For Catholics, May is traditionally dedicated to Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. But, in May, we also celebrate our own earthly mothers, on Mother’s Day.  Across the world, this holiday traditionally involves honoring our mother’s with both our time and money in the the form Mother’s Day Gifts. We shower our mom’s with gifts given in love as a generous offering of love, gratitude and appreciation.

And, while there is nothing inherently wrong with spending money on our mother’s, it seems as though Mother’s Day has been reduced to a mere consumerist day, with companies in every genre vying for your hard earned cash as a way to show mom you love her.

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day began, innocently enough, as a shout out to motherhood, a vocation filled with love, blessings and opportunities to accept and share love. An expansive vocation that knows no boundaries in its joy and suffering. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

Mother’s Day Gifts

As a mom, I can honestly say I find the surprise handmade crafts my kids worked diligently on to be of so much more value than a wallet or flowers, unless they grew them themselves. And, I dare say, I think my kids found much more meaning in something they put their heart into than in anything they got just by pressing “buy now” on Amazon.

For example, this year, my youngest kids made me coupons for jobs around the house, even including massages as little acts of service. They also made me beautiful sunflowers (my favorite) out of construction paper. I love them so much, I am hanging them on my wall! Little opportunities for smiles!

Older kids can surprised mom with breakfast in bed, like Maddy did for me, with all our favorite breakfast foods. Or maybe spend some quality time with mom, doing one of her favorite activities, go for a bike ride, a river run, or a round of golf. Or maybe, even clean!

Love Languages

Gary Chapman, PhD. is famous for his book, The Five Love Languages in it he describes, in detail, the different ways each of us receive love.

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Physical Touch
4. Acts of Service
5. Gifts

I’m decidedly Acts of Service. Coming in second is Quality Time. Words of Affirmation mean nothing to me. You can tell me you love me until you are blue in the face, I won’t believe you unless you act on that love. Each of us is different and knowing how your own mom feels loved can help you decide what to do for her, not just on Mother’s Day, but all year round.

Mother’s Day Ideas

Words of Affirmation

This love language is easy. It’s the easiest of all. Simply take a moment and with heartfelt sincerity, tell her how much you appreciate her, how much you love her. Maybe point out a few instances where she was a great role model or a strong advocate or selfless. Maybe write a poem or a letter for her to read over and over again? I like to journal all the notes and cards my kids have made for me over the years.

Quality Time

Plan a special day at the river, the beach, a hike, a bike ride, or a day of window shopping. Join her in something she loves and make it a day to remember. Maybe it’s as simple as going outside and gardening? Or reading? Or doing a puzzle together?

Physical Touch

A hug or a wrestling match? You know your mom best. Would she rather you put your arm around her or play some contact sport? Maybe a shoulder rub or a head massage? If her love language is physical touch, it’s important you continue with physical affection past Mother’s Day to keep her feeling loved and appreciated.

Acts of Service

This is my area. When my loved ones do something for me, specifically for me, I feel absolutely adored and cherished. Clean the kitchen, her car, the bathroom, bake a cake, make dinner or her favorite breakfast, clean up after all the meals, plan a date, send me to the spa, put on a chick flick, clean the hot tub … literally anything and I feel so appreciated, like I matter and am relevant!

Gifts

This is exactly what it sounds like, so whether it be a beautiful flower from your local nursery or something more extravagant, purchasing something for the mom whose love language is gifts, shows her that you put some thought into her special day and that makes her feel loved. Go big or go small, it doesn’t matter, she will feel the heart that went into it!

Bonus Ideas

Create

Video

Mom’s are emotional saps, we love handmade gifts from our preschoolers as much as from our teens. Handmade gifts are  from the heart and require more thought and work than a gift bought with money.  I’m not knocking the gifts, trust me, I’m just saying the most memorable and beloved gift I’ve ever received was a video compilation of the year 2010.

Grady slaved over this video, he put his heart and soul into it as he had to sort through an entire year of video clips!  It’s the most amazing video I’ve ever seen, I cry every time I see it and it is ingrained in my heart forever.  Those are my children, my memories, my trips, my life, my heart … my soul.

It may seem daunting and close to impossible, but it’s not.  It can actually be fun to edit and produce videos!  In fact, most of the software on the market these days is crazy easy to learn and is totally user friendly.  Check out Sony Vegas or iMovie and get cracking.

Scrapbook

How about a scrapbook or photo album of the years past travels, main events or beautiful memories?  A photo album or a scrapbook made from your heart will really move any mom.

Music Playlist

Does your mom love music? How about you gather all the songs that remind you of her and put them in a special playlist on Spotify or Pandora that she can listen to whenever she likes? Bonus if the songs take her back to a great memory or fun time with you.

Bottom Line

Literally the options are endless. Bottom line, don’t be a schmuck and text your mom, Happy Mother’s Day and go on with your day. While every day is Mother’s Day, it’s nice to feel extra special on a day dedicated to mothers. Mom’s spend their days and nights serving their children, it’s nice to feel like something was planned around you, or a little extra effort was made with you in mind. And, maybe, you could incorporate a few of these ideas into your daily lives together.