Help wanted

Carol

I'm putting together an article, and gift suggestions for Mother's Day (for the website I write for).
So, for all Mums on Talkback-whatever your age- what would be your ideal Mother's Day gift, or way to spend the day.
I want to give a selection of scenarios for readers to consider.

Nefertari

My ideal gift would be a book token.
Flowers are OK too, but not chocolates.
And I would like to have someone ( son or daughter) cook me a nice roast dinner then I'd like to watch a DVD. Perhaps Atonement?

bochok

My boys are giving me a book on Welsh grammar - but that's no good for your article, is it? :rolleyes:

How about chocolates, flowers, books, breakfast in bed...

Maybe a nice DVD, or a CD of her favourite music?

Isabella King

Foot cream.

Bath Oil - I particularly like Fenjel

A punnet of strawberries and a tub of clotted cream ;)

Bunch of daffs

My daughter once gave me a book of home made gift vouchers. Some were for hugs and others were for household tasks like washing up and hoovering - not much help to you though, Carol :)

Carol

Those are great suggestions, because they don't always cost anything or much money. A variety of things that all ages can do, whether they have much money or not- a neccesity in the expensive world we live in.

heather

I'm not a Mum myself, but I know my mum would rather have a visit than anything I could buy. Having said that, this year she will get perfume and a cuddly 'best mum' bear. She's eighty but she still loves her cuddlies! My sister will get her a rose bush and plant it for her.

Carol

It occured to me to make it a two part thing- one part about Mother's Day and suggestions for what you can do, while part 2 will cover what is available in the shops and internet.

Wordy

Nothing beats the home made card and a cuddle from the tinies and from the older children a promise note that offers Mum some "me" time. Neither really costs money but shows appreciation. Not much help for your shopping options, Carol, but hopefully appeals to those who follow a more traditional route.

Rosalie

As a mother of grown-up children - cards always welcome, but best of all would be a phone call, without my sending a prompting text!

cooper

Afew years back I sent ma a rose bush. She still treasures it.

Viv

Plants are better than flowers cos they last longer and can bring back memories years down the line. I bet there's a rose called Mothers Day out there somewhere. I also like Belgian chocolates and bath stuff. Somehow perfume is better as a pressie from a lover not a child!

Jools

My children once bought me a voucher for a day of pampering at a local health/beauty spa. It was lovely and much appreciated.

Amanda

I would love a riding lesson!

Betsie

I once received a ticket to an art exhibition that my son knew I longed to see - lovely. I like Carol's idea of home made vouchers for hugs etc. They could be for all sorts of things like getting the lawn mowed, hedge trimmed, ironing done etc.

Carol

These are all good ideas, especially the Rose Bush idea, and Viv I will do a search for possible roses- you'd think there would be one especially for Mother's Day, wouldn't you.

Neph

A home made card and a cup of tea in bed.

Carol

Ah... :)

Tash

I have plants in my garden which were bought for me years ago by my children - anything from forsythia bushes to primroses. And one of my best recent mother's days was just after my own mum died and I was feeling low - my daughter took me out for the day. She'd planned on taking me to a garden centre to have lunch there and it was closed! But we spent the day together just driving round, going down country lanes and getting ourselves lost, but it was a lovely day and I treasure the memory.

Carol

That's a nice mememory, thank you.

Butterfly

I would love my son to suggest we go for a walk, whatever the weather, like we used to when he was small. Maybe he could now treat me to a coffee in the local coffee shop as an extra treat. Something like that is much more precious than a gift.

Mind for my birthday I've asked for a foot massager.

Celtic C

Always find it's the thoughtfulness of the home-made that does it for me - and lucky for me I've got a creative wee girl who loves making things.
She'd never spend her money on commercial "best mummy" things but somehow always seems to find something just right - a piece of moonstone shaped like my favourite standing stone (30p), a packet of incense from a charity shop (20p) - little things like that are worth more than any ammount of flowers etc to me.
At Christmas she presented me with a beautiful home-made dream-catcher that she had made using one of her green and silver Indian bangles, thread and beads - she just thought it up herself.
This year she has announced that Mother's Day is being postponed for a week in our household - because I'm working on the actual day!
Sorry it won't help with your article Carol - but I might have to read your article to come up with something for my own mum!

midia

For my 40th birthday this year my family all clubed together and got me a flying lesson. I wouldn't mind another one for mother's day!

Carol

Butterfly, CC and Midia, this has helped a lot actually. I agree very much that the home-made things are the best and most meaningful.
Midia the flying lesson is a great idea for the more adventurous.

Stan2

Carol - I see you have borrowed one of my 'ahs'.

Neph child - shall I send you a supply of my tea for someone to make for you in bed?

Every day ought to be Mother's Day - not just once a year.

Hickey

A lie in bed in the morning and a "Day Off" please.
Maybe some burnt toast, delivered to my bed by a small smiling child, who spills the crumbs on my face to wake me up.
Lovely.

