<p>Art work and personal cartoons from my D and special dinners from my son. Best gifts ever!
Having my car detailed (from hubbie) is GREAT!
For Mother’s day we did a movie–popcorn included. I love time spent together and when someone else does the planning it’s extra special.
Gifts for parents from kids are special when the KIDS do the planning!</p>
<p>Any time my kids do something thoughtful for any of us or a family member, its precious to me. We love it when the kids make us a special meal, S helped clean his grandparent’s home and even our home. Love it when they’re thoughtful of us or each other too. S bought his sister a plane ticket so she could travel with us. He was also a wonderful host to niece, as was D. </p>
<p>Experiences and gifts of time, elbow grease and love are priceless! :)</p>
<p>Besides the sweet hand made things when they were young, my favorite “bought” gift was when they gave me an Ideal Bookshelf gift certificate for combination birthday/Mother’s Day a few years ago. I had fun selecting my 7 favorite books that Jane Mount would paint for me. The first 5 were easy, but I struggled, in a fun way, over what to include for the last 2. Love my finished watercolor and enjoy it every time it catches my eye in our family room.</p>
<p>If you can surprise your parents with an outing of some kind, some place you know they enjoy or have always wanted to see/experience, it could be a memorable time for you all. A new museum in town, or a drive to nearby mountains and include stops for browsing antique stores or other places that would interest them, or a short destination overnight with just your mom. You could do a spa trip, hiking trip, etc. </p>
<p>Cooking them a dinner at home, even, could be a fun evening, topped by home movies and popcorn. Bake a special dessert. Write them each a love letter, handwritten, don’t write on both sides of the paper in case they want to frame them. Give specific examples of things they did for you as you grew up that helped you succeed in life. Thank them for their sacrifices, too. Appreciating the little things they did for you will really touch their hearts.</p>
<p>Photo albums, you can’t go wrong with precious memories.</p>
<p>I appreciate when someone has put some thought into a gift for me, planning ahead instead of last minute. Wrapped nicely, with a card.</p>
<p>Schedule a family photo. Get the pics taken, and then give your mom a nice frame.</p>
<p>Also…best gift…from my daughter. She left a note on her pillow here at home which I didn’t find until after,I got back from dropping her off at college. It was a beautifully written note thanking me and saying she would call every week…which she did. I framed it.</p>
<p>What came to my mind immediately was the hand print wreath made when my son was in pre-school. I still hang it every Christmas. A’s other posters have said, I have plenty of stuff, and now I want memories.
I just re-read your post and thought of an idea that hasn’t been mentioned yet. Assuming you decorate the tree together, you could look for some special ornaments or decorations for your Parents, and give them to them while you are decorating the tree. Maybe get some hot chocolate or something to enjoy during that time also. Then if you could manage a picture during that time, and have it framed for them to open on Christmas, they might love it.</p>
<p>I just remembered another really special gift. On my 50th birthday my daughter mailed me a thick envelope. It was filled with 50 slips of paper- on each was her description of a mutual memory she and I had shared. I sobbed as I read them. Best gift hands down. What was really weird was that my younger sister had the exact same idea (hmm, maybe they both found it on Pinterest) and after I had read all my daughter’s memories, I opened my sister’s card which contained 50 memories she and I had shared. Never cried as much as I did on my 50th birthday. It was a great day :)</p>
<p>^^^^^That is awesome. :)</p>