The Back In 1936 Book: A Nostalgia Keepsake For A 90th Birthday

If someone is turning 90 this year, they were born in 1936, and there is a small nostalgia book built entirely around that fact.

It's a short, browsable book of the things people born that year grew up with: the prices, the sweets, the school days, the wireless, the news headlines and the daft details nobody writes down anywhere else.

It costs very little, it fits in a gift bag with a card, and it reliably produces an hour of stories at the birthday tea - which is the actual present.

Honest note: we design and print cards, pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. The book is an outside recommendation, not our stock.

What's actually inside it

• Everyday life as it was for a child of the 1930s and 40s: rationing, the outside toilet, the tin bath, the wireless in the corner.
• Prices then and now - the loaf, the pint, the weekly wage - which is the page everyone reads out loud.
• School memories: ink wells, slates, the eleven-plus, the strap.
• Sweets, comics, toys and games from the era.
• News and royal events from 1936 onwards, including the year of three kings.

Who it suits

• Anyone born in 1936 who says they don't want anything - it isn't clutter and it isn't another ornament.
• Grandparents and great-grandparents who prefer talking to unwrapping.
• Someone in a care home, where short browsable books work far better than long ones.
• Families who want a conversation starter rather than an object.
• Anyone who enjoys disagreeing with a list, which is most people of ninety.

Who it doesn't suit

• Someone born in a different year - check first, there are editions by year and the wrong one falls flat.
• A reader who wants proper history rather than light nostalgia.
• Anyone with sight difficulties, unless you check the print size first.
• Someone who already has three of them, which happens more often than you'd think at a milestone birthday.

How to give it well

• Put it in a gift bag with tissue paper rather than wrapped in tape - far easier to open on a lap.
• Give it early in the day, not last, so there's time to sit and go through it.
• Read a page out loud rather than handing it over silently.
• Have a notebook or a phone recording nearby - the stories it produces are the thing worth keeping.
• Write the date and who it's from inside the front cover.

What to pair it with

• A 90th birthday card signed by everyone - Shop the range
• A framed enlargement of a photograph of them young.
• A family scrapbook - Read the guide
• The wider 1936 background for the speech - Read the guide
• Retro sweets from the same era, which do the same job through taste.

Shop 90th birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Check the birth year before you buy.
• Give it early in the day so there's time to sit with it.
• Read a page out loud rather than handing it over.
• Write the date inside the front cover.

Where to shop next

• 90th birthday cards
• Birthday cards
• Wall art and prints
• Pin badges
• Party supplies
• Nostalgic gifts for grandparents
• What happened in 1936?
• 90th birthday wishes and card messages
• How to plan a 90th birthday party
• 90th birthday gift ideas
• 90th birthday jokes and quotes
• 90th birthday family scrapbook
• How to write a 90th birthday speech
• Grandad 90th birthday gifts
• 90th birthday gift ideas for grandma
• 90th birthday party themes
• 90th birthday afternoon tea
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What is the Back In 1936 book?

A short nostalgia book collecting the everyday details of life for someone born in 1936 - prices, school, sweets, the wireless, rationing and the news of the day. It's designed to be browsed and talked about rather than read straight through.

Is it a good 90th birthday gift?

Yes, for most people. It costs very little, it isn't clutter, and it reliably gets the person talking about their own life, which is usually what the family actually wants from the day.

How long does it take to read?

It isn't meant to be read cover to cover. Most people dip in for ten minutes at a time and stop on whichever page sets off a memory.

What if they weren't born in 1936?

Check the year before you buy - the whole point is their own birth year, and editions exist for other years. The 1936 edition suits anyone turning 90 in 2026.

Is the print large enough for an older reader?

Check the listing before buying if eyesight is an issue. If it's borderline, read it aloud with them instead, which works better anyway.

What should you give alongside it?

A 90th birthday card signed by the family, an enlarged photograph of them young, and retro sweets from the same era. Together that's a complete present for well under twenty pounds.

Do you sell the book?

No. We make cards, pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. The book is a recommendation from elsewhere - only the shop links here are ours.

Do you make the 1936 nostalgia book yourselves?

No. We design and print greetings cards, enamel pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. Nostalgia books and year keepsakes are recommendations from elsewhere - the only things linked to our own shop are ours.