WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER: Mothers Day Gifts Which Cost Little & Mean Much

Valentine red white rose bouquet counter – Maura Myles Image

It could be as simple as grabbing that to-go bunch of roses at the grocery store, like Aldi or Jewel, for six bucks. Take it home, cut the bottom few inches of the stems off and arrange them in her grandmother’s favorite vase.

Posterboard costs under a dollar at Walgreens. Markers are less than five. Make a poster of all of her favorite things and her best traits… maybe even attach coupons, for a back rub, a foot rub, 3 hours of quiet time or breakfast in bed, or a day with no chores.

A favorite frame – or a new one from a “dollar store” – can hold a new portrait or a newly drawn picture.

Wrap a ribbon around the top of a jar (like the one that just held the spaghetti sauce) and fill the jar with little love notes, or candy, or both. Maybe place a treat at the bottom… like earrings or a homemade necklace. Shoestring works, for that!

Make up a song about her, and perform it, “live,” after dinner.

Get to a local nursery, pick up an azalea or rhododendron, then plant it for her, and surprise her. It’s a perennial gift!

Have each person write a paragraph about a favorite memory, together. Then fold the pages into a homemade book. This can be done, each year, to create a little “paper library of Mom.”