Thursday, May 10, 2012
Your Turn
Last minute Mother's Day gift ideas. I need one. I think after six straight gift giving occasions giving my mom a gift certificate, that is probably not going to fly this time around. I think the last straw was the fact that the most recent gift certificate was actually to get some new tires. It was her birthday, it was late and I found it in my wallet. Fold up a piece of paper and write on it calling it a homemade card and easy peasy lemon squeezy you have yourself a present. My dad would have loved it. Feel free to discuss anything Mother's Day related.
I need ideas myself. I'm stuck at home with my son who has Pertussis and can't shop until Saturday.
ReplyDeleteGet her a charm bracelet and then every year you can pick out a new charm to add to it. Done!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually going the gift certificate route, but it's to a jewelry store my mom likes. It's one where you can buy things ranging in price from $35 to $35,000, so it's not like she will have lay out a lot of money to buy something if the certificate doesn't cover it all.
ReplyDeleteAsk your M. if there's any place that she'd like to go, then make arrangements to get her there, flights and so on. If she wants you there then go with her.
ReplyDeletePossibly an idea for next year, given the time constraints, but speaking from experience, my mom cares less about stuff or tangible items, and more about experiential things, specifically, spending time with either me or my two sisters. I send her flowers every year, but I also call her on day of, and she says that is really the most important thing to her.
@VeryUnseemly, that's a good idea. I might try to get my mom a new charm.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I are going in together to get her an edible arrangement. I got her a DVD of The Easy Way and a book she said she really wanted.
ReplyDeleteArt! Art! Art! If you don't make it yourself, support a local artist.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting mine a gift certificate to Ancestry.com because she's always researching our family.
ReplyDeleteI got my mom a kindle. She loves reading but is sick of the clutter from hundreds of books. It will take a while to teach her how to use it though... so maybe not the greatest idea.
ReplyDeleteSince you're just a flight of stairs away from your mom Enty, offer her coupons with services that you can perform. Like massages, do the dishes for a week, fill her car with gas for the month, etc. Moms like loving gestures.
ReplyDeleteI got my mother in law an edible arrangement. She told my bf that she didn't want another gift certificate to a spa.
ReplyDeleteWhich btw, is what my bf bought me for my birthday. Im not sure if it's good or bad that he is buying me and his mom the same gifts. Lol
My mom passed away almost 30 years ago so I haven't had to worry about MD presents. BUT I do have a roommate (that doesn't drive) whose only son has been in prison for the last few years and since she hasn't seen him since he got in trouble, I am taking her to see him for her Mother's Day present.
ReplyDeleteI was always so good about gifts for my ma...I remember when the dustbuster came out. she wanted a-black and decker is what she hinted to my dad. I saved up my babysitting money for weeks...she never even thanked me. After that i thought f-it. still bought her great gifts, but learned not to get my hopes up.
ReplyDeleteI'll do the usual for my Mom. A couple boxes of wine.
ReplyDeleteNothing or nowhere is ever good enough for the Mum, so the last few years I just drop off flowers/card and run.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice gesture, Cindy.
It's Mexican Mother's Day today so happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate today.
Tamarind, we must be long lost siblings. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI've been getting the hint for a Coach purse.
Sorry, but no.
Best gift for my mom so far has been her Dyson. May sound funny but mom loves to clean and never would have spent the money for one herself. When it got delivered she rushed home from work and spent at least 3 hours vacuuming, didn't even notice me taking pictures and laughing! She has used it no less than 5 times a week, every week, since Feb. if any moms like to clean def consider it!
ReplyDeleteI went out with my mom on a flower shopping spree and helped her plant her baskets earlier this week since I'm moving this weekend. She told my brother who's in college and living at home during his studies that she wants a clean house for Mother's Day.
ReplyDeleteas for suggestions, enty... what are her interests? start there.
ReplyDeletebreakfast in bed for your folks is always nice, or invite all the grandkids for a cookout to surprise her.
Think two steps ahead of her and do maybe 3 things as a surprise (bring paper in in morning, or do all of the cooking for a week,or laundry) or make a donation to a cause she's interested in...you could plant her favorite tree. or you could get a bracelet with the birthstones of grandchildren
The gift for my mom wouldn't work for just anybody. She has been my mom since I was 12, she was 20 when she married my 40 year old dad.
