Hi everyone!!
I meant to post this last weekend but there’s just been a lot going on. Anyway, two weekends ago, there were two birthdays that I wanted to post about. Both were memorable in their own ways. I’ll start off with the very special, 95th birthday of my great-grandmother. Yes, 95!!!! I’m so excited she’s been able to stay with us for this long and would love for her to stay for more years to come. She’s one of the sweetest (and strongest) women I know.
Since this year was a special birthday, I wanted to make her feel extra special. We normally gift her things like blankets, massagers, or heat pads…things that might just remind her that she’s old and all she gets are things that make her feel less pain or make her more comfortable. This year, I wanted to do something different. I decided that something sentimental would be more meaningful. Two days before her birthday dinner, I rounded up my cousins to do a quick photo collage that said a message. We’re all separated for the most part; some of us are in the Bay Area, a couple in LA, one in Hawaii, but we got it together within 2 days. Here is the final product:
“Happy Birthday Bok Bok! We love you!”
If you ever need an idea on what to get an older relative, this might just be the perfect idea for you. I uploaded these photos onto Walgreens since there was a deal on photo gifts going on and decided on a photo collage. Walgreens’ photo editor randomizes the photos and layouts depending on how many photos you have so it took a while to find a layout that would work with the message we were piecing together. (P.S. “Bok Bok” is what we call our great-grandma in Chinese.) I bought the frame from Target on clearance.
We also decided to take many photos together since lots of my family was together which is rare. I decided to make simple “photo booth props” but instead of mustaches and masks I printed out phrases in Chinese so that my great-grandma could understand what they said. Here is what they looked like in our pictures:
The signs above from left to right say:
- Happy Birthday!
- I am 95 years old!
- I love my great-grandma.
Other signs I made (just to give you more ideas) were:
- I love my grandma.
- I love my mom.
- 4 generations.
These were simple to make. I took full pieces of white cardstock paper, printed the phrases on the bottom half of the paper, folded them in half, and taped a popsicle stick in between the folded paper.
I hope these simple ideas come in handy if you have any birthdays coming up. I know they’re simple, but sometimes simple is enough for someone to feel special and loved.
Stay tuned for the second birthday of that weekend!
AMANDAMLIM 