Mother's Day Gifts On A Budget
With the economy in a slump we all have to cut back and gifts are no exception. What do you get your mom if you have very little or no money?
Favor coupons
Moms always love a helping hand and it’s usually more appreciated than a gift we may not be able to use anyway.
You can make a fancy one on your computer or use construction paper and crayons (which is really cute in my opinion) it doesn’t have to be perfect.
It can have specific chores or you can simply put a blank line for her to fill in.
As your parents get older they need more help with things like yard work, moving furniture or putting in a garden. Any help you give will be wonderful and she’ll enjoy the thought.
Spring cleaning is about the same time as Mother’s Day so make a coupon to help do some chores around the house.
Offer to paint the kitchen, your old bedroom or a bathroom. Let her pick the colors.
You could clean leaves and limbs out of the guttering.
Think about it and I know you can come up with something.
Make a homemade card
It’s so hard to find a card with just the right words anyway so why not make your own? It can be however fancy or simple you want. Create something on the computer or get out paper, scissors and glue.
She’s more apt to keep a card you made yourself than one you picked out from Hallmark.
If you are good at poetry you can write one but if not just write what you feel or look for clever sayings online.
Homemade gifts
Remember that Popsicle stick birdhouse you made her that she really enjoyed? Moms are suckers for anything our kids make no matter how imperfect it is. We all have macaroni and yarn necklaces in our jewelry boxes we cherish. I think I have three or four. I need to dig those out and wear them this Mother’s Day. They go really well with those pipe cleaner bracelets.
One year my youngest son made me a hanging lamp to go over my treadmill so I could see to read a book. The lighting in that room isn’t so great. He took a PVC pipe, screwed some pieces of one by twos he sanded and stained to the outside of it, attached a light kit and I have a hanging lamp.
I love that lamp, it’s special because my son made it for me and even if he hadn’t made it I think it looks great and now I can see my book better.
Think about what skills and materials you have.
What does your mom like to do?
What does she need?
Ideas
Paperback book cover
E-reader cover
Tote bag for the market
Potholder for the kitchen
Birdhouse
Birdfeeder
Seat cover for her car
Microwave heating pad for arthritis (a cloth bag filled with rice)
Jewelry
Something from clay or pottery
Eyeglass Case
Bookmark (laminate a collage of pictures)
Repurpose scrap furniture into shelves or a mirror
Look on Pinterest or Etsy for ideas for handmade crafts you might make for Mom. Put in a search for, “Gifts for mom” or “DIY crafts.”
Cook a meal and make a dessert
If you are handy in the kitchen and can’t afford to take her out to dinner for Mother’s Day making her a special meal is a good idea. Be sure to clean up, leaving a mess behind for her to clean later isn’t so special.
Scan pictures to disc or computer
Those old photos of you and your siblings would be great transferred to electronic files. It’s a big job and you don’t have to do them all but even picking out a group of pictures of y’all when you were little and putting them on a slide show presentation would be a great gift for mom. You can put it to her favorite music.
Be creative
Put on your thinking cap and I’m sure you can come up with some great ideas for Mom this year that won’t cost much money.