ReplyDeleteShe just joined a group called *Girls on the Fly* they go fly fishing. So I got her the best available book on the subject and a gift certificate for hip waders.
A wonderful gift we once gave my dad was a box of cassette tapes and a player and asked him to record his life story for us. He got huge joy from going back and remembering the good times and the sad. To this day I can pop one in and hear his voice.
You of course should update your technology. But tapes still work.
Funny, because a Gift Cert is the only thing that's going to fly with my mom this year! My brother's brunching her up at his house on Saturday and then I get her Sunday. She keeps hinting at wanting a Macy's Gift Cert, but I'll be honest; I want to buy her a Lancome gift so I can keep the free gift they have now, lol. I'm horrible.
ReplyDeleteAfter my mom died about 3 years later for Father's Day I got Dad 8 hours of a maid service - cleaned up the kitchen and bathrooms really well, including the oven and fridge - he really appreciated it. Even for a parent who's a pretty good housekeeper, having someone who will do all the chores you hate (baseboards, waxing, etc) is a real treat. Dad's been gone now for about 15 years, but at the time I remember thinking the price was reasonable. Probably is today as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Kindle - it's a great present for ANYONE - if my parents were still alive I'd get them each one.
A homemade photo album with every other page a poem, thought or memory, pay to fly in one of her siblings or friends, cook her dinner, trip to a wine tasting winery, find out what her favorite childhood book was and get a early edition of that book or yearbook or something from her past that she misses.
ReplyDeleteJust for fun, get her something cheesy from the dollar store or even better something broken, wrap it up nice and give that to her before the REAL gift. Hilarity will ensue!
Cindy- that is a really thoughtful gift!
Depending on how much you want to spend...my dad and I splurged one year on my mom with a custom made fragrance she appropriately named "Me" she then had another one made and called that one "Me 2". It was with a NY based perfumery called Bond #9. She got to smell different notes in fragrances and see what she liked and didn't like and was able to come up with something truly unique.
ReplyDeleteFor Mother's Day my kids always make me hand made cards, they make me crafts with their Cubs group and we have cake and order in Chinese food.
ReplyDeleteFlowers can never be underestimated. This year, I am getting my mother some hard-milled, scented soap from Italy. They are beautifully boxed, have beautiful images on the soaps, and they last forever. I also bought a gorgeous gold-leaf frame, and I will pick an old family photo to put in it. I'm going to scan it on my printer, and print it on photo paper. I have one of my mom and dad when they were young. At my grandparents ranch, every now and then, they had "crazy days" and every one dressed up. Mom and dad switched clothes. They are laughing so hard they can hardly stand up. It is so cute. I have that photo in my entry. When people come over, I point to it and say "the parents". So, I think really nice gifts can be put together without too much trouble; doesn't have to break the bank; just be creative and thoughtful. Happy Mother's Day to everyone. Blessings be heaped on your heads.
ReplyDeleteMy mom told me a while back she didn't need or want anything, and asked me to make a donation in her name. I've bought flocks of ducks, geese and chicks through Heifer International, donated suet cakes to the local wildlife sanctuary, and for this Mother's Day I am making a donation to a nearby orphanage (St. Mary's Home, Mobile, AL). These things invariably touch her deeply and bring her to tears. But good tears.
ReplyDeleteI am getting Sunday and Monday at the beach with my wonderful husband and kids. I am also hoping for a box of chocolate from my favorite shop in NC. www.chocolatefetish.com
ReplyDeleteThe cayanne pepper ones are devine!
*fingers crossed!
Get her flowering tea!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Primula-Flowering-Tea-40-Ounce-Clear/dp/B000P7506M... That's what I'm getting my mom ;-)
Enty, I've got to throw out the "support Indie Creatives & Artisans" angle. Did you try looking for something she'd like on Etsy.com? A good portion of sellers would probably have no issue overnighting it to you of you send them a convo! And by purchasing from an indie artisan, you'd in turn be helping them pay say thier electric bill or groceries instead of contributing to a CEO's 3rd vacation home! :)
ReplyDeletePampering. Cook dinner, massage, mani/pedi, do something rather than buy something.
ReplyDeleteNight out. Show/movie tickets
Now, I have to direct my kids here. Should have added clean your damn room to the list. ;)
Enty, Bacon Air Freshners.. or, my favorite , cash !
