Every year for the past several years, we’ve sent/delivered a birthday gift for Drew Barrymore to Flower Films, and this year was no exception. Ashley planned to make a trip out specifically for the delivery this year, and we contacted Drew’s right hand man Chris Miller a week prior to our visit to confirm the date would work for a drop off.

February 11th arrived, and we made the trek out to Los Angeles as planned. Chris had mentioned that he should be in the office most of the day, and hoped to be able to say hello. We both discussed the possibility of Drew being there as well, but tried not to get our hopes up.

When we rang the buzzer, it was clear that they had been expecting us. When we walked in, a Flower staffer offered us water and a place to sit in the front hall to wait for Chris. We sat across from a wall of framed movie posters, many of which were alternate versions, including a rad Duplex 60s-style one that was pink with black silhouetted figures. Around the corner, we also spotted a shelf full of DVDs of Drew’s films. We were really excited to be there, of course!

Unlike the previous visit, there was a lot of activity in the office. It was clear there was a meeting going on in the room next to us, and a couple of people were walking around. After a few minutes, we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When we looked up, we saw Chris followed by Miss Barrymore herself!

We were greeted with so much warmth and multiple hugs by both Chris and Drew, and their always welcoming personalities put us at ease. Drew joked about getting the “gray shirt memo” as all three of us happened to be wearing that color. Drew looked absolutely beautiful despite the fact that she was obviously wearing no makeup whatsoever and stated she’d just come from working out.

We handed Drew the first gift, which was a card presenting a World Food Programme donation made by us and our visitors totaling $300. She was simultaneously thrilled and touched and couldn’t thank us enough about the “beautiful amount of money” we had raised. She told us about an upcoming WFP project that she’d like to see this money go directly toward. She spoke of how she’d been really inspired lately to do more work with the foundation. It was so rewarding to see everyone’s efforts appreciated this much by Drew!

After that, we still had one more gift for her. We had printed out and framed a photo of Drew with Flossy and Templeton as puppies that was originally in a 1997 “Animals and Their Celebrities” charity calendar. We had a feeling she may no longer have the picture in her possession and with the recent passings of both dogs, it would be really special to her. Our instincts were right! She was obviously touched immediately upon seeing what it was, and tears began to stream down her face.

She shared with us that she remembered the day it was taken as it was the day she named Flossy after having them for 3 months. Both she and Chris were emotional about how much they missed the sweet dogs. Drew told us about the experience of spreading Flossy’s ashes in India and mentioned the inspiration coming from a Buddhist monk who told her that dogs are one spiritual step away from humans and that this would help her chances of reincarnation to a human in the next life. Drew laughed and said Flossy was “already well on her way to becoming her own woman!” She said she would hang it in her office and it would make her happy every day.

Drew sarcastically joked that it was too bad we hadn’t done anything meaningful, and we all laughed. It meant so much to us to see what an effect the gifts had on her. We were finally able to explain to Drew that we originally met online through a community of her fans. She was amazed and then corrected us by saying that we were not her fans, but instead her “friends”!

Chris and Drew were being summoned into a meeting, and our encounter was coming to a close. We asked Drew if she had time to take a few photos, and they both obliged with enthusiasm. Chris took 2 photos of us with her, and then we asked if we could snap a quick photo of her with the donation card. We captured her holding the card facing forward, and she insisted on taking another with everyone’s names visible.

Another round of hugs was shared and many thanks all around. We told Drew to have a beautiful birthday and she exclaimed, “I will now!” As she walked into the meeting, we heard her tell Chris, “I love this!”

We couldn’t have ever dreamed up such a special meeting with Drew. Thanks to Chris, we’ve had so many opportunities to encounter her, but this was by far the most incredible.

Check out more of our Drew encounters!