Holiday Gift Ideas for Mom
Jewelry...gift cards...slippers...
I’m bored just writing that list!! If you have ever bought any of those gifts for your mom (and who hasn’t?) then let’s make an agreement right now to stop and think about some holiday gift ideas that would actually improve mom’s life and well-being and maybe even bring the family closer together.
Our top 5 gift ideas for Mom (in no particular order):
1. Gift certificate for a local cleaning agency. This one is so obviously awesome. HOWEVER maybe your mom already has someone come in and clean the house several times a month – no problem, there’s still a gift idea in here for you: You know that hectic scramble the night before the cleaning lady comes over? Mom running around the house, screaming at you to clean your room because the cleaning lady is coming tomorrow? I know it sounds insane but it’s not. The cleaners are not going to be able to vacuum your room if your dirty socks and beanie boos have left a solid path from the bed to the hallway. Help tidy up in preparation for the big clean and I’m not just talking one time. If you want to make it a gift that mom will truly appreciate, pitch in at least half a dozen times.
2. One year subscription to Wine of the Month Club. It’s basically the Jelly of the Month club for cool kids.
3. A Technology-Free Night (for everyone but mom). For one day, no one is allowed to text, or play video games or answer emails or check Facebook. All time together must be spent TOGETHER and present in the moment (for extra points, use this time to praise your lovely mother). This might sound like a punishment. It’s not. It’s a very unique and meaningful way to show your mom how much you love to be with her. Imagine how special she’ll feel when you put your phone down and just hang with her, talk to her, take a walk with her or whatever else people used to do together before Candy Crush and Trivia Crack.
4. Hot tub. Yup, it’s a biggie and I promise it’s not one of those gifts that the giver actually likes more than the receiver. Mom will love having a hot tub in her backyard for a few reasons:
Mom can spend more quality time with her favorite people on earth. No, not her new wine club, her family! Hot tubs are actually an incredibly easy way to connect with people. Hop in a hot tub, and gone are the distractions of chores, and homework and TV and phones and all you’re left with is each other.
Mom can spend more time alone in the house, while she sends the whole family into the spa. I know what you’re thinking – I told you this wasn’t a gift for the giver and it’s not. As a mom who has a hot tub, I can tell you that when my husband and kids all go into the spa together and I’m left in peaceful bliss inside, it’s like a little gift just for me. My kids are having a great time and bonding with their dad, and I feel less guilty good taking a few minutes for myself.
If you really want to make the hot tub all about mom, buy a few candles, or outdoor paper lanterns and pretty pots with flowers. It will really make the space feel beautiful and relaxing and the perfect spot for mom to spend a few minutes re-centering herself after a busy day of working, mothering, wife-ing, and whatever else your own personal supermom does for your family all year long!
If you’re a kid and you’re reading this, and there’s not enough money in your piggy bank for a hot tub, call your dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and mom’s besties. Maybe they all want to pitch in? I think the young kids these days are calling that “crowd sourcing”…there’s probably an app for that.
5. Okay, there is no number 5. But 1-4 were pretty good, so go for it. Make this holiday gift the best one yet and give her an experience that keeps giving the whole year ‘round.