• Birthday gifts -- like gifts for any major celebration or holiday -- are challenging to choose. You will have more success when you stick to simple gifts that you know your friend will like. Think of the gift recipient's interests and then try to incorporate those interests into a unique gift. If you stick with a theme, then your birthday gift can be creative and also resourceful.
  
  

The Gift of Music

• If you have a music lover who is approaching a birthday, then give him a gift certificate to buy a CD at a local store or an online gift certificate to buy music from a site such as iTunes. If your friend reads music and plays a certain instrument, then purchase a few scores of your favorite composer, or the scores of soundtracks from a few classic movies.
  
  

Movie Buff Gifts

• Have a movie buff for a friend? Fill a gift box with his all-time favorites or DVDs in the genre that he loves. Have a big budget and a mind to impress? Buy all the tickets for a show of an upcoming box office hit that your friend wants to see. Do not forget a few bags of microwaveable popcorn and a bag of chocolate candies.
  
  

The "You're Awesome!" Book

• Invite friends to take a blank 8.5 x 11 sheet of card stock and fill it with photos and messages about what your friend means to that particular person. Ask friends to mail the completed page back to you by a certain deadline. Go to your local office supply store and get the pages bound into a special birthday booklet for your friend to remember why she is so cherished.
  
  

Arena Gifts

• If you have a sports fan for a friend, then make his day with a pair of tickets to see his favorite team play, a day pass at a favorite ski slope or lessons to play a sport he wants to get better at, such as golf or tennis. If you are dating the person or married to the person, consider buying lessons for both of you. He will likely enjoy having someone to share the experience with -- and you will get to learn a sport that the two of you may be able to play together.
  
  

Charitable Gifts

• For the activist and advocate in your life, a charitable gift will be especially meaningful. Make a donation in the name of your friend or sign him up to sponsor a vulnerable child in another country. She will appreciate the thoughtfulness -- and the impact -- of her birthday gift.