And the winner is… commenter number 20, Liz from Our Little Man.
This Tip Tuesday is kind of fun because I’m asking for your tips in exchange for the chance to win a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Teleflora for your mother or yourself. Come on. I know not every one of you gets remembered the way you’d like on Mother’s Day so no one will judge if decide to send them to someone VERY close to you.
I love flowers because they’re a classic elegant gift that you can give every year without coming across as lame. Teleflora has a great selection of flowers you can order and have delivered just about anywhere quickly because they contract with local florists all over the place. What you’re entering to win is this Mom’s Butterfly Bouquet.
I’m not being compensated by Teleflora in any way for this little plug. One of you will be. You can compensate me by giving me other great ideas for Mother’s Day gifts. Leave a comment with a gift idea and I’ll enter you to win the bouquet to be shipped anywhere in the continental US in time for Mother’s Day. I’ll choose a winner Wednesday night at 10pm PST.
Oh, great prize!
I really think that homemade gifts are the most fun to give – what about a photo album of Laylee and Magoo filled with pictures of your mom with the kids?
🙂
We got my mom a plant for the garden every year, usually a rose bush, that we then would plant for her (kicking and screaming probably). But, the cool thing was, she had a very sizeable rose garden after all those years (I say had because she no longer lives there and did not take them with her to her newer house). But I like the idea of growing my rose garden like this and have hinted to my husband that this is what I want, too. But you know how men are with hints…
Yeah, if you’ve got kids you can give any number of photo gifts. Grandmas love grandkid pictures.
Me, I have no kids. So for my moms, I tend towards chocolates and/or flowers. I figure it’s a little indulgence that maybe my mom will enjoy and just giving mom something helps her know I love her.
I love to just give my mom a card for mother’s day and then take her out for lunch. It is nice to spend time together without my kids once in a while, and she would rather have that than something to clutter up her house. But she would LOVE these flowers!
spa day! Have Laylee and Magoo give manicures and pedicures. etc.
This probably isn’t too helpful, but I always try to get gifts that I know the person would like, but hasn’t asked for or thought of. This year I’m getting my mom a subscription to some genealogy website, because she is really into that right now. I’m getting the MIL a gift card to a fabric store because she likes to quilt. I think some of the best gifts are concert or event tickets to a show that the person might enjoy.
My Mom will get pics of her grandkids and a nice dinner prepared (including cleanup after) by her sons and husband. Being the kind who likes to give gifts that also benefit me (typical man?) she’ll also get a new high chair for the grandkids to use when we visit.
My wife will get the KitchenAid accessories she’s been wanting, the same dinner as above, and hopefully Teleflora flowers 🙂
P.S. I don’t know how many others there are, but as a young Dad I enjoy reading your insights on parenting. don’t tell…my wife doesn’t know I’m posting this.
Dads are welcome here. They’re usually just a lot less vocal than the moms. Kind of like in real life. 🙂 Thanks for checking in.
My mom loves to be taken out for dinner or lunch so this year we offered to take her to the Mandarin for dinner (all you can eat chinese buffet). Anything to make her life easier. Beautiful bouquet by the way!
We made mini photo books at Snapfish. What grandma/mom wouldn’t want one of those? 🙂
there’s nothing a mom likes more than 1-on-1 time with her kid. Even if the kid is a grown-up! I love the idea of a surprise dinner out or even a weekend away with you and her.
One year we did a frame for our Mom that has eight openings. It wasn’t a traditional collage frame that has different sizes of photos, but was made to hold eight 4×6 pictures. We filled it with a current photo of each of her children (and their families if they had them) as well as one of her and my Dad together. The extra opening was filled with a nicely printed sign that said We love you Mom. We try to update the pictures in the frame each year so that they are current.
My (and my siblings) favorite thing to give our mom is a piece of Mary Engelbreit anything. ME has closed most of their stores and so pieces are getting harder to find, and on top of that my 16 year old brother toppled a cabinet, so many things that she had got broken. We’re always on the lookout for something she’d love.
Another thing we’ve given her that she loved is recent pictures of us.
I’m taking my mom to a major league baseball game this year. She happens to be staying with us this week, so it makes it easier to do things for/with her. The kids will make her homemade cards and describe in detail what they’ve drawn, even though no one else will ever be able to tell that’s what it is.
My MIL lives far away, so we usually just do a card and flowers, which although typical still seems to be well-received. I at least try to vary the bouquet type from year to year.
Maybe this is lame but something my mom, MIL and myself all share is an addictive love for reading. So this year I am getting them both books that I think that they will enjoy.
I just happened to get lucky on this one. My mom loves antiques, and before I moved away we used to go shopping for them a lot together.
I stumbled across an old chocolate tin on Etsy.com that says “With Love to Mother” across the top. It’s just so adorable! I am going to fill it with her favorite chocolates (truffles and chocolate covered cherries) and I will give it to her at lunch with the family.
