In honor of Mother's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to make a little public service announcement.
Mother's Day is all about the moms. It's the day when you typically buy a heartfelt card, or humorous depending on the mom, order a bouquet of her favorite flowers, buy her presents, etc.
While our moms appreciate these gestures, somewhere in the back of their mind, they're probably remembering all the past Mother's Days when you (and your siblings) were younger. You would come home with whatever projects your teachers forced you to make while they said some variation of "follow your heart and be creative". You would give your mom a homemade card or, if your teacher went above and beyond with wooden figurines and paint, some type of painted concoction. In the moment, you thought it was the most artistic thing in the world, and your mom treated it like a masterpiece, like you were a Van Gogh reincarnate. Now that you're grown and look at it, you wonder what in the world you were thinking.
But guess what? Despite all the flowers, jewelry, and Hallmark cards, your mom still considers your elementary school projects the best gifts she has ever received.
Obviously high school teachers and college professors don't take time during their lectures to host a Mother's Day create-a-gift event. Instead, we go out and buy things that we think our moms will like. Granted, they normally do and appreciate the fact that you remembered and spent the time to pick it out, but there's always a little piece missing; the creative, straight-from-the-heart, homemade, flashback-to-childhood gestures.
Thus, leading me to my PSA and 2019 Mother's Day proposal: let's revert back to homemade gifts this year.
Let's make cards: construction paper, magic markers, crayons, glitter, whatever. Let's turn it into an art project (visiting literally any craft store for supplies): some type of wooden, porcelain, (etc.) figurine that is her favorite whatever-it-is and paint from the heart. (Cheesy, I know.) And if its not your best work, who cares?
Also, a bouquet of her favorite flowers can still be a factor if you want.
Believe it or not, especially with some of the ridiculously expensive gifts I've seen friends' moms receive, your mom would love it. And so would your bank account because it would more than likely be significantly cheaper. The amount of effort you put into a gift shows how much you care and it would mean the world to her. There might even be tears- you never know.
Whatever you do, make sure it's from the heart; not 99% from your wallet.
As cheesy and cheap as you may think it is, she'll think it's priceless.
If you happen to be lacking in the creativity department, Pinterest is the way to go... even though you won't be thinking for yourself and adopting other people's ideas. But hey, to each their own.
Good luck!
