Parenting

Mother’s Day cards to celebrate parents’ sobriety fight against ‘mummy drinking’ culture


(Picture: Joe Newman/Triangle News)

You can now buy Mother’s Day cards specifically for parents who have given up alcohol.

For some, this will be a welcome contrast to many of the cards in the Mother’s Day section, which play into ‘mummy drinking’ culture with messages about mothers loving glasses of wine, prosecco or gin.

We Are In Good Company is a brand selling cards celebrating sobriety and it now offers Mother’s Day cards that don’t feel the need to celebrate excessive boozing among parents.

It’s run by Lucy Wilkins and Sara Bender, both of whom want to tackle what they see as dangerous messages about booze on greeting cards.

Lucy, 43, gave up her nightly glass of wine a year ago and says she’s become far happier and more successful.

When her daughters Mia, eight, and Ella, six, asked if they could design her a card for Mother’s Day, to thank her for giving up alcohol, Lucy was delighted.

(Picture: Joe Newman/Triangle News)

The cards they made served as inspiration for We Are In Good Company’s Mother’s Day range.

One card says: ‘Mum. The best things about you…your happy smile. Hugs that make it all ok. Your honest advice. Being sober (This is my favourite). Happy Mother’s Day.’

Another reads: ‘Mum. Thank you for begging me to do my homework. Supporting my bad choices. Showing me how to be human. But most of all being sober. Happy Mother’s Day.’

‘As a mum, I found myself fully immersed in ‘mummy wine culture’,’ said Lucy.

‘I didn’t want my kids to think up drinking wine as a way to de-stress from a hard day was normal.

(Picture: Joe Newman/Triangle News)

‘I could feel I was rushing bedtime because I wanted to go downstairs and have a glass of wine.

‘The reason I think wine has become entrenched in motherhood is that it’s an easy way to go from being a stressed mum to a relaxed one. It’s like time travel. And the culture encourages you to have a glass of wine.

‘But it’s such a dangerous message.’

Lucy and Sara set up their card brand back in December 2017, after noticing a gap in the market when trying to find a card to celebrate a loved one’s 100th day sober.

‘I went to the high street and couldn’t find anything,’ says Lucy.

‘I ended up making my own card and I thought there must be more people out there who needed these cards.

(Picture: Joe Newman/Triangle News)

‘After that, the penny dropped and I couldn’t end up going to the card shop without getting massively incensed.’

Lucy approached former colleague Sara and soon, the business was off, selling 28 cards celebrating milestones such as sobriety anniversaries and numbers of days without alcohol.

One of the company’s best-selling cards says: ‘You’re in good company. Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper and Tom Hardy are all sober…and as sexy as hell.’

A birthday card says: #It’s your birthday! Let’s go crazy and celebrate with anything non-alcoholic. And be home in bed by 10pm.’

Sara, who practices mindful drinking, says she wants the cards to show sober people that they are worth celebration.

‘Choosing to be alcohol-free doesn’t mean you’ve signed up to be anonymous, unseen or boring,’ she says.

‘Being sober, whatever the reason, deserves recognition and tailored products that make you feel included, that you’re not an afterthought.

(Picture: Joe Newman/Triangle News)

‘Our cards support, encourage and celebrate the choice to be alcohol-free.

‘I think there are two types of cards available in the shops. You see one that says ‘Cheers’ on it with a picture of a champagne bottle, that’s fine.

‘That’s not going to nudge anyone in the wrong direction or promote alcohol as an acceptable saviour to life’s problems.

‘But there is this huge gap in acceptable messaging.

‘In advertising – with the ASA – you can’t say that people should get wasted so why is it okay on cards?

‘It’s fine to say that people should enjoy a drink but it’s extreme to say that people should get trashed.’

Lucy adds: ‘Society just normalises that alcohol is a really powerful drug that its okay to enjoy to excess.

‘Actually for a lot of people it isn’t.

‘We wanted to design the cards that are full of humour and bright and colourful.

‘We wanted to dispel the myth that sober is boring when actually it is fun and vibrant.’

Lucy and Sara are now working to get their cards available on the high street, but for now you can order their cards online.

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