Here’s something we did the Christmas before last, but would work great for Mother’s Day (probably not this one, though, unless you’re Superwoman): we gave each set of grandparents a quilt from all the grandkids. Each kid picked out a couple of different fabrics and then we had them decorate a piece of muslin with fabric markers and put their handprints on another one. Put it all together and ta-da! A quilt any grandparent would treasure!
Last year we gave the grandmas those tote bags with the photo spaces (with recent photos, of course!) We haven’t come up with anything this year yet, but I’m enjoying the ideas!
I love reading books and magazines, so for me a great gift would be a new book I’ve been wanting, or a paid subscription to one of my favorite magazines or even a gift card to a bookstore. You can never go wrong with gift cards!! Beautiful flowers!!
I love to give thoughtful gifts. For instance, my mom loves a powdered cocoa drink that she grew up drinking in Spain. I found a US supplier and ordered several canisters for her for Mother’s Day.
If your mom had a fondness for Moxie soda, or some other by-gone-treat, find a supplier and surprise her.
I usually make a calendar online with pictures of the grandkids for my Mother In Law–she lives far away and it’s fun for her to have something to show her co-workers.
And a couple hours of a housekeeper is all I needed for Mother’s Day this year. Nothing says love like a spic and span house!
Since the boys were born some sort of pictures has been the order of the day for my mom; brag books, family photos, photo books, etc. This year since Big Boy is really into crafts and helping he gets to decorate the frames/mats for the pictures.
I love getting cards, especially when the boys help make them and special family outings planned by Dad since if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be a Mom.
I also love Mom related jewelry; necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. that have the boys birthstones/names/birth dates. This works for grandmas too.
Flowers, candy and spa treatments never go a miss either.
Every year we buy my mom fertilizer and garden plants. Talk about a poopy gift! heheh.
You won the flowers! Please email me at kathryn@daringyoungmom.com and let me know The name, address, and contact phone number where you want the flowers sent, what you want the card to say, and the date you want them delivered. The sooner the better so it’s in time for Mother’s Day!
-Kathryn
I think the plan is to get my mom a charm bracelet this year… and each year add a charm for each new grandchild that joins the family.
For me? I’ll take one complete day with nothing to do. Some extra effort from my husband to keep an eye on both the baby AND the dog, so I don’t have to… and I don’t feel guilty about it. That would be nice. Most likely not gonna happen, though. *sigh* I’ll be lucky to get a card.
a webcam for video conferencing with grandma and grandpa.
A box of chocolates from See’s. My favorite. You can order them online.
A homemade card–there are some REALLY CUTE and REALLY SIMPLE ideas at familyfun.com, including my favorite homemade card where you cut out the shape of a flower pot, glue the sides on the card, then cut out construction paper flowers (tulips are easy for kids) and stick them in the card flower pot. I even wrote messages on my for our mothers (grandmas).
I hope I win the flowers! I hope they are Lilies, because they smell so good!
xo
This was actually my idea- I’m not sure I would have been thrilled if my husband came up with it and informed me I wasn’t getting an actual present 🙂 But, I decided that, since we have Valentine’s Day and our anniversary in February, and then my birthday in March, and my husband is going to have to get me a “c-section” present in a few weeks, I didn’t really need an actual gift, so I had him donate money to a Chinese orphanage support group, and the money paid for a month of nanny care for an orphan there. It breaks my heart to think of kids in China growing up without someone to love them and hug them when they cry, and I feel like at least I could do a little something to help.
I’m not good at celebrating the “dictated” holidays; I’m much better at making up my own holidays and celebrating them.
That being said, this year I’ll write Mom a letter, a real snail-mail letter, telling her some of my favorite memories and things I appreciate about her. And hopefully, send her a beautiful bouquet:)
I think getting a new ‘skin’ for her mp3 player/laptop/phone is really fun, mytego.com, is my fav site.
My mom would probably love a new book or two from whatever current series she’s reading, or a new sewing thingamajig.
But flowers make her asthma flare up, so if I win them, I’m sending them to my Grandma in the nursing home.
I really love getting my mom something unique and special but this year I ran out of time. So…she’s getting a gift card to Panera Bread. But she did ask me for that, so she only has herself to blame. =)
I wrote down all my sentimental or funny childhood memories and then made them into a little book with pictures of me and my mom together at varying ages from birth to adulthood. I know it’s one of her most cherished gifts and really, it was a gift to myself too. I love it as much as she does, I’m sure.
I’m not much on actual gifts, but what I would love to receive is 2 hours in a coffee shop all by myself where I could sit and read and not have to worry about anyone else.
When I was younger, I used to take my mom to lunch, just the 2 of us. It was fun because we rarely got that kind of time together.