Carol

Ah... again.
Lovely sentiment Stan. :)

Island Girl

Whenever I receive something from the family there is always at least one candle amongst the pressies - they know I love them. Especially the nice vanilla smelling ones. Also, you can buy the little tea-light candles very cheaply at most supermarkets these days so they don't have to be the big fat expensive ones.
Hickey is right about the breaky in bed scenario. Breaky cooked by the kids is always a disaster at our house - the toast gets burnt and the eggs are hard and rubbery. The cereal either doesn't have enough milk and you have to force your way through a bowl full of it with a dry mouth or there is too much and you end up with one mouthful of cereal and bowl full of milk that takes an hour to eat spoon by spoon. But Mothers' Day breakfasts are to make your kids feel proud of themselves so I always go along with it with a big smile on my face. It's a great joy to see them looking so pleased with their efforts. :-D
And I know it's not very imaginative but I like book vouchers, too.
Just one more thing, under no circumstances should you ever give your mother (or wife) an iron or any household cleaning product. The first Mothers' Day present I ever got was a pair of fluffy slippers and I nearly cried. (Ungrateful, I know) Even though I smiled through gritted teeth and breaking heart, I knew my days of being thought of as a vibrant young woman with a zest for life had up and deserted me. I was now and would be forever more sorted into the "Mother" classification box. I was 22. :rolleyes:

Carol

IG, you're not ready for the fluffy slippers now, let alone when you were 22!
That is a good point about irons and other household products- I'm sure there are a few men who would do that.
And what writer wouldn't like book vouchers- I think I better not tell my lot that, or my husband will tear his hear out at the thought of more books;)

cooper

There have been some lovely posts here, all with great memories attached.

Carol, I have a funny feeling that the rose bush I sent to ma was called Mother's Day, or something like that. I can tell you that it has yellow flowers and is the sturdiest rose in the garden here. I'm sure sure I sent it through interflora or something like that. Does that help?

Amanda

a couple of years ago my daughter wrote a lovely story with matching pictures... all sellotaped together on mismatched paper... i've kept it in my somewhat overflowing memory box, just incase she decides to better her mother and become the next jk and its worth millions! (not really! i'm just a silly soft sentimentalist who has kept just about every purile scribble and daub for the last 12 years - hence the over flow!).

Amanda

one present that really made me cry was when my daughter presented me with a photo frame. She had already had a photo printed of my poor late horse and put it in there for me. it was such a touching thought.. bringing tears to my eyes at the memory!

Stan2

Spare a thought for those who have no mum to send a card or flowers or chocolates too. Some of our mums died a long time ago. And spare a thought for those women who would love to be mums but for some reason or other can't conceive. Think of mum's whose children have 'disappeared' - Madeline and others. Sorry if this is too serious a thought for this delightful thread. All the best Carol with the articles. You've brought back tmany houghts of mum and mum-in-law.

Stan2

'tmany houghts' - see too many tears (in my heart) so that I can't spell right.

Carol

A very good reminder Stan, and one I will include in my article. Thank you.
The most memorable things often seem to be those that have been made with love and feeling- a very good reason.
I hope this has brought back lots of good memories to you all.

Mutley

Having step-children and none of my own, I would just be grateful to have the role I play acknowledged.

Soobdoo

Like so many other's here I value the personal touch.
I'm easy to please all the cliched mother's day presents are lovely.
A visit with hugs and kisses means more to me than anything else.

When my eldest daughter was on her gap year in Australia she posted me some lovely photos with her holding up a card saying 'I love you Mum'. A phone call on the day was lovely.

mcbemused

As someone who has worked every single mothers day since becoming one, what I would like most is to have the day off. Not too much to ask, is it?

MorbidMaiden

This might sound corny but my Mum adores it when we have a day of no arguments.

Butterfly

Being on my own one of the most wonderful mothers days was when my son was about 5/6 He went down stairs and made me a handful of cornflakes in a bowl with loads of milk and a ton of sugar. A lovely cup of tea (hmmm) made with hot water from the tap (he knew he wasn't allowed to use the kettle) and lots of milk. along with a slice of bread with a lump of butter squashed in the centre, where he'd tried to spread it. He gave me a card he'd made a school and carried it all upstairs on the tray. Although it was a bit odd, I ate and drank it all it was very special. One I won't forget.

cooper

Not a Mother's Day thing but SD has just reminded me of something. A couple of years back ma came for a holiday to Spain. I went with a friend to collect her at Alicante airport. We had a two metre wide banner, home-made, that read "Welcome home MommaNid" in English and Spanish. We got some very funny looks but ma loved it. Even better for her, she wasn't expecting me there as I had not long got home after 5 weeks in hospital. I still have that banner.

DianaW

I'm not a mother, but I would go for Jools' suggestion...

Carol

So many ways to show someone how much you care, and all different in their own way. I would like to use some of your quotes anonymously if that's okay.

Verica

One of my favourite presents was a set of notelets made by my daughter, using beautiful photographs she had taken at Kew Gardens and on holiday photographing sunsets, together with a poem; another Mother's Day present was a painting of sunflowers she had done. The other great present was a day at Henlow Grange being spoiled from my son and daughter-in-law. Breakfast in bed from my husband and a bottle of perfume were also much appreciated.

Jenny

My lovely (late) mother-in-law always used to bring me a present on Mothers Day and say "it's from one mother to another".

cooper

Carol. Don't know if you're likely to be quoting me but it's fine by me if you do.

Butterfly

I don't think we'd have told you if we minded you using them.

Carol

Thanks for the permissions, it is always good to be able to give real life quotes, and it gets over how much meaning these things can have.

Celtic C

I'm quite happy for anything I post to be used - I wouldn't post anything I wasn't happy to be quoted on.

Mutley

Likewise - though I'm not sure I really helped!

Carol

You have all helped, even though you may think you haven't.
Big hug Mutley as I know life as a step mum will be especially hard.

Mutley

Oh trust me, tonight is about as bad as it gets!