, you can find her sharing her favorite finds on Taste of Home’s social media platforms and scouring Denver for the best espresso martini.

Taste of Home Logo

  • About Us
  • Contests
  • RSS
  • Customer Care
  • Contact Us
  • Log In
  • Help
  • Press Room
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your CA Privacy Rights
  • Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility Statement
  • About Ads
  • Affiliate Program
  • Cookie Settings
  • License our Content

30 Best Retirement Gifts to Celebrate Their Next Chapter

Salute their huge accomplishment with these thoughtful ideas.

retirement gifts

When you’re in the thick of your career, all you dream about is retiring. Then, when the day finally comes, for most, it’s bittersweet. Sure, they no longer have to set an alarm or worry about getting stuck in rush hour traffic, but they are also saying goodbye to friends and colleagues they’ve spent so much time with doing what they love. That’s why picking the best retirement gifts for them — whether they are your parents, spouse or work BFF — is so important. You want to give them with something that will remind them of everything they’ve accomplished (and maybe also poke fun that they are getting up there in age).

The best type of gift for someone who is retiring will help them make the transition to offline mode, so you can go with something that will encourage them to find a new hobby or help them enjoy one they already have. But if you’re on a budget, there are plenty of funny and sentimental ideas that are just little tokens of appreciation to honor their next chapter. On the flip side, if you’re shopping for a gift for your boss or mentor, chipping in with a group for a luxury present is also a great idea.

You’ll want to keep all of this in mind when shopping our list, but at the end of the day, just letting the retiree know how much their work has meant is really all that matters.