Eat Play Love Travelites will know that I’m not a born and bred Melburnian, but rather an immigrant hailing from that faraway land called Adelaide (please don’t apologise because I’ve already had five people do that on your behalf today). I’ve definitely fallen in love with living in Melbourne and also developed a serious coffee addiction.
The hardest part about living in Melbourne is not the weather (although that is quite challenging, especially when I insist on wearing Havianas all year-round); the hardest part is that my family (and friends) are now located 736 kilometres away in Adelaide.
To share a bit about Mum and Dad, they’re on the extreme end of the loving and caring scale, so you could say that we have a close relationship. While I can hear them mutely screaming it, they’d never say that they want me to move back to Adelaide, because they want me to be happy. Yet, I always harbour that guilt that I’m letting them down by not being there in person, particularly in the lead up to Christmas.
So when Officeworks offered to create a 3D Mini Me version of myself that I could give to Mum and Dad for Christmas, I thought what a perfect and sentimental present. While they may not have the super-sized me around anymore 24/7, they can always have a Mini Me version, which they might even prefer, given this one doesn’t roll her eyes at the non-stop ‘look after yourself’ lectures.
Dad, you’ll also be pleased to know that you won’t be getting the standard socks this year for Christmas!
How do you get an Officeworks 3D Mini Me?
If you have interstater parents and want to organise the gift of yourself, not a Skype screen version, this Christmas, head into Officeworks’ 3D Experience Centre at 271 Russell Street, Melbourne, and choose which 3D Mini Me size you want: small ($99), medium ($199) or large ($399). Mine is a non-dieting, medium-sized. You then enter a special futuristic-looking booth that’s equipped with 144 individual cameras, and all you need to do is stand still, no blinking, for 10 seconds for your body scan to be completed. The trillions of paparazzi-like images are downloaded, sent away and woolah!
For the best results, wear bright clothing (no black), ditch the accessories (such as watches and belts) and lose the heels. So essentially completely ignore everything I did!
It takes 10–14 days for the Mini Me to be constructed out of gypsum powder, so if you’re super quick, you can run into Officeworks tomorrow and organise this highly personalised Christmas gift.
The adventures of my Officeworks 3D Mini Me
So, rather than posting my perfectly unique present back to Adelaide, I decided to use the opportunity to see my parents and deliver my Mini Me gift in person, demoting their Christmas angel and replacing it with a life-like version of their favourite daughter. Not weird at all. This meant quite a long road trip back to Adelaide for K2 but she didn’t seem to mind, getting up to quite the mischief along the way…
Lucky we’re driving because Jetstar would definitely charge extra baggage for the size of K2’s suitcase.
#roadtrip #selfie
Picking up the turkey roll for Christmas lunch at Deutscher’s Turkey Farm, Dadswell Bridge.
Being a complete tourist and posing with the Giant Koala, Dadswell Bridge. All she needs now is a bumbag and camera slung round her neck.
Pretending she’s from RACV inspecting petrol prices at Nhill while I fill up.
Playing Where’s Wally at Bordertown Bakery.
Because one Cornish pastie is never enough, Miss Gobble Guts ordered another call-in at Keith Bakery.
226 kilometres left to Adelaide. See you soon Mum and Dad!
Officeworks 3D Mini Me
Available at 271 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria
Phone: (03) 8665 6400
officeworks.com.au/print/print-and-copy/3d/mini-me