I bought my Mom a book by her favorite author and a big bag of M&M’s. The idea is that she should get the day to immerse herself in a good book while eating chocolate. What could be better than that!
Things are lovely but when you have kids . . . alone time is divine!
We live half the country away from both moms. We’ve overdone the photo gifts, the handmade by grandkid gifts, and anything else we could think of. This year we’re calling on Mother’s Day with the dates scheduled to bring their grandkids to see them after school gets out. I figure the real thing for a few weeks will be better than some pictures for all year.
I love giving (and receiving) gift cards for a nice little coffee shop in town. Getting coffee there is a treat I rarely indulge in, so a gift card there is perfect.
I’m giving my mom this little candle thing from bath and body works- nice description huh? You put a tea light under it and it has a little cup that is on top that you put scented oil in, so the candle warms the oil and it smells great. I have one and I love it. Mother-in-law will get plants. The oil thing is way cooler- fills up the room with fragrance really fast.
One Mother’s Day my husband and the kids took me shopping and out to eat for lunch. I was in school at the time and we were pretty tightly budgeted, so I very seldom got to go shopping for myself. It was so nice to have a shopping trip where the focus was all about what I wanted. Plus the kids behaved themselves!
I bought my mom a new nightie. She has been a widow for 4 years and never buys anything new like that for herself. Last year I bought her a new purse because she also never buys anything like that for herself. My kids have given me jewelry, flowers, chocolates and even cooked dinner (breakfast in bed is tough when you have church at 9:00 am. I
I often give photos (in frames). I pick candid shots, sometimes with a theme (bath time, all dressed up, etc.) and I’ve yet to have a complaint 🙂
I also love the photo books and calendars from either winkflash or shutterfly. I’ve gotten them from both sites and they do a really nice job. Guaranteed to make my mom cry. And isn’t that the point of Mother’s Day, really?
Payless Shoe giftcards! 🙂
I always give my mom update 5×7 photos of my kids. What do I like to get? A day at the spa. Or even an hour at the spa.
These are all such great ideas! This year my 4 yo is making each grandma a stained glass picture (crayon shavings, etc. between wax paper). My MIL is getting a picture of all the grandkids together. Getting 24 kids to look at the camera all at the same time will be a miracle. I’m not sure what to get my mom, but I was thinking a box of sugar free chocolates and an 8×10 picture of my family.
One year my husband took the kids around town and around the house and took silly pictures of them. silly like…eating from a dog food dish at the pet store, hanging out at a bar (in the morning! they served breakfast!), scavenging the fridge, etc. He then gave each photo a caption and assembled a book titled “what would happen if DAD took care of the kids” It is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen, and no mother’s day gift will ever top it.
I second the idea of a real snail-mail letter. My mom would like that more than anything. My daughter always wants to buy me a thing, but I’m serious when I tell her I want something she makes herself.
We’re taking my mom out for a pedicure and dinner. I made her a card on scrapblog too. Good luck with your quest. Let us know what you give your mom(s)!
We are still figuring out what to do for my MIL, but I have decided to take my mom out to lunch, just the two of us. I don’t think we have EVER done that, just the two of us, so it is about time.
Last year, I created a bouquet for each of our moms out of beautiful wooden flowers, inside pretty vases, and colorful clear glass rocks in the bottom – I am really not that creative, so I was especially pleased at how they turned out – and it is fun to see them still on display a year later. I got my very artistic SIL to help me, and then surprised her with a bouquet of her own. 🙂
What a pretty bouquet! I think the best ideas we’ve come up with have been from our grad school/living on a student budget days. One year I scoured the internet and library books for simple recipes for homemade skin care and spa treatments. (facial scrubs, moisturizers, foot soaks — all natural and inexpensive.) I compiled them into a booklet entitled, “Mom’s Make at Home Goodie Book, Made at Home,
with lots of LOVE!”, printed them out on 5×7 cardstock and took it to a copy place for spiral binding (I think it cost 73 cents.) This gift was, of course, accompanied by photos and artwork by the children, and a note saying how much we wish we could be there to pamper her in person. (I’ve still got a copy on my computer, K, if you want to have a look.)
The same year DH went out and took a photograph of one of the pretty flowers the children and I had been coaxing to grow in a little plot of dirt outside our student housing apartment. He enlarged the photo, printed it on our computer along with the lyrics to a children’s song that say, “Dear Mother, all flowers remind me of you.” The children helped decorate the poster, which was the size of the door. It was several months before I could bring myself to take the poster down! (Hey, student housing remember? That’s what we call decorating on a budget!) 😉
I hope you have a lovely Mother’s Day, my friend!
Breakfast in bed was the tradition for my mom. It started by delivering a handmade menu, a cup of coffee in a new mug, and a bell for ringing when she needed something. Breakfast was served with a flower and some orange juice (although I don’t know about you but oj makes me instantly hurl when prego).
