Mother's day is the perfect opportunity to show your Mom just how much you appreciate her. Are you wracking your brains wondering what are you can do to show your Mom how special she is and how very much she means to you? Do you want some Mothers Day ideas?

Ideally, it's a better to treat her to a luxury that she would never think of buying for herself. However, you may be worried that you can't afford to spend much money this year. In these straitened financial times, many of us are struggling to pay the bills. Well, don't worry. It is important to remember that, whatever you give your Mom, she will probably love it because it shows you have thought about her and she loves you at least as much as you love her.

You will find some thoughtful, but inexpensive, Mother's Day ideas on this page. For example, how about giving your Mom an heirloom? Don't panic! It isn't anything like as expensive as it sounds!

Just remember, when choosing your Mothers Day gift, cheap doesn't mean that YOU are cheap!

It may be helpful to consider the original ideas behind Mother's Day. In most countries in the Western World Mother's Day is a Church festival called "Mothering Sunday" and takes place on the fourth Sunday in Lent (three weeks before Easter), which is why its date moves from year to year. In the United States, however, Mother's Day always falls on the second Sunday in May.

The first American Mother's Day was in 1910, when the governor of West Virginia declared the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and a year later every state followed suit. This was as a result of the campaigning efforts by a woman called Anna Jarvis, who felt that children often failed to value their mother enough until after their mother died. Anna had hoped that Mother’s Day would be a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.

So much for the origins of Mother's Day; now, what on earth are you going to give your Mom this year?

Do you ever think about what made your Mom the woman she is today?  There must be things you've always wanted to know about her, but hesitated to ask. You are her child. She helped make you, mold and guide you. How did she do that? It all goes back to who she is as a person. Her history is an integral part of who you are.

I lost my Mom in 2005 and I still miss her. I always will. There are so many things I would still like to ask her - so many questions left unanswered. Maybe she thought I wasn't sufficiently interested in her to want to know more. I'm very sad to think that because it certainly wasn't true! What is true is that, now that she's gone, I appreciate her more than I ever did when she was alive.

I came across this book recently and I thought what a wonderful gift it would be for a mother. I only wish that I could have given this to my own Mom years ago. She would have loved it, and how wonderful it would be for me to have it now.

Obviously it isn't really an "heirloom" - yet. However it is a gift that will be treasured for generations to come - and all for a cost of less than $20!

So does this sound like something you'd be interested in? Not sure yet? You can click here and take a sneak peek inside the book. The author has put a few random pages into a PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or equivalent to read).

Flowers are, of course, the traditional Mother's Day gift. This is probably because Anna Jarvis, at a service to celebrate the life of her own mother, gave out white carnations to each member of the congregation. These were her mother's favourite flowers and they symbolize the sweetness, purity and endurance of a mother's love. Flowers certainly do make a beautiful gift, which most mothers would appreciate. Unfortunately, however, flowers can be very expensive – especially if you have them delivered. Mother's Day is one of the busiest and most profitable times for florists. If you know anything about economics and the laws of supply and demand, you will understand why flowers are particularly expensive at this time of year. Although nothing is too good for your Mom, she almost certainly wouldn't want you getting into debt just to give her a present, would she?

However, to my surprise, I have found flowers on Amazon of all places and they seem reasonable value (for Mother's Day).

Jewelry is another popular Mother's Day Gift with Mother's Day now being the third most important jewelry shopping period in the United States. Jewelry sounds like an expensive present to give but that is not necessarily the case. Of course, you could spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, on a piece of jewelry for your Mom. That would be fine if you can afford it but, if you can't, there are plenty of unusual and attractive pieces of jewelry which won't max out your credit card, especially if you look at items made of silver rather than gold.

Although perfume is usually quite expensive, something which I love, and consider the height of luxury, is to have shower gel and body lotion to match my favorite perfume. I love standing in the shower in the morning, or before an evening out, and being surrounded by the fragrance of my favorite perfume. Even after I have dried off I can still smell the scent of it on my skin. If I also have the matching body lotion I can layer on my perfume, so that it lasts longer, but is not overpowering. For this to work well as a gift for your Mom, you must first be sure what her favorite fragrance actually is! If you don't know, then don't do it! This is not a cheap option – the shower gel I like costs about $25. However, it is much less expensive than giving the perfume itself. (You could give her the perfume for her birthday or for Christmas.) Best of all, if your budget allows, I'm sure she would love a fragrance gift set, which is usually a very good value option.

I think, of all the presents you could give your Mom, the very best would be the gift of your time. If you're unable to visit her, and she can't visit you, then call her and spend time talking to her, and, above all, listening to her on the telephone. And, whatever else you do, please remember to send her a beautiful card with your own personal message inside.

Give your Mom a very Happy Mother's Day!