This is what my wife did for me, maybe you coud do something similar,
She booked a reastaurant, one of those that have singsongs, and got the family and close friends to come, everyone paid for their own meals.
The whole thing was a surprise, how she kept it a secret i'll never know, but a really wonderful time was had by all.
Just a suggestion, but whatever you do, good luck, and i'm sure you'll come up with something that shows your love and appreciation.
Why don't you do 30 things for her 30 years. Make a list of 30 things you'll do around the house (or in the bedroom). Alternatively write a list of 30 things you love about her. Sometimes it's not about spending money.
This all depends if she's a mum or not. if she is, she won't probably want to spend a weekend away from them but there again might be looking forward to it! if this is the case, a night at a hotel with jacuzzi or pool and good food is a good idea. If not, fix a babysitter and have a good evening out; meal, cinema, nice (not local) pub. If no children are involved, take her off to London, Paris or somewhere for a couple of nights. The preparation and organising is worth more than just buying something.
Hope you both enjoy it
what about a brand new, fast, shiny, sparkly, sexy, sleek sports car - she will love you forever!
Or just make sure no one sends her horrid cards with big numbers on that depress her
It would really depend on your budget.
If money is no object then tell her to book the friday / monday off of the weekend near her birthday and tell her nothing else.
Plan a weekend of little surprises (or just give her the maltesers :))
If she has always wanted to go to a particular european city, plan a break there. Unfortunately, she will find out at the airport / rail port / ferry terminal but she will love you for doing it and showing the thought.
One thing I did for my (then) girlfriend was to hire an Aston Martin for the weekend and drive to a country hotel for a weekend of pampering, leafy lane walks and candlelit dinners (tbh, the car cost more than the weekend but it was worth it to treat her like a princess / WAG for the weekend).
Or........
Tell her to not arrange anything for the night of her birthday.
Book a fancy restaurant for the evening (not one where you get a free meal for your birthday, its fun but wreaks of cheap).
Buy her a gorgeous dress to wear on the evening but make sure she doesn't wear a particular kind of jewelry with it. That comes later.
Book a car (not a taxi but a decent car - check airport transfers in the local yellow pages) to take you where you're going. Don't drive yourself as you can't have a glass of champagne then.
Arrange a bottle of champagne in a hi-hat for next to the table.
Give her the jewelry box as the waiter is pouring the champagne for you.
The rest of the evening is up to you but I would recommend two things -
1: Nothing spicy
2: Don't get drunk.
If your budget isn't too much you could just spend the evening pampering her with lots of slavery (in a none-pervy sense) and treating her like a goddess.
Good luck, and happy birthday to your good lady. :)
K
Are you a romantic type of guy? I read this in a magazine and thought it was lovely.... a husband snuck out of bed in the middle of the night and in the morning his wife woke up to loads of balloons in her living room (you could do 30). He told her she had to pop them all and in each one was a love message (or you could write 30 things you love about her?)