Finally making my first request since I joined RAoC at the very end of last year and got to send happy mail to all of you in this lovely community!

My birthday is a month away - 22nd September, and I'd love to receive some mail love for the occasion, BUT I'd like the card itself to not be birthday themed in design.

But isn't this a birthday request? I gather some explaining is in order. (Apologies for the long post in advance! You can skip to the TL;DR if you just want to send me a card and thank you :D)

So, backstory, when I was 10 years old, I decided I was tired of the spectacle of cake cutting and grinning awkwardly for pictures by my parents while sat in front of an aggressively-iced birthday cake and being sung to and clapped at while blowing out candles. It just felt all like such a chore to me to create an embarassing kid-photo opportunity and I decided being 10 was old enough to decide how I wanted my birthday to go for a change!

So I declared that year for my birthday that I wanted no cake, no candles, and no singing, and to have my birthday be a pizza night while watching movies on TV. And at 10 years old, getting to celebrate that way was awesome!

Funnily enough, in the years since I have kept to low key birthdays - I have never had a single birthday party, ever, and I'm in my late 20s! I just get together with the family for dinner out (or delivery, in these pandemic days), and occasionally might go for lunch with a friend or two who might insist on taking care of the bill. It's just another day of the year to me, and I trust my friends and family to create memories and have good times with me anytime, rather than just on one special day.

(TL;DR bit starts here) Coming back to the card request after that mini essay - I'd love to hear how YOU want to celebrate!

Write to me about EITHER: how you like to celebrate any occasion of your choosing (holiday, personal or professional achievement, a significant date like an anniversary/birthday, a treat to yourself for a small win, even a made-up or imaginary day worth celebrating would be cool!). OR: alternatively, tell me about a celebration you really enjoyed :D

I would love to receive cards of any subject as long as it's not explicitly a birthday-themed design (feel free to write Happy Birthday in the message, it just shouldn't be part of the "art" side!).

For those who prefer knowing a recipient's preferences to pick a card to send, here is a quick copypaste of some of my favourites (just suggestions and totally optional, would appreciate any and all cards!):

Colours: Blue-teal-turquoise, silver, black, bronze / Wildcats (especially Lynxes), and ravens or any animals/birds / tea!! / video games / nature / washi tape, ink stamps, fountain pens / art & museums / theatre / books

Massive thank you to anyone who reads through all of this :) I'm about to head to bed but I'll catch up with PMs to share my address tomorrow!