I’ve been repeatedly mugged over the years. For birthdays, anniversaries, at office events, Secret Santa games, and so many other special occasions. Seriously!
I have about 800 mugs at home now. I haven’t counted, but it feels like that. The mug industry exploded some years ago and continues to explode into all our homes. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.
A few decades ago, none of us had any fat mugs in our homes. Ok, maybe we had a couple. We treasured them and took them out for special occasions. Someone had gifted my dad a lovely mug, and it was so special that it sat in our showcase untouched. We were too scared to use it. That’s how special mugs were. And now? I look at my crockery shelf and feel mugged!
Here is a list of all things I use mugs for in my home. Maybe you can get some ideas from here, or maybe add some of your own.
The obvious — drink lots of green tea
Every new mug that comes home immediately becomes my daughter’s mug for a while as she brews gallons of green tea and consumes it from the new mug — until it becomes old, or another shiny new mug comes home — which is pretty often.
Drink coffee once and revert to the trusted steel glass
I love mugs. I have to admit it. Each time a new mug arrives, and if my daughter hasn’t beaten me to it, I sip my morning coffee from the new mug and make sure to click a picture — a mug shot! Ha ha ha! Mugs are fancy and posh and make me feel like I am at a French cafe or something.
Then I taste the coffee and it feels blah. We South Indians like our filter coffee to be strong, hot, and frothy. None of these work in a mug. Given its size, the coffee grows cold fast and does not retain the froth. Result — the French cafe visual fades fast and I am left unsatiated. I cannot get any work done until I brew myself another ‘proper’ glass of coffee and drink it from my trusted steel tumbler.
You would think I’ve learned this lesson by now. No. Rinse. Repeat. Each time.
Mug of joy — flower vase
When we bring home flowers or if someone gifts us a bunch, it is great fun to arrange them in vases all over the house. Sometimes we run out of proper vases. That’s when mugs come in handy.
I have this pretty pale pink mug that makes a bunch of bright gerberas look prettier, if that’s possible, by holding them together. I love that pink mug. I have a bright blue mug that does the same. I love that blue mug.
Maybe I am a mug attractor?
A Mug of fresh air — money plants
I have a lot of mugs. Did I mention that already? I’ve been mugged often in life 🙂
Not all of them find space inside our kitchen shelves. So they find homes everywhere else in the house. What good is an empty mug? So I pour a little water in them and stick a sprig of money plant. The mug and the plant thrive. And the corner looks brighter. And maybe there is a small supply of fresh oxygen?
Senior citizen — toothbrush holder
Mugs grow old and die one day. Never tell a joke in front of a senior mug. It may crack up.
In their senior stages, it is best not to subject them to hot liquids. So I retire them to a calmer job — holding our toothbrush and toothpaste tube in the bathroom. They continue to look pretty and the job is not too strenuous.
A mug of Maggie — or any snack actually
Sometimes I wonder why we use plates to eat. Mugs are much handier. They are easy to hold and food can be scooped up more efficiently. When we have a sudden urge to eat Maggie noodles or roasted peanuts or some other sinful evening snack, mugs come in super handy.
My daughter recently ate a mugful of pesto pasta and it was really easy to eat. It looked good too in that particular mug. Oh — we bought that mug ourselves! It was not a gift. Hmm! Let me see — we bought that one, and the other one with the funny handle, and the yellow one that looks happy, and, oh boy! I seem to have mugged myself pretty often!
You’d think after being repeatedly mugged, we would not indulge in self-mugging. But I guess we do. Mugs are like that. They are cute, pretty, and come in such lovely colors and patterns. They are hard to resist. Now I am not sure how many of the 800 I brought into the home myself! Hmm!
My kid has to go to a birthday party and we were trying to find a suitable gift. We found this lovely site with colorful mugs that can be customized. We ordered one each with our names on it. I can’t remember what gift we took along to the birthday party though.
Anu Anniah Writes 