Mother’s Day Gifts You Can Make

Mother’s Day is coming up in just a few short weeks, making this a great time to start thinking about gift ideas for your own mother and mother-in-law, as well as for other mothers that you are close to. In many families, the children make homemade cards and gifts, while the adults tend to buy for close female relatives. Even if you’re not particularly crafty, however, you could still make gifts that will be appreciated. Here are some ideas:

• Emergency Chocolate Jars  This was a hit for all of the moms when I did it for Christmas last year. Buy a package of small mason jars, and simply fill them with an assortment of chocolates. Use Hershey’s Kisses, York Peppermint Patties, fun-size Snickers or Milky Way bars (use up some of that leftover Easter candy!) or whatever your chocolatey favorites are. Make a pretty tag or label that explains the contents. Mine said, “Emergency Chocolate: Open jar in case of emergency.” Hand these out to your close friends who are moms; even if they’re not your mom, they still deserve a special treat!

• Fruit Bouquet  You’ve probably seen these advertised for Mother’s Day. One company that offers them is Edible Arrangements. They’re beautiful, to be sure, but also fairly expensive. You could make your own version by cutting various fruits into flower shapes. Use grapes and melon balls as the inside part of the flower, and cut out the petals from slices of pineapple, cantaloupe and other fruits. Dip strawberries, banana slices and orange segments into chocolate. Thread all of the fruits onto skewers and place them in florist foam in a terra cotta pot or a nice vase. This would make a lovely gift for your mom or mom-in-law!

• A Photo Book  This could run the gamut from a homemade scrapbook of you and your kids, to a professionally bound book from a photo processing company like TinyPrints. Simply upload the photos that you want to use, and follow the prompts to choose the fonts, background colors and other specifications that you want. This is a great gift idea for your grandmothers; I know that mine are always asking me for more pictures of the kids. Shopaholic Mommy even has coupons right here on the site to help you save money!

Of course, if you have a talent like baking, crocheting or quilting, you could definitely use it to create a one-of-a-kind gift for your mom! A cupcake-of-the-month club, with cupcakes baked and decorated by you, would be a great gift! So would a personalized set of crocheted dishtowels or a beautiful quilt bearing the names and birthdates of her children and grandchildren.

Use your imagination and see what you can come up with! Are you planning on making anything for Mother’s Day this year? Tell us about it!