as I never know what to do about them. I would ignore my own if I could. It is on a day of the year when everyone is celebrating something else. How can I possibly expect anyone, even family, to be interested in the fact that I have made it through another year?
But tomorrow is Middle Cat's birthday and the birthday of a friend in America. I remember my American friend's birthday because she shares it with Middle Cat.
Middle Cat married into a family where birthdays are not taken very seriously. They seem to do some sort of "name-day" thing instead although Middle Cat's husband is not interested in that either. S... doesn't even want you to say "Happy Birthday". The two of us agree on that one.
For Middle Cat it is different. It isn't that she particularly wants a fuss but I know she wants it to be acknowledged. I even have a present for her. It isn't exciting. It is just "useful".
When I was a kitten my birthday was not something a fuss was ever made about. My parents forgot it completely one year. (We were on a family camping trip and the camping ground was not exactly quiet that night.)
I went past the toy shop in our local shopping centre yesterday. It is an outstandingly good toy shop. There are no "weapons" of any kind on sale. There are plenty of toys which require the use of imagination. No, it isn't cheap but most of the local parents and grandparents know the value of what is sold there.
As always though someone was birthday present buying an discussing this with a friend. "I could get something like this much cheaper in...."
But it's a birthday I thought to myself. It's supposed to be a special day. Buy that one and they will use it for years. They might even save it for their children.
I didn't get a chance to save any toys. My mother gave ours away as we moved from one place to another. I can only assume it saved her the trouble of packing them. We were not asked about this. It just happened. The books were different. We did keep most of those. My brother used them for his children and they are now used for his grandchildren. One of those grandchildren has already said "if I grow up and get married and have lots of children then they will have these too". Good. It is what should happen to books. They will be even more old-fashioned then they are now but does that matter? I will go on giving you more books for your birthdays.
But birthdays still bother me. Do we really need them? Do we need to know we are getting old(er) or should we simply forget about them when we reach legal adulthood? It might be easier. I wouldn't have to think about presents. I could just give people things sometimes because I want to give them something.
Unbirthday presents are just as important aren't they?
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4 comments:
My Mother always gave the three grandchildren half-birthday presents - on the grounds that a year was an awful long time to wait for a little something, She also did the occasional un-birthday present to me when I was young - and I do believe these were some of the most appreciated.
Birthdays don't really require presents from all and sundry for the adults but having them acknowledged is nice. In our family, we have dinner together for family birthdays but presents aren't really a part of that. I do exchange with my daughter, granddaughter and one brother but that's almost always separate from dinner and is often a treat rather than a thing (like a trip to the botanical garden).
On the other hand, there's absolutely no reason to have it celebrated if you do not wish to do so.
And Jean from Cornwall is so right - those unexpected, no occasion gifts can be so nice.
Birthday parties really do not need to be pricey. You can rent a church hall, supply the party food and hire a bouncy castle for a day. Or you can have a fun party at a local cinema and have some tasty cake, pizza or ice cream for dinner afterwards. You can even make a entire day of it and visit a city zoo, stroll around etc. Other ideas include a escape room party or a dance party at home. I would call up a few different places in advance or email in order to find out more. I recommend researching online as well as sometimes you can find great ideas online that could be used wholly free of charge. You could also take the kids to a cheap museum or have a night bowling bash complete with energy drinks and simple food too. Alternatively you can always hire a experienced skilled entertainer from a circus, bake a cake, decorate a room and play fun games. Keep costs down by making or baking in advance and finding all manner of deals on visitor attractions.
I love giving people un-birthday presents - just little things they might need or like!
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