Five Gifts Your Mom Truly Needs This (and every) Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is closing in and you know what that means. A typical hallmark holiday meant to sell cards and renew relations with your mother that apparently can’t be renewed on any other day in the year. (Sigh.) Cue the extremely emotional Facebook posts dedicated to moms everywhere. I don’t mean to sound like one of the “if you care about your mother” posts, but I do agree on one thing: why should a mother, or anyone, really, be made to feel special only on one day? But there’s an answer to that. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in what we’re doing that we need a push to reconnect with our mothers, and Mother’s Day is that push.

Now that the day exists, well, we might as well do something special for the first woman in our lives, right? Anyone can buy her a gift, one of those funny mugs or a card from the nearest Archies, and you can make her a card on even her birthday. And for a not-so-mainstream day like this one, a clichéd gift is definitely a big fat NO. So what is not mainstream or common, or something you can give on some other day? Well, here are a few things you can gift your mom this Mother’s Day.

Being a mom is a full-time job. From taking care of whatever her children need to keeping the home up and running, she is someone who usually still manages to survive you, your family and in all likelihood, her paying job too. You get an off from one kind of job on Sundays, but there are no holidays for this particular superhero. She may be sentimental at times, and emotionally blackmail you with the typical, “I carried you for nine months”, but when she uses this line, you know you’ve already lost the argument. So one thing she would definitely appreciate is a break. This Mother’s Day, let that be your gift to your mom! Wake up early, do some cleaning, cook for the family, that sort of thing. It would definitely make her day, more than any material gift ever could.

With your mom working around the clock and your dad busy at his own job, one thing that’s scarce is time spent with each other. At the risk of them becoming disgustingly romantic, plan a date for your parents, just the two of them without you tagging along. Make reservations at your mom’s favorite restaurant, or take your dad’s help in recreating one of their favorite moments together. Not only will this leave your mom happy, it’ll also be a great time for your dad! Also, the GIF below is a representation of what this date should not turn out to be.

As anyone grows older, all they need is company and for the ones around them to spend time with them, especially their own children. And remember, your mom may seem omnipotent, but she’s growing old, too. So gift her the most precious thing you can ever give to anyone: your own time. Make yourself free and spend the day with her. Go shopping, have a spa day together, or just laze around at home; whatever suits your (and more importantly, her) fancy. Your time is what’s important, not the way you decide to spend it.

No matter what anyone says, everyone has their brand of adrenaline rush. Be it a ride on a roller-coaster, or a horror movie-marathon, or bungee jumping, everyone has to get their fix of excitement somehow. So this Mother’s Day, gift your mother her own favourite brand of adventure. Take her on a trek, or watch a series of horror movies with her. It would be the most enjoyable day she may have had in a while.

Everyone gets nostalgic once in a while, reveling in old memories, reminiscing about the fun they used to have. Mothers aren’t immune to nostalgia. So take your mom on a trip down memory lane on this special day. Recreate her most fun memories, or look up her oldest friends and get her in touch with them. You could remind her of something she used to enjoy and encourage her to take it up again. There are so many possibilities here that with just this one point that you could do this every year for the next few years and still have ideas to spare.