Why Is Wine an Automatic Gift for Moms?

Newsflash: The entire population doesn’t drink.

Since the rise of mommy wine culture in the mid-2010s, more and more people are giving wine and alcohol as gifts.

It’s all part of the big marketing ploy by Big Alcohol. You’ve all seen the advertisements and merchandise that’s available.

“Motherhood: fueled by coffee, sustained by wine!”

Last night, at a banquet for my daughter’s dance studio, they gave out awards and spoke about each student. It was a beautiful night full of laughs and some tears, mainly because my oldest daughter is graduating from the studio and moving on.

All of the moms who have helped throughout the season were given a basket as a token of the studio’s appreciation.

What was in the basket? I was waiting to hear my name called but caught a glimpse of another mom as she walked back to her seat.

It was a shiny pink bottle of champagne or prosecco, I didn’t catch the label. And, a candle.

When my name was called and I came back to my table, I noticed what the card read.

“Thank you so much for your help and support. Now, you can go unwind and relax.”

A candle with a bath does sound so relaxing. How about gift some bath salts or bubbles to go along with the candle? Wouldn’t that be more relaxing?

It is a learned behavior that we need to have wine to relax as adults. It is normalized that we should all drink this addictive substance.

As a mom, we are told that we need wine because of all the “hard work” we do.

Does wine make you a better parent? I think I would laugh if someone said that to me. In all my years of drinking, never once did I think that.

Wine doesn’t make you a better parent, it helps you block out what is really going on. It turns off signals from your brain. It mutes all of the wonderful experiences and even makes you forget details.

That is one thing that I do regret in my life. Sure, you say have no regrets but missing chunks of important and amazing memories makes me feel regret.

Big time.

I felt sad looking around the room to see all the moms smiling faces when they got their wine gifts. You could tell they couldn’t wait to open it and regret….

Oh wait, I mean forget about their troubles and stress.

A few years ago, I would have felt the same way.

Many of these moms have young kids and I want to tell them don’t do it! Be present and sit with those little souls that you have very little time with on this earth. Don’t cloud it with the wine.

Does wine help you relax? Temporarily. It doesn’t last.

You will feel relaxed for about 20 minutes. The sad fact is that after 20 minutes pass, you need another glass of wine to keep your body in the same relaxed state.

After the effects wear off, anxiety can creep in and anxiety will increase over the next couple of hours. This is the main reason that society drinks at night. When the uncomfortable anxiety sets in, you are asleep.

But, this is another reason why many people wake up around 3 am unable to sleep with a racing heart.

A few years ago I didn’t know the science behind alcohol and what it does to your brain and your body. I know too much now to agree with the wine gifts.

When I got back to the table with the wine, I thought about how crazy it would be if someone gifted a box of cigarettes!

They help you relax, right?

Alcohol and wine both cause cancer. I won’t be giving either as gifts in the future.

When I went home with my wine basket, I went straight to the trash.

No, I won’t regift a bottle of wine because I wouldn’t offer up a toxic ex-boyfriend to any of my friends. They would go in the trash, too.

I do appreciate the sentiment behind the gift and that is what really matters. Maybe these gift-givers will never see their gifts as anything toxic.

They are nice people, there is nothing wrong with them. But, it is a big assumption that all of the 30 moms that were gift recipients are drinkers.

You know what happens when you assume.

Everyone loves wine, so they think. There would never be a mom that has a drinking problem, right?

All of the moms look so normal. Whatever that even is!

I’ve given wine as gifts in the past to people that I know for a fact are drinkers. I think I would feel a bit silly giving it as a gift to someone that is just an acquaintance.

Someone that I’ve never really hung out with and gotten to know.

But, it’s a universal gift! Everyone drinks. If you are a mom, especially you. It’s hard work!

Think twice about who you give wine to in the future. Do they really need it to relax?

Do they even drink? Would you give a diabetic a gift basket full of sugar?

Of course not!

Don’t assume and when in doubt, give a candle and bubble bath.

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Thanks for reading!

Much love, Michele