The Mother's Day Idea Place

by Joanna FuchsBecause our mothers do so much for us, we should demonstrate our appreciation more than once a year, but especially on Mother’s Day we can let Mom know what she means to us. Here are some suggestions:

1. Make her breakfast and clean up afterwards.

Here’s an easy breakfast: Get some fruit of different colors. Two kinds of melon–honeydew and cantaloupe would work. Cut it up into chunks and serve with a wedge of lime on the side. If you want to be fancy, add a stemmed maraschino cherry on top. If melon isn’t available, you could use strawberries, which are always in season around Mother’s Day. Buy some cinnamon rolls to go with the fruit. Wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven at 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes. If you must use the microwave, be sure to set it on half power, or the rolls will turn out tough.

With breakfast, give her some flowers. If they are cut flowers, don’t make her find a vase and arrange them; you do it. If the budget is tight, buy a single flower or pick some wildflowers from your garden, or ask a neighbor who has a flower garden if he or she would give you one.

With the flowers, give her a sentimental Mother’s Day poem, like this one:

You Let Me Know You Love Me

You let me know you love me
In so many different ways.
You make me feel important
With encouragement and praise.

You’re always there when I need you
To comfort and to care.
I know I’m in your thoughts;
Your love follows me everywhere.

Thank you for all you’ve done
And given so generously.
I love you, my wonderful mother,
You’re a heaven-sent blessing to me.

By Joanna Fuchs

You can find more mother poems like these at www.poemsource.com. These copyrighted poems are free for personal use, according to the Terms of Use detailed at the site.

2. Take over all her chores for the day. You may not have noticed what those are, but you will now. Every time she starts a chore, you take over. Say to her, “I love you and I want to show you that I appreciate you on your special day.” Say it every time; she won’t mind the repetition. She’ll love hearing it.

3. Take her out to dinner or make dinner at home for her and whoever else is there. If others are coming over, ask each of them to bring something.

You’ll need the following:

A green salad. You can buy this in a plastic bag at the supermarket if you want. Some even come with dressing. If the budget is tight, make it from scratch. Wash and cut up some romaine and iceberg lettuce. Add some washed and peeled, thinly sliced or shredded carrots and some washed, peeled, sliced cucumber. Make or buy some ranch dressing. Everyone likes that.

An entrée. You can cook something if you like, or you can buy a frozen, family size entrée, like lasagne, at the supermarket.

Rolls and butter.

Dessert. Make your own. Something really easy is chocolate pudding–NOT instant, but rather the Jello brand kind you cook. It says “Cook and Serve” on the box. Making it in the microwave is really easy; just follow the instructions on the box. Make more than you think you’ll need. Cook it in a big glass bowl so it won’t boil over. Put it into individual servings. You can use little dishes, if you have them, but you can also use juice glasses or wine glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time. Buy a can of whipped cream and spritz some on the top of each serving.

Or you can buy a pie or cake from the bakery. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if appropriate.

If Mom drinks coffee, be sure to make some.

4. After dinner, surprise her with a gift. A personalized gift is nice. You can find some nice ones at personalizationmall.com. They have a special section for mothers. If the budget is tight, go to the dollar store. Or go to a used bookstore and get her a book by her favorite author.

5. Finally, tell her you’re glad she’s your mom. I know it’s hard to express feelings for some people, but it will mean so very much to her. Moms are like that. You cannot know how much time is left with her to tell her what she means to you. She could be around another fifty years or she could be gone tomorrow. Just say something like, “Mom, I just want you to know I’m really happy that you’re my mother. You’re the best.” Or whatever feels right to you.

Do these things, or even some of them, and you Mom will have a great Mother’s Day!

