What Moms Love About Mother's Day

I know, I know... Everyone is wondering what to get for their mother, or mother in their life, for Mother's Day. I can understand the frustration; the desire to get something that tells your mom how much you really love her. Good for you!! Your mother would be proud. But, truly, it's not about the gifts.

Sure, everyone loves to get presents, even mothers...especially mothers! But, before you go out and buy your mom that great new gadget you are sure she wants, or that gift certificate for dinner at her favorite restaurant, take a minute to read this, and think about the holiday from your mother's perspective.

Mother's Day is the one day that you get to show your mom, grandmother, or mother of your children, how much you really appreciate them. This definitely does not have to be done with flashy gifts and an expensive, singing card. The singing cards are kind of fun, though.

Think about everything she has done for you. She may work a full time job, come home, clean the house, wash the dishes, do the laundry, make dinner, and spend some time showering you with love. She may stay at home with the kids, drive to soccer practice, ballet recitals, cheerleading camp, she may be a Girl Scout troop leader, PTA member, volunteer at the school, or do any number of things on a daily basis to show how much she loves you.

How often do you say, "Thanks, Mom!" or "Great job, sweetie!" Moms trudge through, day after day, running solely on coffee and the love she has for her family, all the while getting very little recognition for all that she does in a day. Moms fill so many roles, that leading Hollywood actresses would be jealous.

They are cooks, maids, nurses, chauffeurs, coaches, teachers, organizers, diplomats, negotiators, personal shoppers, disciplinarians, comforters, friends, lovers, and so much more. And they don't even get paid for all of that!

How is it even possible to show your mom, wife, or grandma, how much they really mean to you in just one day? It's simple. Tell her. It's as simple as that. Give your mother your heart-felt thanks for all that she has done to make you the person you are today.

Other than an outright statement of your gratitude, what can you do to show her how much you care? There are a lot of ways you can show Mom how much she means to you, and how much you love her. And, if you are creative, or just willing, it might not cost you a dime, though presents are nice!! Don't get me wrong on that one, like I said, everyone loves presents, even moms!!!

Take some of the load off of your overworked mom. If you have the time, while she is at work, or running errands, clean up the house for her. Do a few loads of laundry. Make her breakfast instead of the other way around. Moms love breakfast in bed!!! Just remember, a bowl of cereal is rather difficult to eat in bed, so opt for something else, say an omelette, or french toast, or if you have young assistant chefs, maybe some toast and fresh fruit. And, don't forget the coffee!!

Make dinner for your mom, or spouse. While taking your wife out to dinner may sound like a great idea for Mother's Day, most moms would love that day to spend with their kids, as well, so maybe a nice dinner at home would be a better choice. Save the night out alone for your anniversary or her birthday. Make her favorite meal, and make sure to clean up the kitchen afterwards.

Treat your mom like a queen. If you are an adult, or teen, take your mom out for a day of beauty at the spa, just the two of you. It's a great way to bond with your mother, and give her the pampering she truly deserves. As you venture into adulthood, your mother can become more than just a parent, you can really develop a great friendship.

If you are in the mood to be creative, and want to give your mom a unique gift, give her something from your heart, that you made yourself. There are even a few ideas for the young kids to get involved in, as well.

One year, my mother did something very special for me. She got together with my young daughter and made me a very special picture frame. It came as a kit from a craft store. On one side were my daughter's hand prints in plaster. On the other side was a frame. Together, they decorated the frame with stickers. It has "To Mama" on the top and my daughter's name and the year on the bottom. In the frame, is a gorgeous picture of my daughter that my mother had taken the previous Christmas. I love it!! It really is a special gift and the fact that they made it together, made it all the more special.

Another great gift I receieved from my mother for Mother's Day is something she had made for me. If you have a high-tech embroidery machine, you can do this yourself. There are software programs for some machines that will let you scan a photograph, and turn it into an embroidery pattern. I have a one of a kind embroidered image of my daughter in a frame. It is beautiful, and looks just like my daughter. The technology involved is remarkable! It's amazing what can be done these days. If you don't have access to such a wonderful embroidery machine, talk to a place that does custom embroidery work. They may have the software needed to do it for you, and it is a lot less expensive than buying the embroidery machine and the software needed to do it yourself.

The year after my sister passed away, I made a special gift for my mother. I used a computer program to make her two slideshows, complete with music and text. The first one featured just my sister, with songs that reminded me of her, and one song that my sister, herself, sang. The second slideshow featured all of us girls and photos of my mom. Thankfully, my family loves to take pictures, and I had a lot of material to work with. I gave them to my mother, along with an angel figure that I had painted for her. The slideshows made my mother cry, and she forced everyone who came over that Mother's Day to watch them, even though every time she watched them that day, she started to cry.

Last year, I made her a mini scrapbook to hang on her wall, with pictures of all of her grandchildren. I chose to do an antique effect to it, and printed out sepia-toned pictures on my computer. I spent a lot of time choosing the right photos, making sure to put in fairly equal numbers of pictures of all the grand kids. I carefully cut everything out, decided on the lay-out of each page, and put everything together with the utmost of care. And, somehow, I still managed to put one of the pages in upside-down. My mom was amused by this. It reminded her of my second grade Mother's Day gift. It was a pen and pencil holder for her desk, with a tray at the bottom for things like paperclips. I got to draw the picture that went inside the clear container. I was only seven, and wasn't very good at spelling (I have improved slightly since then. Thank goodness for spell check!). I spelled Mother's Day wrong. I wrote, "Happy Moter's Day!" She still has that pen holder, to this day, and it has been a running joke in our family for years.

As you can see, a gift doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful and memorable. If it is truly from the heart, that is all that really matters. Though you can never really go wrong with jewelry, either. What can I say, women like shiny things. Sometimes a stereotype is that way for a reason.

Just remember to mark the day on your calendar so you have time to plan. Remembering that Mother's Day is coming up the day before doesn't leave you with a lot of time to plan anything special.