We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, being an aunt is one of the best things in the world. There’s been big excitement in our offices in recent months, with a number of the Her.ie team becoming aunties and it’s fair to say that being an auntie (and an honorary one) is one of the most rewarding experiences ever. We’ve found even more reasons to love new arrivals and here’s just a few of our favourites… ___________________________________________ The shopping… all the shopping While you might feel guilty dropping half your pay cheque on a big shopping spree for yourself, your credit card becomes magically limitless once a little one arrives in your life. So many things to buy. We just can’t stop ourselves. The chance to be the cool one Your brother or sister might think of you as the ‘little annoying twerp’ or indeed, the one that always got them in trouble, but being an aunt now means you finally get to be the cool one who teaches them all the funky things and introduces them to random boy band obsessions. You can channel your inner paparazzi There’s no limit to the number of photos you can take of your beautiful niece or nephew and showing them off to all of your friends as you engage in a ‘my niece is cuter’ battle is just great craic. The hugs. Always the hugs. Cuddles, hugs, and listening to them laugh. Need we say more? Watching them learn stuff There’s nothing cooler than seeing them figure out how to walk, open the door, or discover that scribbling all over your brother’s or sister’s walls is the BEST. FUN. EVER. And speaking of your siblings… Seeing them trying to cope with everything and effectively turn into your mammy is brilliant and provides lots of fodder for sneering. Evil laughter aside, it’s also pretty great to be there to give them a helping hand. A partner in crime As they get older, your niece or nephew can help you plot devious pranks and basically, you get to be a big kid again. You can also blame them for anything that goes wrong around the house… from breakages to smells. A tad evil we know. Speaking of being a kid… The little one in your life will also be the best excuse ever for you to go to the new Disney movie or head to that Busted concert (or whoever your musical guilty pleasure is... we'd personally go for a 5ive reunion). Honorary mention Remember that one of your biggest sources of entertainment will be the random sentences they come out with. Beware though, as they repeat everything, and we mean everything, they hear.