My birthday is tomorrow, and to be honest, I really would not be that aware of it if I had not started to receive congratulatory messages on my social media pages.  The bombardment started a day early, since my friends in New Zealand and Australia are a day ahead.  I know from past experience that before the next few days are finished, my various social media walls will be filled with messages from dear friends, distant acquaintances, and a mass of others from strangers I only know because we have some shared interests.  I’ll do my best to reply to them all, and would not mind if I had a ten dollar bill for everyone that wished me a happy birthday. 

 There are some of the closer people in my life who have started to ask me what I want.  I am one of those people who more or less feels like he has everything, so to make things interesting, I have decided to ask everyone for gift baskets from Calgary.  Most people expect me to ask for a book or a gift certificate, but this year, I have been asking for gift baskets.  A couple of the surprised people have asked me why I would want that over anything else, and my reasons are simple.

 For starters, the gift is always unique.  No two gift baskets are alike, and so I know that I will not have to worry about having duplicates or feel the need to return a gift or regift it to someone else.  Plus, gift baskets are generally filled with food, and that means that I can share them with the rest of my family.  My wife and children will be more than happy to dig into those gift baskets with me.  Being a guy, the other things that fill the basket tend to be man-things, so shaving lotion, aftershave, cologne, and things like that are always a favorite and always come in handy.

 The thing I am most interested in is the basket itself.  I have seen all kinds, from the cheap plastic Easter baskets to some that seem to be made from fine leather.  I have no idea what I will be getting, but that is part of the fun.  They should start pouring in tomorrow, and I think because of that, I am more excited about this birthday than I have been in years.