About the Author

Joanna Fuchs writes greeting card poems for poemsource.com. In addition to mother poems, there are anniversary, baby, birthday, Christian, Christmas, father, friendship, get well, graduation, love, New Year, teacher, Valentine and wedding poems. To see the mother poems, go to http://www.poemsource.com/mother-poems.html

by Mark McAuley

I remember when I was a little boy in school; we would make our mom’s a silly little art project for Mother’s day. You know, a baby food jar with construction paper on it and a tissue paper flower.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure mom loved that little home made gift. And most mothers probably still have those little papered jars stored away in a box somewhere so they can pull them out and remember when we were young. Although, as we get older we realize that our gift was not really practical. We start to think maybe I should get mom something better. Something she can use regularly, but more importantly, something she really needs.

If you are like me, your mother is probably at the age where she can order off the senior’s menu. With the special discounts on food also come other more undesirable aspects related to age. The weather no longer seems as warm as it used to. Her feet get colder easier; the extra thick comforters come out of the closet while it is still summertime, and all sleepwear is either flannel or fleece.

As we get older our roles start to reverse with our parents. They spent our entire childhood worried that maybe we weren’t dressed warm enough for the weather, and did we take that sweater to school in case the wind picked up. At bedtime my mom would stick her head in the door 5 minutes after I was in bed to check I was warm enough all snuggled up in my Flintstones pj’s or did I need a big knitted pair of socks on too.

My mother’s penchant for saving on heating hasn’t lessened over the years. She would rather wear 3 sweaters than turn the heat up, always runs the hot water for 5 minutes to heat up the bathroom before a bath, and eighteen blankets on the bed at night. But times have changed. Fleece can now withstand weather only seen in the arctic. Slippers are not only warm and fuzzy but they now come with non-slip soles – another concern we get as our parents age.

My mother has slippers that remind her of her old dog Farley, slippers to wear when company is over, slippers to wear outside to put the garbage in the garage, slippers for every occasion it seems. She doesn’t worry about slipping in them, and I don’t worry about what might happen if she were to slip. She has a warm fleece bathrobe so she no longer has to wash, dry and dress in the bathroom to conserve heat. I notice the bed isn’t piled high with blankets anymore, mom is finally warm without the bulk of three sweaters and knitted stockings.

With Mother’s Day fast approaching I think I am going to replace baby food jar vases with slippers, tissue paper flowers with fleece bathrobes, and eighteen blankets on the bed with warm flannel pajamas. In doing this I also give myself something that can’t be bought – less worry about my aging mom, and some piece of mind knowing she is warm at night all snuggly in her fleece and flannel.

by Angela Renee

The word mother and mothers day are simple, yet powerful little words that you hear all the time especially so around the time of mothers day when everyone seem to be scrambling for ideas to say thank you, you are surely loved and you are appreciated all over again.

But if you would just take time out, you would realize that useful hints were probably being dropped all alone and throughout the year. In fact, with that special day being only a few weeks away, some of your thoughts at this time can range anywhere from what are you going to do for your mother, spouse or other loved one to should it be a product gift or something more personal. If it is the product route, how can it be made more personalized? If it is the gift of time, how can it be made more personal?

Mothers Day for some will be welcomed with feelings of excitement while for others it may be a day of mixed feelings especially so if the mother you will honor has lost a child to tragedy. So that is why whenever you wish to honor someone in your own little way, you should consider where that person may be in their life and then the event. Many people say that it’s the thought that counts and yes that’s a very good point but so is too know a person and mother’s day is no exception.

To give you some examples, consider a single mother who’s been struggling to raise her children and doing it all alone in every sense of the word, what would make her day on mother’s day? What about a seventy-two year old mother who has raised her children but suddenly took on the new responsibilities of raising her grand children, what would she possibly want or deserve?

Sure a bouquet of flowers or some other last minute gift would be nice and probably get you off the hook but what would that mother really want to do for that special day? Would she want to spend her day filled with family and special friends or have a day of being responsibility free? If you were in that person’s shoes, which would you hope that someone would honor you with for mother’s day?

