The One Gift Perfect For ALL Occasions

While I  was preparing for some medical exams, I had this lecturer who would explain a certain type of investigation- I forget exactly what now, some kind of blood test (that is a good initial choice for all patients, regardless of presentation)-  by saying ;‘it’s like flowers. good for any occasion’.

I loved that analogy, and you know what? He was totally right. Birthday? Flowers. Anniversary? Flowers. Graduation? Flowers. Sick Visit? Flowers, Funeral? Flowers.  ‘I wish he/she hadn’t bought me these flowers!’ – says no one ever  (unless perhaps you are unfortunate enough to have an allergy them)!  And really, we all know the best occasion for flowers is no occasion at all.

Whenever I can’t justify splurging on buying myself a particular bouquet that has caught my eye I will often justify it easily enough in my mind, if I think of someone to gift them to. A girlfriend I’m about to visit or a fellow mum whose kid has invited mine for a play date. (Like these gorgeously named ‘blushing brides’ that I couldn’t resist one time…)

I often think – if only men realized the power in buying a ‘no occasion’ bunch of flowers for the special ladies in their lives once in a while . Especially for their wife, after marriage, in the midst of kids, on a day when she is not expecting anything. The most beautiful flowers I received weren’t actually the most beautiful, in the sense you might imagine. Hubby and I were having one of those days, where most things turn into … let’s say … ‘bickering’, I called him up to buy some groceries, (it was a total favor, in the middle of his work day) and was pretty curt to him on the phone too. He dropped off groceries, and drove back to work without a word. I looked in the bag to find, milk, eggs, blah blah blah and … Roses. A dozen yellow roses. Hubby:10 Wifey: a big fat ZERO!

I am telling you gentlemen – flowers give you points. Lots of them. Yeah sure she can buy herself flowers and actually I often do, but take it from me – even if you plucked a single flower from the bush outside your front door, she will treasure it. Women don’t see flowers they see Love.

My kids and I always stop to smell the flowers, no not so often at the local park but on grocery runs at Trader Joe’s. If you are in North America you will know that Trader Joe’s have the best flowers and I reckon for the best prices. It started off when my first born was a baby, just general mama baby chit chat and we would talk about the colors we liked best but soon this mama turned it into a teaching point .

By the age of 3, my son knew which flowers were my favorite (and could therefore easily suggest them as a buying option while shopping with baba!) and my daughter who is now two and a half,  loves to join in when we are choosing a bunch for friends. Once when we were wondering what to buy his much-loved Qur’an teacher as a gift – I asked Ismail  – ‘whats the best gift you could give a lady if you can’t think of anything else?’. He is  nearing 6 and  knows the drill by now. His future wife can thank me later!

If you have a sudden urge to buy flowers after reading this, my sister has these few simple steps to make grocery store flowers look a little more chic.

1. Instead of going for a  pre-arranged bouquet, choose two or three small bunches (if you are stuck stick to a similar color palette) and once at home, mix them up into one big bouquet,
2. Finish off the ‘flower shop’ look by adding a few loose leafy branches either from a tree outside or just buying some eucalyptus leaves.
3. If the flowers are for a gift, wrap them with any fancy paper or even just plain brown paper and if you have some lying around tie some string or ribbon too.

You wont believe the difference this makes!  My sister has been doing this for years but apparently its a thing. Here are some sunflowers I wrapped in gold paper for instant glamour! (Can you guess sunflowers are my favorite?)

I’m a total amatuer at flower arranging, you definitely don’t need to be a pro to try this. Here is one of my attempts, which I arranged last winter for a dear friend (note the eucalyptus leaves!)

Before:

After: