Instead of getting my mom a birthday gift this year, we decided to do an experience together. After thinking about what we wanted to do, we found a post on Facebook for a wine glass painting event at a local restaurant. We invited my aunt and a family friend to come with us as well.

We decided to get there a little early so we could make sure we got a good spot and could sit together. Once we sat, we ordered some drinks and got ready for painting. Each participant received two stemless wine glasses, a paint brush, an apron and an example of what we would be painting.

Once everyone arrived, our instructor began teaching a step-by-step tutorial on how to paint the flower. I am typically not that great of an artist, so I really tried to follow along with the instructions. While she was showing us what to do, she told us that it was okay if we didn’t do the exact painting and we could do whatever we wanted. When I had two flowers on my cup, I decided I was going to go in my own direction and paint a bunch of different, colorful flowers all over the cup. The original had stems and some leaves on it but I didn’t want to add them to mine.

I ended up taking home two glasses with purple, yellow, orange, green and pink flowers with white petals on them. I love them and can’t wait to use them!

My mom decided to paint one glass with the flowers and petals, but the other one she went more of a Halloween route and painted ghosts with the word “Boo.” My aunt did one with flowers and one with yellow smiley faces. Lastly, our friend Christine painted dark Halloween trees with a bright yellow moon. All turned out great!

We had so much fun at this wine painting event, we already want to go to another one.

— Mary Melnick, social media and editorial coordinator