To every child, father, or friend out there wanting to gift the Mother in your life, read closely, you don’t have to be extravagant for a Mother’s Day gift, it can be this simple!
The PERFECT Mother’s Day gift
The biggest mistake of my Mother’s Day life for the first 10 years of parenting was my own expectations. Every mom has been there: Anticipating that perfect gift that is unbelievably marvelous, comparable only to the incredibly above-average-mothering that they’ve produced on a daily basis.
Only to be desperately let down.
Some moms may really set the bar high and wish for something extravagant like a spa day package, a Tiffany’s turquoise box wrapped with the perfect bow, or a surprise staycation with her best girlfriends. Most would give a grateful smile with a box of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers, or a date night out for dinner.
How to Spoil Mom on Mother’s Day
Every father with young children is sweating bullets, trying to read the mind of the woman who carried said offspring in her womb for 9 months, with physical scars to prove it. He’s wanting to surprise her with that perfect SOMETHING to show his gratitude, ideally teaching those little cherubs to show the same level of consideration as they get older.
Little does he know, all mom really wants deep down is to be appreciated. Not much, just a token of gratitude. She wants to somehow be recognized for the blood, sweat, tears, worry, sleepless nights, kissed boo-boos, anxiety ridden worries that she faces on a daily basis caring for her blessed children.
It’s quite the task, summing up in grandeur everything that she means to you, in fact it feels impossible.
Mother’s Day Idea
May I suggest the 1 thing every mom wants for Mother’s Day that doesn’t cost a dime? Something you can give her year after year, and it never gets old?
A letter.
Yep, you read that right. Grab a pen, some paper, and put forth some effort.
- Spouses, write out your observations about how she has been an incredible mother.
- Children, (likely with dads guidance) outline what you love about her: qualities emotional and physical.
- Teens, mention the times she’s sacrificed to deliver your forgotten homework to you, or packed your lunch, or worked through a worry with you.
- Adult Child (maybe a mom yourself) make a list of all of the things your mom has done for you from child to adult that were a sacrifice. You know how you often say to yourself about your kids, “They’ll thank me someday?” Now is that someday for you to thank her.
- If you’re the mom, send this link to your spouse or child!
Mother’s Day Gift
Now I’m not just talking about the generic “You’re Awesome” or “Thank you for all you do.” Dig deep. Get specific. Go for the heartstrings.
Here are a few tips to get you started with your Mother’s Day gift idea:
- Be thoughtful, not generic, add humor and heart.
- Share specific anecdotes where you’ve noticed her sacrifice.
- Share positive qualities you see in her children that you know came from her.
- Tell her the things you know she’s given up on behalf of her children.
- Express gratitude (maybe in list form) for all of the things she does for the family.
This gift never gets old. Never.
You can give it year after year.
My most treasured mother’s day gifts are the letters he helped my kids write for me, and the observations he wrote specifically to me. Complements of the spoken word are great, but the written word in letter form can be treasured up and re-lived. She can re-read the kinds words written in moments of desperation when she feels tapped out, giving her the strength to keep going in this parenting gig.
So grab that pen and paper and get writing. Maybe throw it in a colorful envelope with flowers on the side. If you’d really like to add something Monetary, go for it. As an alternative, you can just add a “P.S. Pick something nice out for yourself”. Takes the guesswork out of it, and that’s how you win at Mother’s Day gifting.
More Mother’s Day Gift ideas from the past:
