Need Mother's Day suggestions....

May 9th, 2008 at 08:21 am

Hey gang, I'm hoping you can help me out on this one.

As you all know, Mother's Day is coming up. I've offered to cook for her.... Um, yeah, maybe not the greatest idea ever, Big Grin but you see, she's very used to being the one cooking! So, for some reason, she wants to cook instead.

I've thought about offering to take her out somewhere, but again, she prefers cooking on her own. That and I agree that it'd be more crowded and expensive eating out....

Yes, my mother is the frugal one in the family. Big Grin And because of her frugality, she also doesn't want any material presents either.

So, uh, I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do besides a hug and a "Happy Mother's Day"?

Update:
Finally settled on this bottle of scented oil with reeds that you can stick into it. Actually, my son picked that one, insisting that grandma would really like it. Hehe. Well, grandma was happy enough with it so I'm satisfied with it as well.... (I gave it to her early. Just worked out that way....)

Anyway, thanks for the great suggestions in this thread! Although I didn't end up with them, I definitely appreciated them all.

Posted in Simple Living | 17 Comments »

17 Responses to “Need Mother's Day suggestions....”

mom-sense Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 08:37 am

Perhaps a really nice cookbook? Or some fancy spices and herbs from an upscale store (we have a store in our town specializing in OLIVE OIL!) Perhaps a nice set of utensils? Just ideas ... good luck, let us know what your D-Mom is getting!
luxlivingfrugalis Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 08:45 am

I like mom-sense's idea better than mine, but I was going to suggest you buy her an I-bond!
gruntina Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 09:17 am

Maybe offer to do the groceries shopping for her one day. She write the list and you gather all the shopping so she can have a break?
pretty cheap jewelry Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 09:32 am

Flowers. But they have to be good smelly, maybe from the backyard, not storebought (all the smell is bred out of those).

Plant something in her yard that is easy to take care of or needs no care whatsoever.

Handmade soap. This is a luxury that costs $5 or less. And it is worth it. The smell; the lather; they last loooooong. Many many shops carry it, I can give you a recommend website but time is short. So try the health food store. Include a new $1 scrubby.
nance Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 09:34 am

Lots of chain grocery stores, seem to have roses on sale for about ten dollars a dozen. My son bought me a dozen gorgeous white roses, and a potted pink calla lily, and I absolutely love the gift.
Sometimes, moms like something that is NOT practical!
princessperky Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 09:44 am

A non food trip out? concert or play or the like?

If you go with flowers consider the recipient. I prefer potted flowers that do not have airborn pollen that are then transfered to the yard by someone else!

When I was younger I sometimes did a chore that was being neglected...not sure if mom appreciated it, but I sure would! course that assumes you know of or can do any chores for her and haven't yet.
aevans1206 Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 09:47 am

I'm sorry, but a day at a spa is always the best. Let her pick which services she'd like. Women love that stuff.
baselle Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 10:04 am

I think I'd go with aevans' suggestion, especially if the spa you pick has a free day on your birthday promotion. I suspect that your mom is also a frugal sort, and it gives her an opening to take you up on it. Also would be fun if you went also. That vaguely uncomfortable-but-doing-it-for-mom can be catnip for chicks, if you know what I mean. Shows off your vulnerability
Broken Arrow Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 10:36 am

These are all excellent suggestions! I knew you ladies would know what to do. I'll shop around this weekend and see what I can come up with.
campfrugal Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

Just having my family around, cooking out, playing a game, going for a bike ride, go on the paddle boat, go for a hike, stuff like that, means more to me than anything bought. I would rather have my kids save their money and just spend time with me. They keep asking me what to get them, so I came up with (a potted Tomato Plant, A hanging plant for one of my hangers, Rembrandt Toothpaste (don't laugh, its the one I use an its expensive for toothpaste), but please don't get me anything I have to dust. I am not a knick/knackitty kind of gal, and I prefer a homemade card rather than one bought from the store. I like it when my kids have to think up something nice to say to me, instead of what someone else put in a card.
Homebody Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

As a frugal mom myself I understand your mother. Does she have any hobbies. A gift certificate to a crafts store, yarn or quilt store or book store would be nice. I do not want cut flowers, but a pot of flowers for the front porch would be nice unless she doesn't like taking care of those kinds of things. She likes to cook, what about a special utensil or how are her kitchen towels? Something one rarely thinks of buying or new hot mitts. Personally I would love some of that new flexible bakeware.

I told my kids what I wanted for mother's day was to sit down and work on budgets! Ha Ha.
tiki Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 02:04 pm

This isn't super frugal, but there's a site called pamajamgram.com. I got my MIL a gift certificate for some jammies last Valentine's Day, and she was so excited she was crying when she called us :-)
frugaltexan75 Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 05:01 pm

How about you see if you can find one of her favorite songs, or perhaps a song that really speaks to how you feel about her, in a karaoke version. Maybe even do 2 or 3 - and dedicate it to her. If she has a CD player, you could burn it to CD and write a note on it or something.
Broken Arrow Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 07:34 pm

Thanks again for the great inputs. I'm planning to spend all day tomorrow to work this one out.

I also wanted to add that, Baselle, you're naughty.
Aleta Says:
May 10th, 2008 at 08:17 am

My Mom loved cooking on Mother's Day too. We could never figure out why but she just loved having her family there. I'm with most about the ideas. One of the worst times in a year to go out to eat is Mother's Day and especially for breakfast. The food isn't as good and it's crowded.

As for floweres, I like the potted ones because you can keep them. A really nice one is an orchid if your Mom likes them. I still have a couple pots of flowers that my son gave me some years ago and everytime I look at them, I remember him.

I just received a frame with 3 photos of my granddaughter and believe me, that was a great present to me.
Lux Living Frugalis Says:
May 13th, 2008 at 04:14 pm

So, what did you decide on? How did it go?
Broken Arrow Says:
May 13th, 2008 at 04:18 pm

Oh! Didn't think someone would want an update on that.

It went very well. My son insisted that grandma would love to have a scented bottle with those reeds that you stick in it as diffusers. Smells nice and is decorative.

My mother, for her part, loved it especially since her grandkids picked it out.

It was also light on my pocket book too.

Broken Arrow

Simple minded simple living

Need Mother's Day suggestions....

17 Responses to “Need Mother's Day suggestions....”

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