If you’re looking for some Inexpensive Mother’s Day Gifts, we’ve got some great ideas to share with you below. Some of them are even free!
As a mom, I would never want to know that my kids are taking on financial burdens to give me a Mother’s Day gift. That is not what this day is all about to me. In fact, my favorite Mother’s Day gift ever didn’t even cost a dime.
Inexpensive Mother’s Day Gifts
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My daughter was a music major in university so she took my favorite poem and wrote music to accompany it. She sang the song for me and gave me the sheet music. I have now framed it and it hangs in my room so I can be reminded of it every day.
SPEND TIME WITH YOUR MOM
If you live far away from her, this can take the form of an online video call. If mom lives nearby, take her out for part of the day. Think about what she would most enjoy. My mom would have loved it if I had taken her to Mary Maxim, a huge craft store, for a couple of hours of browsing. Or if I brought over craft supplies so we could make something together.
I remember being at my grandma’s house one year for Mother’s Day. I asked her what she would most enjoy and she said that she would love for me to attend church with her.
A lot of mothers enjoy talking about favorite memories, so maybe you could get out the old photo albums and browse through them together. If mom is comfortable with being recorded, you could even record her sharing memories of her life. This will make for a beautiful keepsake.
Or turn this into a big extended family event. Have a picnic, backyard BBQ, or potluck. Remember to take lots of photos and in particular, get that shot of the entire family!
If you live in an area where this is possible, take your mom for a drive. One year we were in the area in which my mom grew up and my aunt and uncle took us for a drive to all the places she had been reminiscing about – the house she grew up in, the houses where each of us were born, the schools and churches she attended, and so on. She was beaming!
COOK FOR MOM
Of course, you can make a meal for mom – especially if you can cook her favorites – but how about extending that? If your mother is older and not really doing a lot of cooking for herself anymore, making a bunch of meals that she can put in her freezer will be very welcome. Muffins and egg cups for breakfasts, casseroles, soups, and other dishes for lunches and dinners. Don’t forget some desserts!
If your mom is the one who usually does the cooking and cleaning, remember to prepare the meals for her AND clean up after. The delicious meal loses some of its lustre when you then walk into the kitchen to find it a disaster.
PUT TOGETHER SOME MEMORABILIA FOR HER
Perhaps there is a box of photos that have never been labelled and placed in an album. Or maybe you could search online for some genealogy information to share with her.
My mom once won an award for all of her work at a local school so I took the photos and news articles about it and assembled them into a small album. Another time I took photos she had lying around waiting to be framed and I framed them for her.
You can easily find inexpensive albums and frames at the local dollar store.
MAKE A HANDMADE GIFT
If the kids are musically inclined, they could write a song for their mother just like my daughter did for me. Or they could perform a special song, puppet show, or short play (preferably about mom or something she really loves). Be sure to record them!
Other ideas include making a special drawing (maybe of the child with their mom), writing a poem, creating a storybook, or even making a list of their favorite things about their mother. To make them extra special, you can frame them.
Oh, and don’t think you can’t make your mother a handmade gift if you’re an adult. There are plenty of options available and many of them are inexpensive.
Click on each link or image below to be taken to the instructions for each one:
A special book nook for a book lover.
Pretty paint dipped kitchen utensils (you could do the same with garden tools if Mom is more into that than cooking)
Outdoor lighting made from discount store vases
SEND MOM SOMETHING SPECIAL
I used to order my mom a box of her favorite chocolates from the shop in the small town she grew up in. She lived far away from me but it was one way I could let her know that I was thinking of her and remembering something that was special to her. Since she lived in a US state with no Tim Hortons around, I would send her Tim Hortons coffee from time to time too.
Other options would be sending her one of her favorite plants to spruce up her apartment, ordering flowers (my mom loved daisies), having her favorite meal delivered from a local restaurant, or even getting her a subscription to a streaming service so she could watch her favorite shows. (My personal favorites are BritBox and AcornTV).
One year, I bought my mom a subscription to Apple News+ so she could read all of her favorite magazines.
MAKE A COUPON BOOK
You can get really creative with these! One year for my dad (but this idea could easily be adapted to mothers too), I gave him a coupon book for the “pie of the month” club. My dad LOVED pies so each month he could choose what kind he wanted me to make for him.
For my grand nephew and niece, I gave them Aunt Cyndi’s Fun of the Month club. Each month they got to redeem a coupon to do something fun with me – go to the McDonalds Play Place, have an afternoon of crafting with me, go to a movie, and so on. You could adapt this to activities your mom would like: a shopping trip, going on a walk, making things together, having a movie night, putting together a home spa day for her, etc.
Or offer to help her out with some chores: meal preparation, grocery shopping, gardening, mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, washing her car, or taking care of her laundry.
BUY HER SOMETHING INEXPENSIVE
I don’t know any moms who care about how much their kids (children or adults) spend on her. This truly is a case of “it’s the thought that counts”. My daughter has given me gifts that she purchased from the dollar store and I was thrilled with them. They weren’t random pieces of junk just for the sake of saying she got me a gift – they were well-thought out items she knew I would love.
My grandson once bought me a pink bunny from the dollar store. He said it was so that if I got lonely in my room, I would be able to hug the bunny. And it was pink because he knows it’s my favorite color. It’s one of my favorite possessions. He will also insist on getting a case of my favorite iced tea when he’s at the grocery store with his dad. My son-in-law picked up a citrus squeezer at a yard sale once because he knows I love mojitos.
One time, my daughter found a beautiful candle with an image of the Virgin Mary on it and got me that for my prayer table. Again, a prized possession. See? It’s not the price of the item. It’s the consideration. The person who bought it for me knew that it would be something I would appreciate – that’s what counts.
MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS $20 AND UNDER
Here are some ideas you can order from Amazon too. If you have Amazon Prime, the shipping is free on Prime eligible items! Just click on the image to check them out.
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MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS $10 AND UNDER
