Share Birthday Gift Ideas On Facebook Not Just Pinterest

Happy Birthweek to me! Happy Birthweek to me! It’s my birthweek this week. Yes, I celebrate for the entire week. I’m going to call it an age thing. There has to be some benefits to ageing right?

The way I see it is birthdays are for kids. One day is enough for kids. Anything more than that is simply cause for parental stress caused by way too many days of sugar. Birthweekends are for teenagers and young adults. Let them party, I say.

As far as I’m concerned, anyone 35 and over deserves a whole week. It really ought to become a cultural norm. Who’s with me?

One of the great things about celebrating your birthday all week is that there is plenty of opportunity, outside of material gifts, to express your needs and desires.

Expressing your needs and desires is something that couples counsellors often espouse as a key communication technique. Your partner is not a mind reader yada yada yada.

One thing I’ve discovered is that, even though Pinterest is an amazing place to collect all sorts of things you love – interior design ideas, favourite clothes, fitness inspiration, craft concepts (the list is infinite really) – it’s really your place. It’s a collection of things you love that you’ve sourced from your online and offline travels and you’ve repinned from others’ online and offline travels – strangers and friends alike.

Pinterest is also a place of fantasy – a place where dreams are made. Often the items we pin we wouldn’t, in a million years, ever dream of buying even if we could afford them.

Pinterest is not a place for dropping hints. If I relied on Pinterest as a communication tool to express my needs and desires to my partner I think he’d a) think I’m utterly high maintenance; b) think I’m incredibly materialistic; and c) think I’m stranger than I am.

That aside, he would never go there anyway. I’m not saying men don’t use Pinterest (30% of users are male), but I am saying it’s highly unlikely your partner will hop on Pinterest to actively pursue information regarding your needs and desires.

That’s what Facebook is for. If your significant other, your friend or family member shares something they love on Facebook or they tag you in a post (that’s not just a funny meme) it’s the perfect example of a not so subtle hint.

I love it when we hold a canvas art prints promotion and people tag each other in the comments. That spirit of sharing is one of the most awesome things about Facebook.

Where the effort lies is finding a single place to collect all this info – and that’s where Pinterest comes back into play. Save those items and descriptions on a secret Pinterest board.

But don’t just rely on Facebook and Pinterest to do the work for you. When it comes to ensuring your birthday week is everything and more each year, don’t be backwards in coming forwards in expressing your needs and desires. And be sure to listen and act when your partner expresses theirs.

When you’re in the hi fi store and your partner says ‘Wow I’d love to own the Sex in The City Boxset’ or ‘How cool would it be to have all the seasons of Star Trek on DVD’ write that stuff down straight away.

After you’ve organised some photos on canvas featuring your family or some beautiful acrylic glass prints of your favourite wedding photos (because they shared the idea on Facebook!), to show you’ve really listened, make sure you go out a buy your loved one something else they’ve always wanted (DVD, Dinner For Two, Massage).

This week, for my birthday week, I’m deciding on somewhere to hang my new canvas travel collage and watching West Wing. Thanks for listening, my darling.