Paper Flowers on a Beach in Belgium

As a child, I

spent most summers at the Belgian seaside with my siblings and cousins. We always set up a paper flower shop on the beach. The shop was built with sand and the flowers were made from colourful crepe paper. Then we'd wait for customers to arrive. Other children would visit our shop carrying buckets full of shells with them because seahells were the only accepted currency. The prices would range from three handfulls of shells for a simple flower to ten or even fifteen for the biggest, most elaborate flowers. At the end of the summer we'd be seashell millionaires! The flowers and shells would be put away in a utility cupboard ready for the next season.

(photo my own)

My great-grandmother taught my mother how to make paper flowers and my mother showed me. I'm happy to see children are still continuing this tradition today. I believe paper flowers on the beach are a uniquely Belgian tradition - but I'd be curious to hear if it's practised anywhere else.