Hobbies And Interests
The Super-Portrait
This is probably the most unique gift you can get for the birthday girl. Search online for comic book artists; a website such as comicartcommisions.com is a good place to start. Find an artist whose artwork you like and who is in your price range, and ask him to draw a picture of the birthday girl wearing a superhero outfit. It can be a superhero from mainstream comics, or you can ask the artist to create a superhero. You can even give the artist personality traits of the woman he will be drawing and have him incorporate it into the superhero outfit. For this one, be sure to order several weeks in advance, because it can take time for the artist to produce and send you the artwork.
The Super-Cape
What is a hero without her cape? There are plenty of websites for both adults and children, where you can have custom made capes made. It could be fun to get the birthday girl a cape in either the adult or kid's size, and either way it's almost guaranteed to make her smile. Choose her favorite color, and have the company create the cape in that color, then ask them to design a logo for a 40-year-old woman. If you are brave enough, you can go for the whole outfit and get a matching mask and gloves to go with it.
The Super-Clock
If a cape isn't your thing, have a clock made. These can also be ordered from many websites and can be shipped out in a few days. Pick the logo of her favorite superhero or download a picture of a comic book page and send it in to be made into a clock. You can also combine this with the Super-Portrait option and make a really unique clock for the birthday girl. It's a great gift for her to put into her home office.
The Super-Flight
This one is only for that 40-year-old woman who is daring and not afraid of anything, like a real superhero. Pay for her to go skydiving. Allow her to know what it feels like to be a superhero flying through the clouds, at least for a few minutes. No matter where you live, there is some place nearby that will allow you to go skydiving. The birthday girl can even wear her cape in some instances as she jumps from the plane. If the woman is a little afraid of such things, go for the slightly less extreme and bring her to an indoor skydiving establishment, where they just use a high powered fan to make her feel like she's flying.