You see mothers day or any other day can be made more personal when you put some careful thought into your gift idea. What else would that mother enjoy? What has she wanted to do for a long time? What has she not gotten to experience in her lifetime? How can you really show her she is appreciated?

Even a gift that is accompanied with a carefully written letter or note with meaning can put a smile on a mother’s face! Yes, I know this will not work for all moms but that’s why in the article it says that YOU need to really know that person. So please just remember it really is the thought that counts especially when you did take some time out to put some thought into your mother’s day gift.

Oh, one last thing, I invite you to help every day become a Mother’s Day. By the way moms, it is ok to drop hints about how you would like to spend your special day and with hope, your spouse, partner, or other loved one will graciously honor your small request. After all, mother’s day on the calendar only comes once a year.

by Nicola KennedyYou don’t have a lot of money to spend this year for her, but you want something special for your mom. Here are some ideas that will take little or nothing to get or make.

A photo album is always nice to have around the house. So if you have many photos that have never made into an album, here is your chance to do something very special and it won’t cost but a few dollars to do.

Go to your local thrift store and look for some old binders and some nice fabric, if you don’t have any at home. Then all you need is some pages that you can put your photos on. Decorate the binder for Mother’s Day and decorate the pages with the pictures on them with captions, buttons, lace, and charms, sort of like a scrapbook. This way the picture get put into an album and you make a inexpensive Mother’s Day gift for your mom.

Here are some silly but lovable and low cost gifts for mom, that are both meant to be funny or personal or both. She would treasure them for ever.

If she is a coffee or tea drinker then a Paint Your Own Mug would an excellent choice, with a painting done in your very hand, every time she takes a drink she will remember the time and love put into this wonderful gift, she would be the envy of all her friends.

Now with this handy kit, she can be paid for being a football widow. As referee, she is in charge! Getting ignored? Yellow Card! Got his mates over again? Red Card! Each card carries a penalty for the family from simply doing the laundry to taking her on a holiday – let the punishment fit the crime….

Mom is afraid of spiders and other bugs? The Spider Catcher is an innovative new product which uses two sets bristles to gently catch the spider, carefully trapping it until you release it outside.

With a trigger at one end and the bristles at the other, there is no need for Mom to spend nights on the couch because a spider has decided to move into the bedroom!
About the AuthorNicola Kennedy has enjoyed some great Mother’s Days, both as a grateful mom and a loving daughter. She can help you find great Mother’s Day gifts with tips and news, information and views at http://www.I-Love-My-Mom.com

All rights reserved. Copyright http://www.I-Love-My-Mom.com

by Freda J. Glatt, M.S.Do you remember this Howard Johnson song titled “M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)?”

‘M’ is for the million things she gave me, ‘O’ means only that she’s growing old, ‘T’ is for the tears were shed to save me, ‘H’ is for her heart of purest gold; ‘E’ is for her eyes, with love-light shining, ‘R’ means right, and right she’ll always be, Put them all together, they spell MOTHER, A word that means the world to me!

What does your mother mean to you? Here are a few suggestions to help celebrate her special day. Most can be done at home.

1. Make a bouquet of flowers using colored tissue paper and chenille stems. Create an arrangement by putting the stems in styrofoam in a basket.

2. On a piece of poster board, make a colorful flower by using crayons, markers, paint, or torn pieces of colored construction paper. Laminate it to make a placemat.

3. Let your mother be the star of her own TV show! Get a box and cut out two holes near the top, one on each side, to insert a dowel; repeat on the bottom. Glue a scroll of paper to both dowels and use them to turn the paper. Use photographs or draw pictures of your mom; then write captions for each. When you put the lid of the box back on, cut out a square for the screen. Enjoy!

4. Have a Mother’s Day Tea at school. Prepare refreshments and let the students share some creative writing, one-on-one, with their mothers. Afterwards, entertainment could include songs and dances. Have someone sign the songs as they are sung.