ReplyDeletehttp://www.prankplace.com/Bacon-Lovers-0Z.aspx
I also buy Heifer International ift certificates. A day at the spa is always nice. I like when my daughter and I go for an easy kayak or canoe paddle.
ReplyDeleteMy mom passed away 3 and half years ago and I've been thinking ab out her a lot lately, and not just because of Mother's Day. I really miss her.
ReplyDeleteTo everyone: Get your mom something she really wants or something she would really enjoy, not something you want her to have.
Just remember something -
ReplyDeleteThe cat in my blogger photo was my Mother's Day gift to Mom in 1997. She wanted a cat so I adopted a kitten from the Humane Society. Smartest move I ever made. They were inseparable until my mother became very ill and had to be admitted into a nursing home. I now have Tabitha, and she's the sweetest cat I've ever had, and I've had cats all my life. We both miss Mom.
My mother didn't have any money, worked a minimum wage job. She needed a car so I bought her one and made all the payments. Then one year I sent her to visit her sister at Cape Cod, for 2 weeks. While she was gone my nephews built a deck on her house. She was a Saint and deserved only good things. She died of cancer 20 years ago
ReplyDeleteOops, remembered, not remember
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was never happy with any gift I gave her.. Mother's Day, Birthday, Anniversary. In my defense, there was nothing to get her she hadn't already gotten for herself if she wanted it. Discovering she had stage 4 lung cancer the last week of April turned into her being in NY for Mother's Day and passing on Memorial Day, so she never made it home to FL to get the Snuggies I had already ordered for her. Ironically I had finally found a gift she would have LOVED, I brought one of mine to her in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteI think it's good to buy something for your mom that she'd like, but normally wouldn't buy for herself. Honestly though, I totally agree with the other folks who suggested spending some time with your mom. Dinner and a movie (or concert, theatre, ballet ...). Go for a spa day with her, or shopping or whatever she'd be interested in - she'd probably really love that (as long as she doesn't have to cook or clean up after you!!) That's exactly what I'd like to do for my mom, if we didn't live so far from each other.
ReplyDeleteI say the SPA or have a cleaning service come and clean the house for her.
ReplyDeleteHire a male hooker for both mom and dad. That always goes over well.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of two kids with my own mom and a mother in law to buy for, I've got a few ideas for you. I am all into the house cleaning service gift--it was the best gift I ever got and I might be willing to trade one of my kids on a bad day for it again. If you want things that last, things that will always make her think of you, hop on the Pandora/charm bracelet bandwagon, and you have a built-in gift idea for years to come. Another great gift I received was a whole assortment of gardening supplies along with a beautiful flowering tree. And you cannot go wrong with a Coach bag--it's my husband's old standby gift, and it never disappoints.
ReplyDeleteWe've always just sent cards to our mothers, but then again that's all they expect. For the last three years the youth symphony two of my kids play with have their last concert on Mother's day, so I get to watch them make music, and then go to dinner somewhere. It's great! In general, I'd rather have a family experience like the orchestra, or a trip to the beach, than a big fancy display.
ReplyDeleteSo, today I realized that I've been walking around with my mom's birthday card and Mother's Day card in my bag for a week. Her birthday is Saturday, Mother's Day is Sunday. This wouldn't be nearly so mortifying if it weren't for the fact that five days a week I park in the garage above the post office, which means I've walked past a mailbox ten times and forgot to drop the cards. I have no idea what to buy for a gift. She's impossible to deal with, let alone buy for.
ReplyDeleteI always do work on my mom's house. Usually it's switching out the storm windows for the screens, but we did that a month ago thanks to our global warming non-winter. This year it's cleaning out the garage.
ReplyDeleteMani-pedi! Moms love them, but rarely treat themselveves
ReplyDeleteMother's Day gifts: Demonstration cooking classes (no pressure to produce anything, just the pleasure of watching and eating); spa day; arcane house or garden plants; an incredibly good bottle of champagne, Calvados, Armagnac, etc.; homemade chicken soup, chili, enchiladas, macaroni and cheese etc. for the freezer; jams and marmalades from JuneTaylorJams.com
ReplyDeleteBut vikingwench has the best idea: charitable contributions to an organization you think your mom would support.
ReplyDeleteI always ask her what she wants. This year she wanted a gift card to the farmers market in Jersey. Happy Mother's Day to all.
ReplyDelete@BigMama, thanks, am now craving their truffles. ;) mmm