The rest of the day consisted of yard work with mom. Lots and lots of yardwork, sans complaining. All… darn… day. It was the one day of the year she could squeeze this out of us. Dinner was her choice, and she usually got a bouquet of flowers and handmade cards as well.
I hope you have a great mother’s day! I can’t wait to see what’s in store at our house this year.
My mother’s favorite gift has always included pictures –either of her kids or her grandkids. On the years my siblings and I don’t think ahead too well, it’s always the fail-safe gift cards to stores and restaurants she loves.
Yeah, we’re boring. 😉
Woo wee
I think there is something to be said about service in a gift. I like to make my mom dinner and have her over to enjoy being waited on like she did for me all my life. I also think it is wonderful if I give her a pedicure myself, something so servicing about taking care of my moms feet (she works as a nurse 12 hour days and has a lot of pain in her feet). Follow it up with a nice shoulder and leg massage all while she lounges with a cup of tea.
I’ve found two things I especially like, so choosing would depend on the giver’s price range.
One is “Flower of the Month” pewter tie-tac pins that I found on the Potpourri website (http://www.potpourrigift.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=R86068+JAN#zoom), which are $14.95 apiece. “May” is Lily of the Valley, which is really pretty.
But I REALLY like their Calla Lilly earrings — much more expensive at $49.95 but they’re gorgeous, and they just say “Mother’s Day” to me.(http://www.potpourrigift.com/itemdy00.asp?c=05&SKW=easter&SKW2=&TKW=PR32&Scat=Y&GEN1=Easter&OR=&parent=&T1=R71133&PageNo=1&pos=7)
Oooh! Great give-away!
My all-time favorite Mothers’ Day gift was the year that each of my brothers, my sister and I all did something with our creative abilities.
One brother did this awesome sketch of the family, one brother built her a little shelf to hang on the wall and hold the sketch, I wrote a poem, my 3rd brother cooked this gourmet meal, complete with a dessert confection that looked like something you’d see on Ace of Cakes, and my sister made her this gorgeous cashmere sweater.
I don’t think we’ve ever topped that one…
I don’t think I’ll have the time to do it this year, but I’ve been wanting to know more from my mom. We’ve only just become closer since I’ve been married these last 5 years. Anyways I want to fill a jar with all sorts of questions I’ve always wanted to ask my mom. I guess the grandkids can add questions too, if they’re old enough. I’d also include a notebook (made to look nicer than a plain old notebook) so that she can answer the questions. It would be enough questions to answer at least once a week and she could fill the book until Christmas time and then her gift to me for Christmas would be the book filled with all the answers to the questions. I was thinking of doing this for Father’s Day too.
My mom is 74 and goes out and buys naything she wants. Frustrating to say the least. Anyway, what I do is go fishing with my Dad so that he is out of her hair all weekend. She likes that alot. Alone time.
I think I shall have them sent to me from “a secret admirer” 🙂
I always get my mom and MIL flowers. This year I am buying hanging baskets that they can enjoy all summer long. But have you ever checked out the Of The Month clubs? Super awesome 🙂
I think the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter is the neatest thing, and I reaallly hope I get one!
Thanks for the chance to win the flowers. My mom is gone now, but I always get my daughter flowers for Mothers’ Day because, *duh* I wouldn’t be a mom without her!
🙂
http://www.dibruno.com/
Because then Mom can enjoy a nice glass of wine and cheese on Sunday! I’m speaking more of the gramdma type Mom as opposed to the Mom of young children.
The gifts my mom cherished the most were the keepsake books we would get her for Mother’s Day. Most often, they were small, spiral bound, hard-covered books that sported floral-patterned covers. We would jot down what our favourite memory or best lesson learned was from Mom during the past year. After all, every Mom wants to know that what she says and does has an impact on her children, right?
Now she’s got some lovely, meaningful keepsakes and we get to travel down memory lane now and then about important milestones in our lives….
If you look under baked goods on etsy there are some sellers that do a dessert a month. They’re pretty expensive, but one other idea would be to make your own “dessert a month club” and bake something for her each month, if you like cooking. My mom loves sweets, so I may do something like that.
My mom is starting chemo the day after Mother’s Day so I really wanted to do something special for her this year. I knit, and I considered making her a prayer shawl, but she’s not really the shawl type. Instead, I’m knitting her a pair of lavender-coloured lace socks made out of a super-soft bamboo yarn. At any age, something made by your kid is especially appreciated. And also, of course, I’m going to ask my 5-year old son to make her a card!
The kids I work w/ and I made a DARLING stepping stone for mom. It was so fun and will last FOREVER!! The kits are on sale at Michaels for 7.99. (this is not the kit on sale just a cute example!)
https://www.wrapables.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=A55686