By Jana LepojevicIn this story:
It’s your best friend's birthday, and you need 30th birthday present ideas in Sydney that mark the occasion for how special it is. At thirty, they’re in the sweet spot; not too young to appreciate the finer things, but still young enough to have a great time. Your present should combine that sense of nostalgia with grown-up elegance.
There’s certainly a place for keepsakes and sentimental gifts, but if you want to bring the fun and spend time with your best friend on their birthday, a shared experience that you can do together becomes both gift and party, on you!
To make it easy for you, we’ve compiled a guide on some awesome 30th birthday gift ideas for your best friend that can be enjoyed alone, as a pair or with a group!
Bring in the 3-0 with cocktails
Name a more iconic duo than cocktails and birthdays. If you and your bestie have been known to sink a martini or two, then a cocktail workshop will be right up both your alleys.
Whether you’re throwing a house party, having a few friends around for a couple of low-key drinks, or just looking for a fun experience gift you can do together, cocktail classes will suit the occasion. Head to a bar to learn how to shake and stir, or have the bartender come to you, and get ready to bring in your best friend's 30th in style.
Some of our favourite cocktail classes for birthdays:
- This cocktail class in Surry Hills includes tapas and pizza to line your stomachs, as well as a drink on arrival so you can sip while you shake.
- Make cocktails using native Australian ingredients in Surry Hills for a birthday gift that feels like Sydney.
- This cocktail class in Barangaroo feels a little more upscale for the friend who likes their bars dark and their whiskies neat.
Pair your cocktail experience gift with an engraved glass for the ultimate 30th birthday present for your best friend.
Celebrate with paint and sip
If you want to celebrate with the whole crew and get your best friend a 30th gift they’ll never forget, a paint and sip class is just what the birthday fairy ordered. It’s less paint class and more low-key boozy party with art, which makes it feel a bit more elevated than the standard pub crawl.
Most are BYO-friendly, making for a more budget-friendly birthday idea, and come complete with an artist who will show everyone the ropes and provide all the painting materials. Whether you head to a studio or bring the artist to your venue, organising a paint and sip party can be made flexible and easy. But to your best friend? It will feel so special celebrating their 30th by doing something different with their loved ones!
Try these paint and sip studios:
- Paint your friend (or a member of the group) like one of your French girls at this paint and sip studio in Darlinghurst.
- Combine cool beats with pop art and famous rappers at this paint and sip studio in North Strathfield.
Bring a Polaroid on the night and pair your paint and sip gift with a scrapbook of polaroids from their birthday and beyond.
If booze is not your friend's forte, we have some more understated 30th birthday gift ideas that are no less fun.
Runs regularly
Potts Point
1 to 70 guests
$99 - $115
6 years in business
Flowers, elevated, for a 30th birthday
Got a floral birthday girl on your hands? She loves picking a new bouquet from the Farmer’s Market every Sunday and has more vases than she knows what to do with. You can get her a birthday bouquet, which does little to fully commemorate the occasion, or you can get her the gift of a floristry workshop! Go for outdoor flower crowns if your best friend is turning 30 in summer, or add some BYO drinks when you choose an arrange and sip, and simply while away the time enjoying something pretty together. It’s worth it for the Instagram photos alone!
Varya B. loved this wild flower arranging experience for her friend's 30th:
"I took my friend to a floral arrangement workshop at Merchant and Green for her belated 30th birthday over the weekend, and it was such a great experience! We both love flowers, especially Australian natives, so this was the perfect activity. Our instructor was super friendly and knowledgeable, making it a fun and relaxed session for our small group of 3. We left with some useful tips on how to care for and arrange flowers in various ways, and each of us got to take home a beautiful bouquet. It was definitely worth it, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys flowers!"
Make sure to get a pic of you and your friend with your flower creations, then frame it for a sentimental gift for their 30th.
Foodie fun with your newly 30 bestie
As we get older, our taste buds evolve, and perhaps you and your friend consider yourselves to be connoisseurs by this age? Whether you’re masters of the Friday night cheeseboard or most of your catch-ups involve a restaurant booking, a foodie experience is a 30th birthday idea for your best friend that will hit the mark (and fill their stomach).
Sydney is something of a foodie haven, so there is no shortage of cooking classes that make great gifts. Simply pick a cuisine your friend loves and get ready for a hands-on birthday foodie adventure. After the cooking comes the eating, so think of it like a 30th birthday dinner, but better.
Just because your best friend is turning 30 doesn’t mean they’re too old for sweets! If they say yes to the dessert menu, they’ll surely say yes to a baking class. From chocolate to buttercream, pastries and macarons, the sugar high alone will be enough to add a little fun to your birthday gift. Whether you decorate the very sponge that becomes the birthday cake or just make something delicious to enjoy together, a baking class is the best 30th birthday present idea for your best friend with a sweet tooth.
Celebrate a 30th with French croissants, just like Sharon A.:
"What a great way to spend our 30th birthday. Joel was an amazing instructor, very friendly and patient. It was such a lovely atmosphere and I never thought I would be able to make croissants and pastries but now I can. Thanks so much Joel."
Pair your gift with a cookbook your friend has been eyeing. Make sure to leave a note in the front cover!
Turning 30 is the perfect excuse to celebrate in a way that's a little more meaningful than another night out. Whether your best friend is happiest shaking cocktails, arranging flowers or mastering buttery croissants, giving them an experience means you're gifting memories, not just something to unwrap. Here's to celebrating three decades of friendship with a birthday present they won’t forget.
