My birthday is next week, so the questions have arrived: What do I want? Times that question by two if you include the Christmas inquiries, too.

Hmm, well, let me keep this short, sweet, and best of all, stuff-free. I’m being completely honest when I say, I really don’t want ANYTHING, and by ANYTHING I mean any old thing. So please, there is no need to get me something for the sake of getting me something just because it is my birthday. I have enough stuff to fill two houses at this point in time. My kitchen cabinets cannot make any more space for the latest and greatest unitasking electric appliance (i.e., donut machine or miniature ice pop maker). I have a six-by-four foot closet packed to the gills with clothes, shoes, and handbags, most of which sadly never see the light of day. And the shared space in our home also hasn’t a surface to spare for a photo frame or figurine (wah-wuh).

However, I know that much pleasure comes from being able to give a gift to someone on a special event such as a birthday or Christmas (because I LOVE to get others gifts, even for no occasion at all!), so who am I to deny such an opportunity? So I won’t… but I do encourage those interested in giving me a gift to read and re-read this list to get a better idea of what it is that might make me happiest on my special day(s) upcoming.

And now, the very short list (and again, stuff-free) of all I want for my birthday (and it applies for Christmas, too):

Consumables. I love food, but as most know I don’t really cook much. However, I do love to bake, and I do love interesting ingredients that make me search cookbooks and online for new ways to incorporate them into different recipes. I also love to go out to eat breakfast, lunch, snacks, desserts, dinner, and drinks. Having said all that, it is hard to go wrong with a gift that I can easily consume. And one of the best parts of a gift like this is that it doesn’t require much room to store it (and not for very long either) so I won’t get too frustrated trying to find space for a new spice in my pantry (or a gift card in my wallet). Cheers!

Buy a Gift for Someone Else Who Needs it More. If you are at the zoo or an aquarium anytime soon, sponsor a small animal’s care in our names together. Or, “buy” a family a few chickens and/or a goat so they have eggs to eat and/or milk to drink for months (years?) to come. Invest in clean water in a developing nation. Get the idea? Then please tell me all about it by sending me the story of what you’ve done, and by all means please keep the tax-deductible portion all for yourself. That’s not what it’d be about for me anyway.

Pay it Forward. Donate some extra toys to Sparks of Love or Toys for Tots and tell me all about it. Or, go volunteer with children at the hospital or read books to the elderly at a convalescent hospital and share your experience with me. Best of all, maybe you can just tell me you went a day driving around town without road raging in front of your kid (OK, maybe that one is a wee bit too challenging, sorry, never mind!). Whatever it is, you can just a little something to make the world a little brighter of a place for someone else, and perhaps they in turn might go forth and do the same. Ah what a world this could be, eh?

Say Something Nice about Me, TO ME. Seriously, if I got a really nice handwritten card from a person telling me why it is we still talk after all these weeks, months, or years that we’ve known one another – why it is we’re friends in the first place – that would be really sweet (unbelievable actually LOL). Heck, I might even cry (OK I definitely would cry, as I am a total sap). So think of this one as the gift that brings me to tears (of joy, but still), and there’s no big red bow on a fancy car required (so pretty cheap, too)! Again, perhaps TOO challenging (especially for those who just don’t do cards – yes, that one’s for you C), but this one might be the best gift of all (for reals!), so do think about it?

Yep, that’s it. That’s all I got for this year. Happy shopping… or not… it’s all good!

Oh… and happy birthday to me, too!