Most children dream of becoming adults. Teenagers can’t wait to celebrate their 18th birthday. People in their twenties believe their life to be full of opportunities. And when another 10 years go by? Many people still throw up a big party, but they often ask themselves whether the best time of their life has not just passed. How to convince them that it is not best before but after 30? With a creative gift!
Braw best before dates
One of my friends is a big fan of orange colour. I, in turn, love to use common objects in uncommon ways. Over a year ago, I suddenly saw orange best before dates on bread clips in a brand new light and decided to put them to use.
Bodacious best before dates
My friend’s birthday was in winter, so I had the entire year to collect the clips. A month before the due date, I had over 30. Since they are of a rectangular shape, they were perfect to form words. I laid them in chronological order, bought a navy blue cardboard for the background and arranged them into my friend’s first name and number 30. At first, I wanted to create the words from exactly 30 clips, but the aesthetic considerations prevailed – the writing had to be above all neat and legible. Between the words, I used a white correction fluid to write ‘BEST AFTER‘, in order to emphasise that my friend’s 30th birthday was quite the opposite of her best before date.
Remarkable recycling gift
My friend was delighted. During the party we took a picture with her and her new banner that left no doubts as to the occasion of our joyful celebration. I don’t know if it is still displayed in some visible place, but I know one thing for sure: The birthday girl does know for certain that her life is not best before but after 30.
Best after retirement
Naturally, best before dates may also be a wonderful present for the 18th, 40th or 50th birthday, as well as for going on retirement. In the last case, the recipient’s name and ‘BEST AFTER’ may be followed by the date of their last day at work.
Let me know what you think about this idea in the comments below!
My advice:
– The orange colour of the clips was my initial inspiration, but your clips may have different colours. You may also create the words from best before dates cut out from cardboard or other packaging, which could make it easier to paste them.
– If your clips are not flat, like mine, it is best to use a hot melt adhesive applied with a glue gun. I didn’t have one, and I tried to stick my clips with an ordinary paper glue or a double-sided adhesive tape. Unfortunately, this didn’t work well. Eventually, I decided to hold everything together by laminating the cardboard. The effect was far different from what I imagined, but it did prevent the clips from falling off during transport.
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