<p>(I’m a teen.) My mom’s birthday is coming up and I’m not quite sure what to do for her. She’s just done so much for me and buying her a gift just doesn’t seem to cut it (not that I can expect to repay her completely). Do you have any ideas? Thanks!</p>
<p>You sound like a very caring daughter. As a mom I can tell you that a letter telling her how much she means to you would be better than any gift you could possibly buy her. (Although accompanying chocolates are never a bad idea!)</p>
<p>First of all, how wonderful that you’re putting time and thought into this! Your mom is a lucky one.</p>
<p>The gifts that have meant the most to me, from my two teenagers, have been things that they made or put together. Both have made me mix-cds of songs they thought i would like, with covers they drew. S actually wrote me a song and recorded it, too. And once he made me a t-shirt (on cafepress). </p>
<p>As for purchases, D recently surprised me with a couple of dvds of movies I hadn’t seen, that she knew I would like. They happened to be new, but it would have been just as nice if they had been second-hand - the point was, she figured out something that would appeal to me, that I didn’t already know about. </p>
<p>Is she a reader? Does she love music? There are lots of ways to get good books and music on a teenager’s budget. If you brainstorm things you know she likes, it will probably lead you to some good ideas.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Oh dear. I appreciate your idea (Booklady), but I thought about that and it seems like that’d make everyone sad/cry.</p>
<p>Coupons for chores you know she doesn’t like to do might be a nice idea. Ideas–cleaning the inside of the car, cleaning out pantry/refrigerator, dusting those hard-to-reach places that never get done, cleaning behind/under refrigerator/stove/washer/dryer. Those are all chores that have to be done, moms usually do, and they would love to have someone do for them once in a while.</p>
<p>Take her out to lunch!</p>
<p>There’s a difference between Sad/cry and Happy/cry. A note from a child saying how much they recognize what a parent has done for them and how much they love them is a Happy/Cry. I’d be thrilled with one of those letters…and I’d probably cry every time I read it.</p>
<p>Or…tell your mom you’d like to spend “X” hours with her doing something she’d like. Maybe it would be making a meal together, or going on a picnic, or having your nails done together, or going on a hike. Let Mom choose…and try to have both of you turn off cell phones and other outside distractions. Just enjoy each other’s company.</p>
<p>Most of us…even of modest means…have more “stuff” than we need. But, I’ve never heard anyone say they have too many warm and fond memories.</p>
<p>How about organizing a mother/daughter outing for manicures? Followed by lunch or just an ice cream? A little pampering… a little nice time for two. It would be nice :)</p>
<p>Thanks the great ideas so far. </p>
<p>I agree that there’s a difference between sad/happy cry, but our family has been a tad stressed lately and I’d prefer not to cry too much right now if you can understand.</p>
<p>Is your mom into clothes? I recently bought my mom a fun dressy outfit that she can wear to work or out to dinner.</p>
<p>My kids just gave us an anniversary gift of a collage of pictures from out trip to Europe. They went to Michael’s and bought a frame that holds 10 4x6 pictures. As we had three different camera’s on the trip, there were plenty of pictures to chose from. There are a couple of the kids, a couple of my husband and I, one of the whole group and the rest are of the scenery. We loved the frame and it cost the kids very little.</p>
<p>One of the greatest gifts was a photo book, like the ones you can make on mac. Pictures of you together with quotes and thoughts.</p>
<p>There are several types of photo gifts you can have made at Staples or some place like that - mugs, calendars, t-shirts, keychains, maybe canvas bags, etc. - all you have to do is email them the pics or take in your smart card, disk or thumbdrive. They’ll make it up for you with any picture(s) you want.</p>
<p>Kinda cool if you have some good pics of the family or from a special trip or something.</p>
<p>There’s also a place online [Shutterfly] where you can design & make your own book with photos, text, etc. I think they have other projects too.</p>
<p>Just some ideas - if you’re into pictures or sentimental like I am!</p>
<p>You’re awesome to want to do something special for your mom - whatever you decide I’m sure she’ll love it! Let us know how it goes (and tell your mom all of us on CC said “Happy Birthday” too!).</p>
<p>Make her a nice birthday cake. It doesn’t have to be fancy. I’m sure you know what flavor she prefers–(chocolate, vanilla, icing, whipped cream, strawberries, etc.). Take her out to lunch or dinner and afterwards, light the candles, sing “Happy Birthday”, and share the cake with the rest of the family.</p>
<p>Or go beyond the cake and take care of the whole dinner. Look up things online, doesn’t have to be lots of money. I don’t know who is home at your house - maybe you could get sibilings to be servers in “formal wear” (not paid for, just scrounged up around the house) Print menus. Cook. Serve. Clean up. I promise your mom will never forget. Don’t overlook getting someone on the crew to take photos! It doesn’t matter what the food is, just serve it up with ceremony.</p>
<p>My mom’s birthday is right after I leave for school, and I can tell it’s hard on her (and me) that this will be her first birthday in 18 years without me, so I’m making her a pretty sentimental gift.</p>
<p>I bought a nice picture frame with four sections, and found pictures of myself, my sister, my mom and my dad all when we were four years old. I went to the photo developing place and got them to copy them all and turn my sister and mine into black and white, and am framing them all next to each other. It’s really fun to see the family resemblance. I’m going to give it to my dad to surprise her with, since she probably doesn’t expect me to give her anything since I’ll be gone. </p>
<p>I’d recommend something similar. It’s very inexpensive, and a lot of fun to do.</p>
<p>I second photo book. My daughter had one made for us as a going away present when she left for college. She wrote something very nice in it too. Every time I missed her, I pulled the book out. She has given me some very nice and expensive presents, but the photo book was the best. </p>
<p>I think a spa treatment (facial or massage) would be very nice also.</p>
<p>Photo books and spa treatments are wonderful.
How many normal high school kids can afford that kind of gift ? Would you want your kid to spend 15 hours of her summer work on a pedicure for you?</p>
<p>If my kids were still in town, what I would want is time… plan something special, cook something cheap, do something with Mom. Take pictures!!!</p>
<p>If you go to the kodak site you can make a calendar of photos of you and your family - different ones for each month. We made this once for the grandparents and they just loved it.</p>
<p>Re: the poster above who commented about the price of photo books and spa treatments. I agree that your mum would appreciate a thoughtful gift from the heart more than an expensive gift. But don’t discount the idea of a photo book because it seems expensive.</p>
<p>My sister made photo books for Christmas presents - one for my parents and one for me. She did them on the Shutterfly website and they are pretty reasonably priced eg: a 4"x4" hardcover Brag book (20 pages) for $16.99 or a 5"x7" Casual Book (20 pages) for $12.99. You can also make bigger or fancier books for $30-$40.</p>
<p>The Shutterfly books are great quality. My sister put family photos in and for the captions, she put in quotes about family & friends. It was a very special gift.</p>