5. Choose a photograph or draw a picture to frame. The frame can be made of patterned or textured wallpaper samples or cloth. If you use poster board, use craft scissors with various-shaped edges and decorate with stickers, buttons, or glitter.

6. Write your original words to the song, MOTHER, and perform it. If there is a different special lady in your life, use her name or title instead. Perhaps you would rather list adjectives for each letter in MOTHER rather than write a song.

7. Tape vignettes of your mother and present her with the videotape or DVD. Alternately, keep a photo journal and present her with an album or scrapbook.

8. Have family entertainment with all members singing, dancing, or telling their favorite stories. Mom could be sitting in a specially-decorated chair.

9. Give coupons for each day of the week. What will you do to help your mom? Wash the dishes? Babysit? Vaccuum?

10. Buy your mother a ticket for an upcoming event or movie.

I hope these tips are useful and ignite your own creativity. However you celebrate, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

About the Author

Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com. Reading is FUNdamental!

by Pamela Swingley

This year on Mother’s Day why not give your mother a “year long gift;” one that arrives every month? Not only will you be her shining star on Mother’s Day, but other gift-giving occasions will be covered, as well.

A Year of Reading Pleasure

Present your mother with a magazine subscription, one that fits her special interests. She will think about you each time a new issue arrives! Top publications for women include:

> O, the Oprah Magazine (women’s issues)
> Everyday with Rachael Ray (cooking)
> In Style (for fashion-loving moms)
> People (celebrity news)
> Us Weekly (celebrity gossip)
> Real Simple (everyday living)
> Parents
> The Bark (for dog lovers)
> Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine (financially savvy moms)
> Yoga Journal

A Year of Blooms

Available through many online florists, floral arrangements will arrive throughout the year. At 1-800-Flowers.com, for instance, seasonal blooms are used to ensure your mother has fresh flowers all year long.

Each new bouquet delightfully different from the month before! Another option is to send a live plant or bonsai tree every month. Most plans include twelve, six and three month options.

Year of Gourmet Delights

Make sure mom has her favorite foods all year round! Most gourmet food companies offer a food-of-the-month plan that features some of their best products. Visit your mother’s favorite food web site and search for “of the month club”, “year of”, or “monthly club plan.” Many companies offer twelve, six and three month subscriptions.

Need specific ideas? How about a year of gourmet dinners? Omaha Steak’s Gourmet Entrée of the Month plan ensures that at least once a month mom (and perhaps you, too!) will dine in gourmet style.

If your mother is someone who can’t resist chocolate, Godiva Chocolates can send a delectable chocolate lover’s gift every month. Other “Of the Month” type clubs feature monthly offerings of food items such as cheese, salsa, tea, or coffee.

If this sounds like too much of one good thing, iGourmet offers a Connoisseur’s Club plan. With this plan, your mother will receive a varied assortment of seasonal gourmet treats each month. iGourmet also offers several other “Of the Month” club membership options, one sure to appease the adventurous gourmand or budding gourmet enthusiast in your mom.

Stonewall Kitchen offers a monthly plan of varied gourmet food items. Sign up for their Specialty Food Club and your mother will be sent distinct collections featuring Stonewall Kitchen’s finest: award-winning jams, spreads, sauces and butters.

A Year of Fruit

Harry & David’s legendary Fruit-of-the-Month Club will send your mother monthly shipments of select fruit. Each luscious piece pampered while still on the tree, picked during its peak, and sent to her door brimming with freshness and flavor!

If your mother is crazy for vitamin C, Grandma Berrie’s offers a seven month citrus plan, which includes navel oranges, honey tangerines, and ruby red grapefruit.

GotFruit Monthly Fruit Club offers several juicy, mouth-watering plans. This company has been rated the “Best overall; Best value” in fruit clubs by the Wall Street Journal.

A Year of Toasts

Finally, why not give your mother a wine club subscription? Each month she will have the exciting opportunity to explore new and emerging wines from around the world. Wine.com offers several sumptuous, monthly tasting adventures from which to select.

