Mother’s Day 2019: The Top Gifts People Give (And What You Should Give Instead)

Mother’s Day is this weekend, and that means lots of people are going the usual route of getting their mom a card and taking her out to eat.

That’s great and all, but your mom deserves more than the typical, run-of-the-mill gifts from you. What she really deserves is the best.

So we scoured the internet for a few minutes and found one article that shows the most common gifts people plan to buy for their moms this Mother’s Day. We read it, digested it, and then went a completely different direction.

Now it’s your to use for free—and to help cement you as your mom’s favorite child.

You’re welcome.

1. Instead Of A Greeting Card (75%), Write Her A Song And Play It For Her Using Your Elementary School Recorder

Unofficially, moms spend about 100 percent of their waking hours worrying about whether you’re okay. It’s just what they do. So the least you can do is get her a greeting card.

Seriously, it’s the least you can do, yet it’s the one thing people get their moms more than anything else.  

What you should do instead is write a song just for her and play it for her on your elementary school recorder.

What better way to show your mom you appreciate everything she’s done for you than a private concert full of the beautiful melodies that only you and your fourth-grade recorder can deliver.

Option B: Try this beautiful rendition of “My Heart Will Go On.”

2. Instead of Buying Her Flowers (67%), Convert One Of Her Rooms Into An Indoor Garden

Flowers would be great if they weren’t overrated. After all, what’s the point of showing someone your appreciation with a plant that looks pretty then withers and dies within a few days?

Throw in the fact that some of them are poisonous to cats and dogs, and it makes more sense to avoid them altogether.

Instead of flowers, what mom really wants is one of her rooms converted into an indoor flower garden. Not only can she have fresh flowers all year long, but she’ll also think of how much you love her every time she walks by.

She’ll also thank you for building up her immunity to pollen the next time spring rolls around.

Option B: If the indoor garden is too much of a problem, you could always opt for plastic flowers. They’ll last a lifetime and she’ll never have to worry about watering them or making sure they receive adequate sunlight.

3. Instead of Taking Her Out To Lunch (55%), Set Up A Restaurant On Her Front Lawn

Taking Mom out to a nice meal seems like a good idea, right? I mean, even if it’s not original, everyone loves a good meal.

But you’re wrong. Oh so wrong.

The truth is, as much as your mom loves a good meal, she’s still like the rest of us and just wants to relax in a good pair of comfortable clothes. You know what I’m talking about. The kind of clothes that make people wonder if she’s given up on trying.

The good news is, your mom can be comfortable and enjoy a good meal when you bring the food to her. (Don’t serve her breakfast in bed, though. No one likes a midnight scavenger hunt for crumbs on their sheets when they’re trying to fall asleep.)

To show your mom how much you care, set up a restaurant on her front lawn. She can still experience the ambiance of a nice establishment and enjoy her own private bathroom.

Option B: If setting up a restaurant is too difficult, hire a food truck to park outside her house instead.

4. Instead of Giving Her Jewelry (35%), Make Her A Candy Necklace

This year, experts are estimating that people will spend close to $5.2 billion on jewelry for Mother’s Day. By now, you know that you shouldn’t be one of those people. What should do instead? Make her a candy necklace.

Moms love nostalgic things. And, if there’s something your mom has (hopefully) always told you, it’s the thought that counts.

Candy necklaces are both a thoughtful and nostalgic throwback to a time when you were a ( much cuter) kid who wanted nothing more than to make mom smile with a brilliant work of art.

As you sat there stringing Fruit Loops and gummy bears and tart candy around a necklace using 10-year-old string from your school’s art supplies, all you could picture was how excited your mom would be when she got the necklace along with a card made out of construction paper and copious amounts of glue.

You might not be that adorable kid anymore, but it’s time to bring that magic back.

Option B: If candy’s not your thing, make her some macaroni art. That piece you created for her back in kindergarten could probably use a counterpart.

5. Instead Of Getting Her A Day Spa Pass (45%), Buy Her An Industrial Humidifier

Your mom put up with a lot of your nonsense as a child, and a lot of the knots in her back probably came from you. Because of that, you might think a day pass to a local spa is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day.

As you probably already know, you’d be wrong.

Day spas are nice if your mom likes the idea of making small talk with strangers in a sauna when all she really wants to do is relax. But she doesn’t. What she does want is personal access to a private spa every day!

That’s why she needs an industrial-sized humidifier.

With an industrial humidifier, you can turn her home into a private spa. Sure, it might cause the wallpaper and paint to slump off the walls. But now you’ll have something to give her next year—a home makeover.

Option B: Turn on the hot water in the shower. Let it run until the bathroom is full of steam. Heat some rocks in the oven and place them around the tub. Accentuate with artificial nature sounds.