What Do Mothers Want (for Mother’s Day)?

I haven’t taken a survey and I didn’t do any research.  But I have qualifications and a firm belief that if you read this post, you’ll figure out a wonderful and appropriate gift for the mothers in your life.  Many share my qualifications and you can certainly find other sources for ideas.  But you’re here already, so why not figure this out right now with me?

Finding the Right Mother’s Day Gift

The first order of business in picking out a gift is getting yourself into the mindset of the recipient.  Then ask yourself 3 questions:

• Should your gift be directly to her, or should you help others in her honor?  
• Would she like a tangible (not necessarily expensive) gift – for herself or in her honor – or would she prefer  that you do something for or with her?
• What interests, subjects, or issues are closest to her heart?

Now you’re ready to decide on the particular gift.  For ideas, check my 2011 Mother’s Day post and your email inbox.  On the latter point, I can pretty much guarantee that every nonprofit to which you have recently donated and every store that has your email address is whispering in your electronic ear this week that they know the perfect gift for your mom.  You can listen to them – or not.  They may give you inspiration or cause you to realize that you need to go elsewhere for the trends in knitting (if you thought purl was a misspelling for pearl – as in jewelry – and she always has a knitting bag by her side) or the right animal rescue charity (if that’s her passion and you couldn’t give a hoot what happens to alley cats.)

The third and last order of gift “business” is the delivery: 

• Write a card.  Handing her a gift or sending it without a card is missing an opportunity.   It’s not about the cost of the card or an elaborate one.  If you don’t have a commerical card, use a piece of computer paper.  A bit of color is nice, but if you’re not artistic, a simple written message is fine too.
• Make it a love note.  Even if you’re not always deliriously happy with her, put that aside.  Think of something that you love about her or your relationship, and go from there.  Even if neither of you is the sentimental type, surely you can find something nice to say.  Decades of experience as  Mother’s Day gift giver and recipient have taught me that heartfelt words trump dollars spent every time.
• Inscriptions (in books or elsewhere) are the best!

Enjoy Mother’s Day whether you are a mother, a child, or have someone in your life who has been almost like a mother to you.