Camille McClelland: Mothers day is May 8th - How to give meaningful gifts.

How do you show your mother you love her on Mothers Day?

Be kind,

Pamper her,

and Lovely, lovely gifts.

The gifts I remember receiving for mothers day:

The handmade cards covered in marker, crayon, cut out hearts and way too much Elmer's glue.
Beautifully framed pictures of my family.
Funny comments and quotes recording throughout the year and presented in a keepsake book.

And I remember a few gifts I have given. They are the gifts that came from the heart, that I had to put some specific thought into. Gifts I know my mother remembers because I still see them displayed in her home.

There are several distinct factors that go into creating meaningful gifts that truly touch the heart of the receiver.

1. Personal Sentiment. Tell the gift receiver how you feel about them and what they mean to you. The more genuine your words the more they will reach out to the receiver. For a Mothers Day gift, consider mentioning specific things your mother or grandmother does for you that you don't usually thank her for... like keeping you in clean clothes, all those rainy soccer games, and listening when you need to talk.

2. Designed specifically for the recipient. Choosing colors and styles your gift recipient prefers lets them know you're watching and listing. You know their preferences because you care about them enough to pay attention to their decorating style, colors they wear more often, and their personal taste.

3. Unique and one of a kind. There is nothing like getting a Mothers Day gift that you saw on sale at your local box store the week before.... actually there is. All gifts are wonderful and appreciated, but there is a real difference between appreciating a gift, and cherishing a gift. One of a kind, made specially for the recipient gifts always have a big impact. It tells the recipient,

"I want this day to be special for you. I want you to know how much I love you. I want you to know I really did my best to make this especially for you."

It's easy for a mother to feel unappreciated.

Especially mothers who make the sacrifice to stay home with their children. Stay at home mothers do not receive lunch breaks, or 15 minute breaks. There is no Department of Mom Labor to make sure mothers are not over worked, or underpaid. There are no scheduled rate increase, annual review, or customer satisfaction comment cards (thank goodness!!). Stay at home moms work long hours, have sleepless nights and are always on the clock. Always.