Back Story
I decided to combine multiple stories into one story. The common theme is Custom Coffee Mugs. There are four instances where I have gifted coffee mugs, and I’d like to share all four stories.
Sibling Rivalry
Its a constant battle between siblings “Mom loves me more!” “I love Dad more than you do!” “I’m the favorite!” I thought it would be great fun to gift my husband this mug as a Father’s Day gift from my two boys. He absolutely loved it and uses it to this day.
Friends Forever
Our college friends group is very close knit. Some of us are in the US (I live in California), some in India, so we don’t get to meet very often but whenever we meet, it’s like we’re back in college. WhatApp and Facebook help us keep in touch with our lives, and we share and support each other through all major events in our life. I meet with the two who live in Chennai everytime I go to India, and every time I try to find the perfect gift for them. I’ll be featuring some of the other gifts in later stories, but I wanted to start with this one that I got for them recently. A coffee mug symbolizing our friendship – that geographical distances do not matter when friends are connected through the heart.
Reunion Hit
I went to a wonderful boarding school called Rishi Valley School from 8th to 10th grade. While staying away from my parents for the first time ever was very hard, the pangs of homesickness were eased by a lovely valley setting with river bed treks, orchard hikes, hill hikes, and close bonds with friends who became very close. I had lost touch with everyone until Facebook allowed us to get back in touch again. We planned a reunion in the Bay Area in March 2019, and there was excitement and trepidation – would we connect after 40 years? We had a most remarkable weekend with close intimate discussions, sharing of life stories, laughter, and fun. I wanted to commemorate the weekend with a special memento and added Rishi Valley photos to a custom mug for all of us. Everyone loved the mug!
Commemorative Mug
I am quite a religious person. Ever since I got married and came to America, I have made it a point to maintain all the customs and rituals that my parents used to follow in India. Once tradition is an annual assembly of dolls on a set of 3/5/7/9 steps, that is called a “golu”. The festival of Navarathri is celebrated over 9 days and every year I invite everyone I know to an open house. The gathering has become over 100 people in recent years and I cook for everyone. It is customary to give a return gift to all the women who attend and over the years I have tried to think of useful, practical gifts that do not use up non-recyclable plastics. A few years ago I gifted this mug with the “Om” symbol which is very significant in Hinduism. The mug can be adapted for any other symbol that means a lot to you.
Product Details:
Personalized mug with any text/photo/symbol/map of your choice. Reflective of the recipient’s interests.
Reaction to the gift:
“I love both my boys equally. I love this fun mug my wife found for me and cherish the image of my squabbling boys that comes to my mind every time I sip coffee from it.”
“I love this mug that Sowmya (we call her PSo) got for us last year. It truly reflects our experience, that distance does not affect the strong bonds of our friendship.“
“Sowmya always thinks of the most personalized gifts and we loved her thoughtfulness in commemorating our reunion weekend with a mug that both celebrated our weekend and brought back back memories of our wonderful time in Rishi Valley.”
“Every year at golu, I look forward to seeing what gift Sowmya has gotten us. Her “Om” mug this year was especially reflective of the deep significance of the Hindu Navarathri event, and practical as well.”
