Best Birthday Presents!
This is me celebrating my birthday last week. I'm doing a funny half smile as my husband decided to get the camera out just as I had a mouthful of food!! During my birthday week (celebrations have to last for a while, don't they?!), it dawned on me that my gift givers got just as much fun out of my birthday as I did.
My 3 children each bought me a present with their pocket money and it was so lovely to see what they had chosen and how excited they were with their special gift.
Luke, my youngest boy, had noticed that recently 3 of my much-loved mugs had come to an end in various ways (1. cracked when filling with boiling water, 2. handle randomly fell off, 3. tumbled out of the cupboard). He had noticed how annoyed I was as not being able to drink my morning coffee out of one of my 'perfect' mugs. So he tracked me down a new one and even had it engraved with my name!
Eve bought me a new planter for the front door as she knows I love plants both indoors and out. She carried it all the way from the local village and the smile on her tired face was a real picture.
Finally, my oldest boy Jack, sourced some of my favourite chocolates as a special treat. You can't get them in many places, but he hunted high and low until he found them and that made them so special.
In the photo above, my husband took me to Galway for a couple of days. Here we went to a concert, walked lots, had some Guinness, and ate plates of fresh seafood. Again, these are all things I love, and it was very thoughtful of him to arrange such a birthday treat.
Everyone thought they had bought me the perfect gift and you know what, they had!
So when a friend of mine recently asked me to make custom dog necklaces for 2 of her friends, it was also a lightbulb moment. She was putting her trust in me to make her the best gift giver and that's a lot of pressure.
But then, that's what I've been doing for the past 20 years. Making jewellery that people love to give. Her friends were delighted with their necklaces and after the past week, I know how they feel to receive the best present ever!
