Top Ten Gift Ideas for a Stay at Home Mom

With the number of mothers choosing to stay home with their children on the rise in recent years this is someone we ALL know and love. Whether our spouse, sister, friend or perhaps even our mother, we all have a stay at home mom (also known as SAHM) on our shopping list this holiday season. Here are ten gift ideas to start you on the right track for the perfect gift. You'll find ideas that cover a wide range of prices.

1 - A Day-Off Coupon: The first thing that came to my mind was a gift that won't cost any money at all. I think the reason this came to mind for me first was a comment I made to my husband recently about how even when he got the day off, I never did. He treated me on Valentine's Day to a day off and it was lovely to catch up on some reading, not worry about cooking, go run errands on my own....a real luxury to not have the kids in tow while dropping a letter off to my pen pal at the post office. Consider treating your special stay-at-home-mom to a day-off coupon where she is allowed one day to do whatever she wants and you take over. I promise you it will be a gift she won't forget.

2 - Merry Maids Service: Now, whether you actually pay for Merry Maids to come and clean, or do a "merry maid" house cleaning service yourself, the chance to not have to worry about the house work will be welcome. SAHM's often say how hard they work on house and it often doesn't even seem to show. I know with a two year old and a 6 month old I am constantly sweeping yet often by the time my husband gets home you can't tell. It would be absolutely lovely to allow someone else to "deep-clean" the house for a change instead of me.

3 - Day spa treatment: A mother works hard taking care of her family and sometimes they don't always take care of themselves. A prepaid trip to a day spa is an excellent way to show your SAHM how much you value her. A day of pampering, pedicures and styling might be just the thing to refresh her spirit, and her looks! Many day spas offer package deals, or you can select just the items you think she will enjoy best.

4 - A "Girl's Night Out": I recently went to a concert with a friend of mine and we had so much fun! My husband came home early from work to watch the babies, I got dressed to the nines, and we went out for a night on the town. Does she enjoy music? Treat her to a concert or symphony. Does she enjoy theatre? Buy tickets and arrange for her to go with a friend to watch a show or musical. She'll come home feeling invigorated, having enjoyed an evening of adult conversation and interaction.

5- Handy-Man Coupon: I took an informal poll of a few stay-at-home friends of mine and HALF of them mentioned a specificproject around the house that they were wanting to get done. A new floor in the kitchen, new counter and sink set (this woman had even purchased the materials already 6 months ago and just needed her husband to install them!), and new cabinets installed above the washer and dryer were just a few of what I heard. Half of the women who mentioned a home improvement project mentioned things that wouldn't cost any money at all OR things they had already purchased and just needed the man power to complete. Don't forget that a SAHM spends 90% of her time in the house so any project that might seem little and unimportant to you is staring her in the face for hours each day. Give her a "slave-for-a-day" coupon and show up with your tool box and willing attitude, and see how appreciative she is.

6 - New Bible: This was at the top of the list for many women I talked to. Most of the SAHM's I know consider their responsibilities God-given. Their spiritual nurturing is very important to them. It was interesting that every single woman who mentioned a Bible to me, had a specific Bible already in mind so I would suggest taking them to the Bible book store as part of a date and allowing them to select the exact one they want. Get it personalized or inscribed with a loving message for a gift she will use and cherish for years to come.

7 - Help Exercising: This was another one that I heard more than once. One woman asked for a treadmill (or a move to a warmer climate so she could walk outside!), and another wished she could have 20 minutes uninterrupted to work out several times a week. A thoughtful, and no cost gift, might be an offer to watch the kids for 20 or 30 minutes three times a week so she could have time to work out. Most women want to take care of themselves more but feel guilty doing so. If she knew things were being taken care of, the SAHM you care about would feel able to spend some time on herself more often.

8 - Kitchen Appliance: Generally speaking, a stay at home mom is the one cooking more often. Sometimes we try to do it without the proper tools and equipment so many of the mothers I talked to had their eye on a new kitchen appliance. Not large ones like a new stove or something; they were looking at pressure cookers, canners, bread makers and mixers. This is another area where each one knew exactly what they wanted; one woman who wanted a new cake mixer even showed a link to the exact one! If you took her for a nice lunch, and then took her to a quality kitchen store and told her she could pick out anything she wanted she would think she'd gone to heaven! Unless you were sure you knew exactly the brand and type of machine she had her eye on, it would be better to not try to buy it yourself. Make it a fun day!

9 - Feed Our Hobbies: Whether we enjoy sewing, or scrapbooking, or gardening, or whatever; if you show us that you support our interests and hobbies it will mean a great deal to us. Take us to our favorite hobby store and give us a budget. Free us up for an evening to go to a crop, quilting bee or other event related to our interests. Buy us a magazine subscription or new book that will keep us informed about new trends and techniques. I remember for a birthday when my husband arranged for me to go to an all-day album workshop it felt so good! Sometimes, for whatever reason, SAHM's can feel guilty for spending time and money on their personal hobbies or interests. Showing us that it's ok, and supporting our outside activities, will mean a lot to any mother who stays home most of the time.

10 - TIME!: I cannot express to you how many of the answers I got involved just spending time together. I didn't hear a list of physical wants; I heard desires to go shopping together, fix the house together, or have a nice outing together. Both with husbands and other loved ones. So much of the time a mother who is home with her children all day doesn't get the same level of conversation and stimulation that she would get working outside the home. Relationships are extremely important to her, but she stays busy with keeping the home, tending the children, etc. and doesn't always take time to spend with others like she should. SAHM's want most to feel important to you, and appreciated, and cherished so whatever you can do to communicate that to us would be the BEST present.

See more gift guides and other articles written by Angela England