Retirement gifts for mum

That gap is the interesting part. Her colleagues are about to give her something marking the job, and they'll get the job right. You are in a position to give her something marking the person who did it, and those are two different presents. Buying a second version of the workplace one is the common mistake here.

Find the photograph first

Somewhere there is a picture of her in the middle of it: in uniform, behind a desk, on a ward, at the front of a classroom, standing outside the place on her first day. Family albums usually hold one and nobody's looked at it in years. Start there, not at a shelf, because the photograph decides the gift and not the other way round.

Made into art, not reprinted

A reprint of an old photograph is still an old photograph, and pictures from the middle of a career are rarely sharp enough to enlarge. Turning it into art through the portrait flow changes what the flaws mean: grain and soft focus become part of the style. Choose oil, watercolour, charcoal, pop art or impressionist. Verify your email for up to three successful free previews per day, and review the results before ordering.

It comes on canvas, with or without a frame, or on paper at A4 or A3, framed or not.

If the photograph does not exist

Then use the facts. The name print puts her name, her profession, her years and her workplace into editorial type, at A4 or A3, or framed at A3. Ask for the number of years even if she has never mentioned it, because the print is better with it than without.

Timing

Allow nine working days. The press takes two to four working days and the courier two to five, to any UK address, at no extra charge.

If it is your nan, not your mum, the guide to buying for a nan begins somewhere different, and retirement gifts for women takes the wider view of a long career. Both are listed under who is retiring.