What should I get my 52 year old mom for her birthday/ anniversary in two days?

Our mom has plenty of stuff as well, so one year for her birthday, I sent an e-mail to family members asking them to send me ‘X’ number of memories of her via e-mail back to me in the next 24 hours. Once received, I typed them up in a document with their name attached to each one, cut them out into individual strips, folded them up and placed in a decorative jar.

She loved it. She keeps the slips in her bedroom and will pull one out and read it. It’s a tribute to her in what she has given to us. It’s much better sharing those stories with her while she is alive than after she is gone. The cost? Minimal. The value? Priceless.

You can’t really lose with a picture in a nice frame.

Do you crochet? This is easy and very useful – the pattern says to use a 5.5mm hook, but I had better results with a K hook (6.5mm). (Kinda weird as a gift, but my mom loves hers.) Or eyeglass cases, or dishcloths, hot pads – patterns for these are all available online. None of these are very expensive, and they are pretty quick to make, and usually better quality than anything you could buy. Anything you make is going to be precious to her (speaking as a mother and as a daughter).

This guy makes MARVELOUS soaps and lotions – http://www.clouddreamersoaps.com/. She won’t want to use anything else after trying them! Don’t know how fast he could ship to you, though. I’m planning to give these products as Christmas gifts to my in-laws this year.

Does she like plants?

Or maybe a “honey-do” book – make up a small book of coupons for things she could use you doing for her.

Or my all-time favorite – dinner out at one of my favorite restaurants!

Does she eat in franchise restaurants at all? So many of them offer gift cards you can buy online and have a personalized message made to go with. I did this with a Red Lobster giftcard for a co worker in the amount enough for them to take another diner along and they really enjoyed. The website let me type in a greeting, a message and pick a card style. They sent an actual greeting card sized card with the giftcard inside it.

when i don’t know what to get someone i tend to make them something. the picture frame like @blah_blah suggested is a great idea. look into decoupage… it’s inexpensive (you can mix elmer’s glue with water as the glue base) and you can get some magazines and cut out images and words or individual letters to make words and glue them on to an inexpensive wooden frame from a local craft store. put a nice picture of you and your mom in it and write a nice message on the back of the picture, or even the back of the frame.
i really love @Pied_Pfeffer‘s idea too!!

Has she ever talked about things she enjoyed when she was young and misses? My mom talked about homemade raspberry jam she used to help make with my grandmother on her farm. I got a couple jars of nice homemade preserves at a farm stand and she was in heaven.

I’m around that age, and my daughters got me a pedicure and massage for a recent birthday and that was lovely. Getting pampered is nice!

I’m a just about a 65-year-old mother. @Pied_Pfeffer‘s idea is jut OUTSTANDING!! What a wonderful birthday gift!!!!