Give Mom the Mother’s Day She Deserves

Spring has sprung and Mother’s Day is nearly upon us! This year, take time to truly make the day special for the amazing Mom (or Moms!) in your life. Not sure how? We’re here to help you give Mom the Mother’s Day she deserves.

Flowers..but better!

Your mind probably jumps to one place: flowers! Carnations are the traditional Mother’s Day flowers, but if you want to think long-term you should find some nice seedlings and help her plant in her garden or in a windowbox. (If neither of these are a great option for your mom but she’s still game to care for a plant, you can easily find planters small enough to sit in a window.) She’ll think of you every time she sees them growing.

Opt for an experience.

Give her a special experience. Mimic her favorite restaurant (or one she’s always wanted to try) and cook a nice meal for her at home—and most importantly, clean up the mess yourself! Don’t forget the dessert. Never forget the dessert. Click here for a cool (and surprisingly soothing) recipe for tiramisu, but tread carefully or you’ll end up watching someone make 26 desserts and run out of time to make your own.

Oh, don’t act so surprised.

We might be slightly biased, but hear us out: your mom needs a new chair. Her own chair. Something that looks nice and is equally comfortable for sitting and reading as it is for kicking back and watching her favorite TV show. Did we mention it should look nice? We’ve got an amazing selection of recliners but if that’s not her style, peruse our selection of accent chairs. You’re sure to find something she’ll love to look at every day—and look forward to sitting in while she chats with you on the phone! (She asked us to tell you to give her a call, by the way.)

Photo albums for the modern age.

Photo albums are special and always heartwarming! Putting them together can be a massive pain if you don’t have the free time and creative bandwidth for it. Some people have a knack for it, sure. For everyone else, there thankfully are other options. You can have pictures printed directly from your phone—which is also a good idea if your camera roll is full to bursting anyway. Some photo-printing services will assemble beautiful books for you. Or, you can upload your photos to a site where you can design your own book and have as many copies printed as you’d like. You can also consider a digital photo frame that you can refresh with new pictures as the kids grow. You can have the whole family upload pictures from time to time. That way, Mom never knows what nice surprises she’ll see in her frame.

The important thing? Be sincere.

If all else fails you can write a card, but remember–it has to be sincere. In the words of Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother’s Day herself:

A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment.

The fact of the matter is that Jarvis ultimately grew to regret founding Mother’s Day at all. It became vastly commercialized by the candy, flower and greeting card industries. In her eyes, paltry gifts you pick up as an afterthought on the way home do nothing but cheapen what the day is supposed to mean.

If you really want to give Mom the Mother’s Day she deserves, you have to start with recognition for the endless service and value she provides to others every day. As the saying goes, a mother’s work is never done. Often times, it’s invisible labor to those around her. Truly take some time this Mother’s Day to consider the things she’s done for you. Let her know you see and appreciate it. It doesn’t lighten the load, but the acknowledgement is important. Whatever you choose to do for Mom this Mother’s Day, let it come from the heart. (And if your heart’s telling you your mom needs a quality piece of furniture at an incredible value..well, you know where to find us.)