A Guide to Finding Personalized Mother's Day Gifts from the Heart

Mother's Day - a holiday with the purpose of honoring our female caretakers. Naturally, we want to find our mothers a little gift that says something personal and expresses our appreciation for their work and dedication. Unfortunately, we're confronted with a greeting card brand of impersonal sentiments. We have the usual flower bouquets, candy and "roses are red" poems, but how are we to personalize this holiday?

While we have many impediments to personalized gifts for Mother's Day, the task ends up being as easy as we let it. For those with more money than time, engraving an expensive object is a popular choice. For example, Apple provides engraving services (iPod website) that allow you to give Mom's new iPod a more personal feel. You could also have a textile gift embroidered - a favorite of mine is having a laptop bag or a gym duffel embroidered with her name. As a martial artist, I like this idea, because everyone in my dojang has the same bag and it's nice being able to find mine in a group.

Messages add a little bit of personality to a gift, but sometimes a person wants something truly unique. Plus, young children want something nice for Mom as well! How could a Mother's Day gift be more personal than one made by you? Don't be afraid to break out the arts and crafts kit - even the most artistically disinclined can make beautiful gifts!

Many mothers enjoy objects that they can enjoy on a daily basis, so an excellent project would be a set of hand-stamped towels. You'll need a pack of flour sack cloths (sold at any department store), rubber stamps and permanent ink. If you would like to make a border, I recommend using a self-inking rolling stamp. Before you begin, sketch out an idea on a sheet of paper. Then, simply press the stamp with even pressure against the permanent ink stamp pad. Place the stamp on the flour sack according to your design and press down with even pressure. Continue until you finish your work of art! Adults may want to focus on creating an even picture, but if there are children making gifts as well, they may need a different approach. Help them trace their hands on a sack - Mom will definitely appreciate the reminder of her children's youth and will cherish the handmade gift for many years.

If you're too shy to make a craft, I suggest putting together a little basket based on Mom's interests. For example, my mother and I enjoy drinking coffees together - a basket for her would include nice coffees (or teas), homemade cookies and/or biscuits, and a new mug or collectible china cup. For a movie fan, you could form a basket full of poppable popcorn and popcorn toppings, a DVD, and maybe some snacks or a book concerning movies (such as "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" from amazon.com). If your mom is anything like mine, she never gets the time to buy herself little luxuries, so be sure to take this opportunity to focus on the little things that she appreciates so much.

Mother's Day may be full of shopping confusion that leaves you wondering if you bought the right thing. Just remember that so long as the gift comes from the heart, your mother will appreciate your effort.

Sources Used:

www.apple.com

www.amazon.com