Often when people hear about the work I do, they say, “Oh, you must be one of those naturally happy people who bounds out of bed each morning with joy.”

When that happens, I tell them the story that you will hear in this video.

Watch this video to find out how celebration can be the antidote to depression and why we need to find the light for ourselves and others.

uke-headshot-259x300Hello, I’m Sherry, the founder of Simply Celebrate. I’m a writer, gift maker, and happiness coach who gets excited about helping people find creative, intentional, and impactful ways to celebrate life and to express love for family and friends.

What that looks like most of the time is creating magical, meaningful gifts for the people you love.

When you receive a wonderful, creative gift it helps you notice the magic of everyday life while also honoring how fleeting life can be.

When Jill’s husband made a Joy Jar filled with slips of paper telling her everything he loved about her, she said she fell in love with him all over again. When Suzy received an 80th birthday book filled with stories of love and appreciation, she called me to tell me she could “die happy” knowing how much she was loved. When Roberta received an audio interview he friend had done with Roberta’s 12-year-old son, she felt a deep connection to both of them.

Giving meaningful, creative gifts is like putting a frame around our love for someone. It’s a portal to the depth of connection and stories we share with people in our lives.

one-parasolAside from coming up with great gift ideas, the other thing I’m really, really good at, it’s turning ordinary moments into a celebration. That’s why I always carry little paper parasols to stick in a wedge of cheese, a glass of sparkling water, or someone’s ponytail. That’s why I bring my pink ukulele on trips, even though I can only play three chords! That’s why I carried my gorgeous vintage train case full of hats and stockings the last time I went to Paris.

 

To me, moments are gifts. When we show up for our lives with presence, joy, and vitality, we receive and give so much.

So you see, when I use the word celebration, what it means to me is being 100 percent present to what is in front of us in the moment. That might look like our child telling a joke. That might look like a bright orange poppy. It might be the smell of eucalyptus or the sound of piano from the house we pass by. It might be the grief we feel over our mother’s death or the deep loneliness we feel when night falls.

What I mean is a celebration of all of life.

It is choosing to allow ourselves the full experience of being human. It is waking up to what brings us to our senses.

Celebration is being moved by life.

So sometimes my work looks like creating unique gifts like Celebration Books or Love Lists. Other times it looks like coaching an artist who wants to write and illustrate a children’s book because that’s what makes her heart sing. Still other times it might be leading a workshop on creative ways to appreciate your life and the people in it.

Ultimately, all of my work is about helping myself and others remember how fleeting and extraordinary life is so we can get present, right here right now, and celebrate what is amazing about who we are and the shape of our lives.

Because the world is way better when we celebrate every moment.

So that’s me. Now that you’ve got the low-down on who I am + how I got here, why not…

Xo Sherry

 

P.S. 10 totally true things about me:

  • I once scooped a fallen lemon birthday pie from the floor and turned it into still-edible lemon crumble. (My superhero talent is finding light in the dark.)
  • I spent months trying to learn how to play “Moon River” on the ukulele as a git to my mom, who loves that song.
  • My son’s middle name is Q and he is trying to teach me how to juggle.
  • I spent the first 25 years of my life wishing I were a gal who could wear hats. (Becoming who we are is a practice!)
  • When I first stepped foot in San Francisco, I knew I was home.
  • Three of my favorite non-hat accessories are my Quisp Cereal watch, pink furry coat, and orange dotted chiffon scarf.
  • I love hot air balloons and my beau once surprised me with a ride in one at daybreak.
  • I work in a beautiful studio in my backyard that was built with lots of sweat and joy by the two men I am closest to in the world, whom I respect and love.
  • I’m teaching myself how to stop being matchy-matchy by wearing stripes with polka dots with hounds-tooth.
  • I have a vintage black velvet cloak that I’ve made myself wear to the grocery store or library in order to practice not saving things for good. (If this were the last day of my life, I’d like to be wearing something fun and fancy. Wouldn’t you?!)