Mother's Day Gift Ideas for Moms Far Away
Posted: Monday, April 17, 2006
by Jean Horst
I love my mom! I think she's the greatest. The older I get, the more I appreciate her & value the model she was for me. Not of perfection, but of gracious living. Every year, I struggle to come up with a suitable Mother's Day present for her, especially since she and I have lived at least 1,400 miles apart for my entire adult life. When I was younger, it was a mad scramble to find a great card in enough time to mail it so it would reach her by the Saturday before Mother's Day. Now I'm older, wiser, and have a little more money to spare so I've gotten some ideas together I'll pass along to you. The onset of the internet has made things SOOOO much easier. My favorite things come from there:
2. Gift baskets. There are endless kinds of gift baskets to choose from. You can choose from bath items, candy, chocolate, coffees, teas, gourmet foods, etc, etc. These can also be purchased online and billed to you, but shipped directly to her on the date you choose. Again, FTD, Hallmark, Harry & David, Hickory Farms, Gevalia Coffees are just a few of the hundreds to choose from.
3. Gift certificates. Many national chain stores will allow you to purchase gift certificates online and send them directly to her. Choose her favorite department store or restaurant. Make sure there is a store close to her so she can easily cash in her certificate. Is she remodeling her home? Send a gift certificate to her from Lowe's or Home Depot. You can also call her favorite spa or salon & have them prepare a gift certificate for a manicure, pedicure or massage in her name. You don't have to be there in person.
4. Reading materials. Buy a gift subscription to her favorite magazine or a book by her favorite author. Here again, these items can be purchased online from your home, but sent directly to her. With these things, you must plan ahead unless you want to drop a bundle on shipping overnight or second day.
5. Tickets. Concerts, theater, sporting events, you name it and the tickets can be purchased online and sent to her or held at the Will Call window in her name for her to pick up at the time of the event. It's harder to have these things sent to her directly, but if you allow enough time, they can be sent to you, then you can put them in a card & send on to her.
6. Phone call. You CANNOT go wrong by calling your mom on Mother's Day. If your mom doesn't have a lot of money, call her, then send her a calling card so she can call you for free another time. Or give her the gift of continuing to call her regularly throughout the year. Believe it or not, parents get lonely after all their kids are gone. My mom did not have access to an affordable cell phone plan but we were able to add a phone for her as an extra line on our family plan for $10 per month. Most national carriers (Sprint and Verizon for sure) will allow you to add on phones even if they are out of state from the main plan.
Whatever gift you decide to give to your mom this year, express love & appreciation. It's a hard job to raise kids. Most of our moms did the best job they could - even when they messed up. Remember that and say, "I love you, mom".
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)"Mother's Day Gift Ideas for Moms Far Away" is an excellent article!Thanks for the kind words!
Jean, I wish I had had your ideas when my mom was alive. I too struggled with what to buy. I did learn that even costume pearl necklaces and new handbags were a hit. I never thought of magazine subscriptions, which would have been a big hit! Thanks for this useful article!Thanks for good suggestions Jane. I appreciate that you took the time to read and comment. I found that living far apart requires extra creativity in gift-giving and I'm still always looking for new ideas! Thanks again.
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