Best (free) gifts for mom this mother’s day

Yes, the best things in life truly are free…especially on Mother’s Day. Now, don’t get me wrong…many moms would LOVE a new bag or trip to the spa, however, most moms just want some ‘mom luv’. Here are the best (free) gifts for mom this Mother’s Day.

1. Help a mom out. Teens, please unload the dishwasher without being asked. Pre-schoolers, you can line up the shoes at the front door. Big kids, clear off the coffee table. Spouses, offer to do the extra-curricular drives today. Help a mom out by helping out. It costs nothing but means everything!
2. Take a family picture (with mom in it). Moms are quite often the family photographer, which is a great thing…until she looks back at the family scrapbook and realizes there is no photographic evidence of her being in her kids’ childhood. Get a friend, neighbour, or extended family member to snap a few pictures of the whole family.
3. Give mom the day off. Yes, seriously. Give mom a day off from being a mom. Encourage her to go to the library. Go for a walk. Garden. Blog. Bike ride. Whatever mom wants to do to re-charge during her very valuable (yet, oh so free) ME TIME.
4. Break the mom routine. Mother’s Day is a perfect day to break the hum-drum (yet important) mom life and do something different. Go for a hike together. Visit some friends. Take a drive to the country (or city). Just break the routine and let mom see and experience something different.
5. Sshhhh! Let mom wake up whenever mom wakes up on Mother’s Day. Not when the baby cries. Not when the kids wake up wanting her to make breakfast. Not when the alarm sounds. Keep a quiet house and let mom blissfully awake when she pleases.

Caroline Fernandez shares family-friendly activities and tips on her site Parent Club (Twitter: @ParentClub). Her first book Boredom Busters (Cico Books, 2014) is now available in stores.