Open the cupboard of anybody who has had a life and you will find them. A small collection of shot glasses, none of which match, most of which were never bought by the owner.
And they can tell you where every single one came from.
The Most Sentimental Object In The Kitchen
This sounds like an overstatement and it is not. Shot glasses are the most reliable souvenir on earth, and it is because of their size.
Something small, cheap and unbreakable enough to survive a suitcase, and useful enough that it does not become clutter. That is why they come back from every trip, get given at every stag do, and end up marking every occasion that got slightly out of hand.
Nobody Uses Them For Shots
Let us be honest about the actual usage statistics in most households.
- Measuring an ingredient when you cannot find the proper measure.
- Holding cocktail sticks at a party.
- A tiny vase for one flower somebody brought in from the garden.
- Sitting on a shelf being looked at fondly. The primary use, by a wide margin.
The drinking is almost incidental. A Shot Glass by Allergic to Boring Dayz is going to spend most of its life on a shelf being a reminder of something, and that is exactly the correct outcome.
Why They Make Such Good Gifts
Because the pressure is completely off. That is the whole secret.
A shot glass costs almost nothing, so nobody feels awkward receiving it. It takes up no room, so nobody resents storing it. And it carries a memory perfectly, so it lasts far longer than things that cost twenty times as much.
Cheap, meaningful, and permanent. That is a very rare combination in a gift.
The Collection Rule
One warning if you are starting somebody off. Never buy a matching set for a collector.
The entire charm is that they do not match. A set of six identical glasses is barware. Fourteen mismatched ones are a biography.
Go And Look In Your Cupboard
Genuinely, go and look. Pick one up and see whether you remember where it came from.
You will. Every time. That is a lot of work for a very small object, and it never gets any credit for it.
Written by Allergic to Boring Dayz. Thanks for reading.