Birthday blues
At the risk of sounding an ungrateful cow, I'm going to have a moan. It's almost my birthday, which is at the crappiest time of year to have a birthday, first week after Christmas and new year. First week back at work. Having you're birthday 12 days after Christmas sucks anyway, as you have to wait an entire 12 months to receive anything you've been hinting wanting all year long, then you have Christmas, birthday, then a looooooong 12 month wait again. And after 12 months of hinting (or in my case outright telling people what I want for my birthday) you get to the big day and it's a bit of a damp squib. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful for the presents I receive, I genuinely do appreciate the gifts I'm so generously given, but it's just that I guess I have high expectations. I don't want extravagant expensive gifts, but what I'd really really love, is a birthday present that had some real thought put behind it, rather than something that was bought in the sales as a bit of an afterthought. Summer born peeps never get told "you had your main present at Christmas". January birthdays are pants.
Maybe it's because I like to buy really personal gifts for people, like the solid silver cufflinks I got my husband with drawings by my then 3 year old engraved on them, that I long for something to open and think "wow, I'll cherish and keep that forever!". I scour the web for hours agonising over whether to get this or that for someone and usually go for something unique to them, or something they've specifically expressed an interest in. And I love watching people open their gifts to see their reactions when they see them. And maybe it's because now I have kids, I have an aversion to additional clutter and tat as the kids seem to produce and acquire ample amounts of both, that I don't really wish for more "stuff". But equally the kids provide substantial opportunities for really unique and thoughtful gifts (basically anything with their names on or associated to them is pretty much bound to bring a smile to my face). Less is more.
Which brings me to the instigator of this slightly self indulgent and probably coming across as mightily ungrateful and materialistic moan... this year I already know what I'm getting as I got "how do I order that thing you wanted? Can you order it and I'll enter my bank details". Ok so yes it means I get a beautiful bead for my pandora bracelet, engraved with my children's name on it, which is one of the more recent things I expressed an interest in (along with a list of personalised necklaces/pendants which could have been engraved with my husband and my kids names... there's a theme here...) but there was no thought and time and energy put in to selecting it and buying it. The sentiment isn't there. Even after emailing over the link and instructions from the jewellers, after I had emailed them to ask if the text would fit, I still had to arrange it, decide on the text, order it and arrange delivery. Huff.
I don't want gifts that cost hundreds of pounds. I want a gift that cost hundreds of minutes to choose. In a household where I organise the bills, reorder and organise food to ensure the cupboards aren't bare, sort and pack away the clothes the kids have grown out of, plan out our eldest's packed lunches for the week, arrange immunisations, allergist and paediatric hospital appointments, allocate enough money in our account so we pay the mortgage each month, dust the beading on the doors and water the plants, change the bed sheets and a million other things that no one else thinks of doing, going to the extent of listing 6 different things I'd really like for my birthday (all requiring some pre planning to make sure they're ordered to arrive in time because they're personalised) and still have to end up ordering your own gift, smarts a bit.
But then again, I should be grateful I got a gift. Some mum's get a lot less. So maybe I'll just shut up and smile and just be happy with my very lovely thoughtful (because I put a lot of thought in to it) birthday present... And stop expecting anything less or anything more! Happy birthday to me!
Maybe it's because I like to buy really personal gifts for people, like the solid silver cufflinks I got my husband with drawings by my then 3 year old engraved on them, that I long for something to open and think "wow, I'll cherish and keep that forever!". I scour the web for hours agonising over whether to get this or that for someone and usually go for something unique to them, or something they've specifically expressed an interest in. And I love watching people open their gifts to see their reactions when they see them. And maybe it's because now I have kids, I have an aversion to additional clutter and tat as the kids seem to produce and acquire ample amounts of both, that I don't really wish for more "stuff". But equally the kids provide substantial opportunities for really unique and thoughtful gifts (basically anything with their names on or associated to them is pretty much bound to bring a smile to my face). Less is more.
Which brings me to the instigator of this slightly self indulgent and probably coming across as mightily ungrateful and materialistic moan... this year I already know what I'm getting as I got "how do I order that thing you wanted? Can you order it and I'll enter my bank details". Ok so yes it means I get a beautiful bead for my pandora bracelet, engraved with my children's name on it, which is one of the more recent things I expressed an interest in (along with a list of personalised necklaces/pendants which could have been engraved with my husband and my kids names... there's a theme here...) but there was no thought and time and energy put in to selecting it and buying it. The sentiment isn't there. Even after emailing over the link and instructions from the jewellers, after I had emailed them to ask if the text would fit, I still had to arrange it, decide on the text, order it and arrange delivery. Huff.
I don't want gifts that cost hundreds of pounds. I want a gift that cost hundreds of minutes to choose. In a household where I organise the bills, reorder and organise food to ensure the cupboards aren't bare, sort and pack away the clothes the kids have grown out of, plan out our eldest's packed lunches for the week, arrange immunisations, allergist and paediatric hospital appointments, allocate enough money in our account so we pay the mortgage each month, dust the beading on the doors and water the plants, change the bed sheets and a million other things that no one else thinks of doing, going to the extent of listing 6 different things I'd really like for my birthday (all requiring some pre planning to make sure they're ordered to arrive in time because they're personalised) and still have to end up ordering your own gift, smarts a bit.
But then again, I should be grateful I got a gift. Some mum's get a lot less. So maybe I'll just shut up and smile and just be happy with my very lovely thoughtful (because I put a lot of thought in to it) birthday present... And stop expecting anything less or anything more! Happy birthday to me!
Comments