the value of having older friends | a festive night in with Mionetto

In today’s post we’re covering the topics of friendships and wine (and combining the two).  Hope that’s OK with you.

Since being tiny I’ve always liked having friends of different ages; even in reception I wanted to play with the big girl year 2s as well as kids in my own class.  That may have also been because they had a better playground, but hey.  As a child I always looked older than my years by virtue of being really bloody tall, but in general I think I just enjoyed the company of kids older than me anyway.  In that respect, not much has changed since the primary school playground days, and I still enjoy having a mix of friends both my age and several years older.  Many friends I’ve met through blogging (and definitely consider ‘real friends’, not just bloggy pals) are up to 10 years older than me, but we don’t even notice.

In my post about entering my twenties I mentioned how I never felt particularly inclined to tick the stereotypical ‘teenager’ boxes, which is maybe why the age of my friends doesn’t really matter to me.  I’ve also written about ‘dressing your age’ and why I think we should just screw that idea too, so I guess it all fits together.  Age is just a number and I’m a firm believer that you can have friends of literally any age, just like you can wear clothes designed for any age too.  Obviously there’s lots to bond over when you’re going through the exact same thing at the exact same time as all your friends – you can rant about the shitty times, the stressy times (looking at you, exams) and celebrate together too.  However, I think there’s definitely something to be said for having friends just that little bit older.  A few reasons (besides laughing enough to not notice the double chin-inducing camera angle)…

• They’ve already been there, done that, screwed it up or nailed it.  Even more value when they’ve been through the life stage you’re currently in, but not too long ago that they’ve forgotten it or had a totally different experience.  Times change sooo quickly that being 20 right now brings different experiences to being 20 ten years ago.
• Their stories are still relevant and relatable, but with the voice of experience that a few more years of adult life brings.  A different viewpoint, if you will.
• They just have more stories to tell in general.  Both Izzy and Katy are happily coupled up but willing to give me advice on the man free situation over here!  And share cute/funny ‘how we met’ stories aka the best kind of stories.

• You can ask advice on situations that you haven’t come across before, because chances are they’ve already crossed that bridge and can tell you whether or not to bother.  Always good to learn from your elders’ mistakes and avoid the pitfalls.  Or fall into the very same pitfall and receive advice on how to get out of it.
• They don’t judge because they’ve been through the exact same thing, and they reassure you that you won’t ever really know what you’re doing with your life.  Not at 20, not at 28, not at 30 and beyond.  Things will work out somehow anyway.
• You won’t be envious of each other, because you’re not in competition in any way.  That’s not to say that friends of the same age are natural competitors, but there will always be some form of comparison that doesn’t exist when you’re on a different playing field.
• They don’t remember your teenage self if they’re friends acquired later in life.  Sometimes a lack of shared memories can be a good thing.

Now I’m aware that this sounds kind of all take and no give, and I’d hope to think that I can offer something in return too.  Not entirely sure what, but there has to be a benefit to having younger friends too, right?  I can’t promise to always offer stellar life advice but I can (and will) try my best to be helping hand to any younger friends of mine, too.

I did say this post was about friendships and wine (a mighty fine combination if you ask me), so here we are.  Naturally my first vaguely festive post of the year is a food and drink related one!  Blogmas won’t be happening round these parts (oh how I wish I had the time) and we don’t even have the tree up yet (next weekend I believe is optimum time, what’s the deal with all these Christmas trees in November huh?), but a festive foodie night in sounds good to me.  Mionetto asked me to be involved in their latest campaign during this season of celebration; I can get on board with bubbles at any time of year but Christmas is just an extra excuse (like I need one).  I mean, prosecco is pretty much the official drink of celebrations and girls nights in right?  I do love a Christmas ‘do and the buzz of a Mad Friday night out, but wine, food (lots of it) and a roaring fire make a pretty good combination too.  Can’t complain about prosecco in one hand and pizza in the other, anyway.  So why not invite people over as a random act of kindness/wineness/just for the hell of it, pop on some Christmas tunes if you’re not sick of Mariah already and chat until you’re in a slightly tipsy food coma comfy on the couch?

Lily Kate x

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This post is sponsored by Mionetto but all words, opinions and love of wine my own. Available from: NISA, Budgens, Bargain Booze, CostCutter, Londis or ask your local wine merchant.  RRP £9.00