Picking out the perfect Mother’s Day gift is not as easy as it might seem. Even if you have a very close relationship with your mother and know exactly what she likes, it can still be tricky, because you don’t want to give her the same gifts you’ve given her in the past.
While keeping in mind the challenges of finding that ideal Mother’s Day gift, we’ve come up with a few ideas to help you out.
Just grabbing something at the store isn’t really good enough, so each idea includes the following three components to provide a really well-rounded present:
1. A gift you buy
2. An added personal touch to the gift
3. How the gift is presented
We’ve broken down each idea into separate packages based on effort, time and money.
This is the simplest option and requires the least amount of work. There is no excuse not to do this at the very least for your mom on Mother’s Day.
Gift: A gift card to mom’s favorite store or restaurant (amount depends on your financial situation).
Personal touch: Hand-make your own greeting card or customize one using a website like Shutterfly.
Presentation: Kick it old-school by including a personal letter recounting a positive memory you share with mom and explain why she means so much to you.
A little more time and effort must be taken to fulfill the bronze package, but it’s still very doable. Consider this a great option if you want to go a little above and beyond for mom this year, but aren’t able to go all out.
Gift: A bouquet of flowers or one of your mom’s favorite plants.
Personal touch: Hand-paint or add some sort of personal touch to the vase containing the flowers or plants.
Presentation: Surprise mom by delivering the flowers/plant in person on Mother’s Day or if you live a long distance from her, by coordinating with the delivery person so that you can call her as she receives the gift.
This is the level at which you need to make a bit more of a commitment. If you want to make this Mother’s Day a little more special than others in the past, then this package would be a good choice.
Gift: An all-expenses paid visit to the local spa, so your mom can enjoy a pampering session.
Personal touch: Provide mom a shoulder massage or back rub to get her ready for her spa date. If you aren’t comfortable with that, then put on her favorite CD or do something she finds relaxing.
Presentation: Drive her to the spa and orchestrate with the front desk to break the surprise to her that she will get a full pampering session whenever she wants. If you can’t be there in person to deliver the news yourself, then post a photo of the spa on her Facebook wall and get some of her best friends to comment that she really deserves a spa day and then announce that she is getting one.
We are now at the level that requires serious dedication. In order to go ahead with the gold package, you must make the decision that Mother’s Day is a major priority this year. For those ready to make that plunge, here you go.
Gift: It’s called the gold package for a reason … it includes gold. Get your mom her favorite type of jewelry in at least 14-karat gold and include her preferred gem stone in it for good measure.
Personal touch: If the piece of jewelry is big enough for engraving, then that is the obvious and best way to incorporate your personal touch. If not, a good backup plan is to personalize the box that contains the jewelry.
Presentation: This is where the gold package takes it to the next level by combining all of the previous package presentations into one. Write your mom a personal letter to go with the jewelry and give it to her in person during a night in which you take her out to her favorite restaurant for a great meal.
The ultimate Mother’s Day gift package is something you probably only want to pull out on a very rare occasion, but if you really want to leave a lasting impression, then this is a great route.
Gift: Rather than one gift, the platinum package involves giving mom all of the gifts listed above, plus a DIY hand-created gift of your choice.
Personal touch: Plan it out so that you give mom a new gift at various points throughout the day when she least expects it. Wake her up with one gift, present one to her at work (or have it delivered to the office), give one to her before dinner and wrap it up with the last gift coming before bed time.
Presentation: The best gift won’t be an item that you actually give to mom it will come after she’s received her before-dinner gift. You will have gathered all of the most meaningful people in her life and surprise her with a special dinner featuring her closest friends and family as guests. They will also be expected to provide her with their own gifts.
