You don't need to buy me flowers

My friends, my husband and my children know this about me: You don't need to buy me flowers, or chocolates, or anything really.. I LOVE flowers, but it makes me sad to see them slowly decay and throw them away in the end.. Also, I'm too aware of the environmental footprint of the flower industry -it’s a biggy-

Don't buy me a card because I should already know how much you care.. If you make me one, I will forever cherish it but hope you don't resent me for putting it in the recycling bin after taking a picture.

-I know, I'm awful, it only gets worse with time I'm afraid 🙈-

You will make me jump of happiness if you take me away for a walk in the forest, or the beach (if the sun is gracing us with its presence that day); and you'll make me squeal of delight if you bake me something and remembered that I'm a geek and I like my ingredients organic and Fairtrade. You would knock me off my feet if you checked that there’s no palm oil in them.

You can steal my heart by cooking something new and exotic, or by fixing something that is waiting to be fixed for ages. I'd love to spend some time together, even if it's just watching telly, having a glass of wine or playing a board game.

Basically, TIME. This is the most valuable thing you could give me. Time with you, or time for myself, by taking a few chores off my hands (or having the children over for an afternoon -or a night!-)

Having said all that, I do wear clothes (and shoes); as a family we often go picnicking and we love to barbecue and have garden parties. So there are a few material things you could gift me, if you really wanted to treat me to a gift. If you did choose to go down that rocky road, I'd definitely hope that you chose to spend your money on a product or service provided by a company that pays taxes, is transparent, cares for the people it employs and shows signs of caring about its social and  environmental impact.

I know... You are better off buying me beer and drawing me some flowers on a napkin 😂 

In my defense, I am a very conscious consumer and I take AGES choosing the products that come into my home, from food, to clothing, to toys and gaming consoles. And life can be SO random that in a weird twist of fate I own an independent shop and am now in a privileged position to influence other people’s buying patterns. So excuse me for being over-conscious and weird, buy me a beer and lets be done with it 🍺🌸😘 xx