When you choose your Mother’s Day gift this year, thoughtfully consider giving one that will arrive throughout the year. Your mother will have something to look forward to each month…a loving reminder that you think of her all year long!

For more Mother’s Day gift ideas, and great gifts for mom, visit http://www.savvy-mothers-day-gifts.com.

by Nicola Kennedy
Well, Mother’s Day is coming up on us again. Are you ready to “WOW” your mom with a show of thanks and gratitude? Will you honestly remember what motherhood is all about and what she did for you? To prepare you for adulthood, the stresses of life, teaching you how to make lemon-aide out of lemons.

Some say the Mother’s Day is too commercialized now, but what was it really for to begin with? Originally conceived by Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War as a day honoring (in her opinion) the inherent pacifism of mothers, Mother’s Day now simply celebrates motherhood and thanks mothers.

The first Mother’s Day as we would recognize it was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908, in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International Mother’s Day Shrine. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. Finally the holiday was declared officially by states beginning in 1912, and in 1914 the President, Woodrow Wilson, declared the first national Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day is a busy time of year for mail in many countries. In 1973, the U.S. Postal Service was held up for eight days because of the number of letters and cards.

Here are just a few quotes from people that we have heard of but never thought to have a mother. They honored their mothers with these wonderful and memorable words about motherhood. James Fenton: The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint

Oliver Wendell Holmes: The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men – from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms

Abraham Lincoln: I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

Chinese Proverb: There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

Remember mom, she was the world to you in your childhood, the weirdo in your youth and the guide in your adulthood. She is “Mom.”

About the Author

Nicola Kennedy has enjoyed some great Mother’s Days, both as a grateful mom and a loving daughter. She can help you find great Mother’s Day gifts with tips and news, information and views at http://www.I-Love-My-Mom.com

All rights reserved. Copyright http://www.I-Love-My-Mom.com

by Sheila Gordon
Mother’s day is almost here and I urge you to start thinking about unique gift ideas for your mom. There is only one day each year when we can really thank our mother for all the effort and love she has given to us. Lets do it right. Lets give her the perfect gifts for mother’s day.

I know many people that join the birth day gift for mom with the mother’s day gift. Don’t do it. She deserves the two gifts. And you could always find a gift to buy her. After all, she is a woman.

My first suggestion would be to put aside for a few moments the tax and gift cost. Try to think your mother wants or what she needs. No body knows your mother better than you. For example, my mother loves everything related to cats. She has a huge cat collection of cats statues and I get her a new one each year – I admit cat lover gifts are easy to find.

If you have figured out what your mother would like as a mothers day gift, decide on your budget and start searching for it. Start looking for the best gift as early as possible. This way, you will be able to make a comprehensive market research and buy the best gift at the best price.

If you haven’t thought of a specific gift to buy for mother’s day, do one of the following, and I guarantee you will find a gift for your mom :

1. Search for gift ideas in online gift stores. Try searching for : “gifts for mom” or “personalized unique gifts”

2. There are several gifts which will always be perfect gifts for mother’s day. These are Jewelry, picture frames, bath spa gift baskets, designer diamond pendants, american express gift cards and visa gift card.
About the Author

Our experts have a made a research to find the best online gift store. Find the results on http://www.tigilet.com/c/Gifts.php. Read more precious info on http://www.tigilet.com

by Wesley Berry
Moms are amazing people. They selflessly care for their children making sure there are always clean clothes to wear, a delicious dinner on the table, and plenty of love to go around. They often put their families ahead of themselves expecting only a quick hug or a smile as a reward. That’s why celebrations honoring mothers have been occurring since the times of the ancient Greeks, and perhaps even before. The first official Mother’s Day in the United States was on May 9, 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be National Mother’s Day, a day on which mothers throughout the country should be recognized for all they do.

Flowers have long been a traditional gift to present to mothers on Mother’s Day. While every mom loves to receive a bouquet or arrangement of her favorite flowers, there are lots of other ways you can incorporate flowers into an extra special declaration of your love. And, it doesn’t matter what your age is or if you’re helping your own young children celebrate mom, you can use flowers to make this Mother’s Day one she’ll always remember. Here are some ideas for both adult children and for younger children:

Adult Children

* If you’re going to celebrate Mother’s Day with dinner out, take a soup bowl and some silverware to your florist. Have the florist create a floral design in the bowl using the silverware as accessories to the arrangement. Place an invitation to the restaurant among the flowers.

* For a public declaration of your love, take your mom out to a restaurant and arrange to have flowers delivered to the table.

* Let your mom know she should relax today. Gift wrap a book and ask your florist to include it with a flower arrangement and a note telling her to spend her day relaxing.

* Send your mom a Mother’s Day tree or plant. Take photographs mounted on decorative paper or in small frames to your florist and ask him or her to tie them to a small tree or plant using matching ribbons.

* Give your mom a corsage to wear throughout the day. She’ll especially enjoy this if she plans to attend a worship service or other public event where everyone can see the gift you’ve given her.

Young Children

* Invite Mom to a movie. Take the movie section from a recent newspaper to your florist and ask him or her to place it in a box of flowers. Decorate the outside of the box with movie candy or candy and popcorn wrappers. Include a card letting Mom know she gets to pick the movie and you’ll buy the tickets and treats.

* Send Mom on a floral treasure hunt. Purchase several single stems of flowers. Have your florist place a flower tube on each one. Hide the flowers around the house and give Mom clues to lead her to each one. Make the last find a vase to place the flowers in and a note letting her know what a treasure she is.

* Breakfast in bed is a time-honored Mother’s Day tradition. Place a pretty vase of her favorite flowers on the tray.

Whether her children are grown or still young, every mom deserves a special Mother’s Day. Your florist will be delighted to help you express your love and respect in almost any creative way you can think of–they might even be able to offer some ideas of their own!
About the AuthorWesley Berry is the President of Wesley Berry Flowers established in 1946. He is also the Headmaster of the Professional Florists’ Institute, a floral design school in Michigan. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers on the web at www.800wesleys.com.

by Nicola Kennedy
So many days roll by without a thought to the daily life of our mother. How is her day going? Is everything going well? Does she need to relax? And so on. We are so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget that mom’s have tough days too, even after we are all grown up. And husbands forget that wives, the mothers of their children, do get forgotten in the daily hubbub of life.

So this year, do something that is absolutely and completely all for her. First, make arrangements for a full day at the spa. The works. It is relatively inexpensive and will bring the glow back into mom. While she is at the spa, clean the house, or hire someone to come do it for you. Order out for the best restaurant to deliver a full course meal and set it up for you so that when mom comes home, there is no cooking to be done. Make arrangements to have it cleaned up also. Make sure all her dry cleaning is taken to the shop, the dog is bathed and groomed. The sheets on the bed are fresh and clean.

This may not sound original to some, but for moms, it is the most personal thing you could do for her. Make it so mom does not have to lift a finger for anything.

Another idea, if you want to spend the money and do the footwork, is have a family quilt made for her. There are dozens of ways to do it. You can even have old family pictures incorporated into the quilt. Have the names of her family added to the quilt, this will turn into a “Memory Quilt”, something she gaze upon year after year and in a sense be surrounded by her family each night.

Depending on what “personal” means to your mom or wife, can decide how you want to personalize her Mother’s Day gift. There is engraving, embroidery, painting, and sculpting, or you can do something that mom has wanted done for a very long time and make that personal. Taking a cruise or short trip to a place that she has wanted to go.

To this mom, all things are personal, especially when it comes to her family.
About the Author

Nicola Kennedy has enjoyed some great Mother’s Days, both as a grateful mom and a loving daughter. She can help you find great personalized Mother’s Day gifts with tips and news, information and views at http://www.I-Love-My-Mom.com