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A special Mother Day gift doesn’t have to bankrupt you. While you’ve heard of Mothers Day gift ideas like spa gift certificates, designer floral bouquets and diamond necklaces, these lavish options aren’t for every budget. You may be past the years where a crayon Mothers Day card passed as “the best present ever,” but you can still find a number of Happy Mother Day treats that’ll make her smile for under $20.

Do you catch mom snacking on a lot of baked goods like cookies, cakes and brownies? Chances are, she either made them herself or just grabbed the usual off the shelf. Treat her with a tasty Happy Mother Day surprise from a gourmet dessert maker instead! For instance, Geoff & Drew have a number of award-winning gourmet dessert Mothers Day gift ideas, including cookies, brownies and chocolates, wrapped up in custom designed tins, boxes, baskets and towers ($16-$250).

Check out their “Super Specials” section for great deals like the “Pretty In Pink” box with eight assorted cookies for $15.95 or the “Yellow Celebration” four cookies and four brownies combo for $16.95. Another great brand to check out is Cookies From Home, which provides homemade cookies baked fresh daily and wrapped in creative boxes, tins and crates ($19.99+).

No matter how you choose to say “Happy Mother Day” this year, you have a variety of culinary treats to choose from! One of the worst gifts you can buy mom are kitchen gadgets, tools and more items to remind her of work. However, toothsome treats are always a welcome Mothers Day present. Be sensitive to your mother’s needs, however.

If she’s trying to lose weight or eat more healthy, then you might want to look out for some treats that fit this motif. You can still throw in a few small indulgences, but be creative and add some gourmet fresh fruit and healthy options as well.

To read more Wishing Her Happy Mother Day Without Breaking The Bank

For Mother’s Day this year, skip the cliché Mothers Day card and flowers in favor of a more hand-picked arrangement of goodies. Mothers Day gift baskets are exciting packages that show your thoughtfulness and generosity, without necessarily breaking the bank.

Sure you could pay over $100 for some designer concoction online, but why bother? It’ll take a few errands and perhaps some price comparison shopping, but in the end, you’ll be glad you shopped for and created the perfect Mother Day gift yourself.

The “Wine and Cheese Gift Basket” is a popular selection for Mother’s Day and includes wine, cheese and crackers. Many wine shops will help you select a good wine that isn’t too pricey or too pungent to go with the accompanying food. Light, fruity wines are usually the best choices for this Mothers Day gift basket.

When you’re selecting cheese, skip over the usual selections and visit the specialty section. Brie, Gouda, goat cheese and Camembert are nicer choices to pair with your wine. Look for the fancy variety of crackers to top off this simple basket. Other foods you may consider adding are strawberries or grapes, olives, pate, pepperoni and nuts.

Perhaps the idea of making your own gift basket for Mother’s Day doesn’t appeal to you. “Can’t I just get an online Mothers Day gift basket,” you might ask? After all, the best Mothers Day present isn’t always handmade! Try www.igourmet.com, where you can make your own custom gift basket chosen from a worldwide selection of gourmet foods for $20+, or choose from a variety of cheeses, wines, fruits, chocolates, coffee blends, meats and high-end cooking items.

Another cool site is www.deananddeluca.com, where you can select themed gift baskets like the “Film Fest” basket ($35), the Trattoria Italian basket ($70) or the North African basket ($150). Lastly, check out www.harryanddavid.com, where you can discover a number of Mothers Day gift baskets for under $50, not to mention frequent promotions, sales and discounts on baskets mixed with fresh fruit, chocolate and other goodies. You’ll be happy to know there are healthy options as well!

To read more Surprising Gift Food Baskets For Mother

A great way to shop for Mothers Day is on sites like www.gifts.com, which assembles listings from hundreds of online shops to help you comparison shop and find the best gifts for mother.

In recent years, surveys have identified that pampering spa days, either at a spa or with luxury products at home, are what moms crave most to rinse away their cares and rejuvenate their spirits. You can get flowers for Mothers Day like everyone else, but why not treat her to something special?

Another option for Mothers Day is to bring the spa home by creating a Mothers Day gift basket full of luxurious spa-quality products that mom would never spend on herself. At www.thymes.com, you’ll find twenty “Everyday Essentials” products ranging from a $17 face polish to $18 multi-action foot cream.

Since moms are usually on their feet all day long while cooking, cleaning and working, their feet could use the most pampering. Their $45 Foot Care Kit includes a restorative Epsom salt foot soak, a pumice stone and walnut shell foot scrub and a moisturizing, foot lotion exfoliate. 

While some moms crave the tranquility of a spa, they don’t want you to forget about them altogether. Even if you live far away, be sure to send something for Mothers Day in your absence, and don’t forget to call! “Even if they send me a card or flowers,

I still want a phone call, so I can hear their voices,” says mom Liz Lazarro of Tampa, Florida. “I guess it’s the really personal and sentimental stuff that means the most to me on Mother’s Day.” If you don’t think your mom has saved those cheesy gifts for Mothers Day you made in second grade, then guess again!

To read more Shopping For Mothers Day Gifts Online

If you’re up for a good vintage craft project, then you may want to create your own Happy Mothers Day greeting card.  If you don’t have the time or the artistic know-how, then you may consider one of the many terrific e-card sites out there instead.

At www.ojolie.com/ecards_mother_day.php, you’ll find a number of artistic, animated Happy Mothers Day greeting cards. If you’ve ever seen the movies “Waking Life” or “A Scanner Darkly,” then you’ll understand what it looks like to overlay art overtop a real photo or video.

Choose from adorable bears, puppies, cats, fawns, penguins and butterflies or fresh flower designs set to soothing music. To send a Mothers Day card, you must first create a membership, which costs $10 per year but allows you to send unlimited cards. Currently, there are 52 to choose from and there is not a single cheesy design in the bunch.

Choosing the right Mothers Day cards can take time. Some people prefer to go to smaller sites like Ojolie or JibJab, which provide a handful of high-quality Mothersday cards, while other people prefer to sift through larger collections at American Greetings or Blue Mountain.

Either way, it sure beats awkwardly standing in the card aisle at a store, chuckling under your breath and desperately hunting for the matching envelope! The great thing about saying Happy Mothers Day with an e-card is that she’ll receive a full multimedia package, with music and animation, but she’ll also get a custom personalized message from you.

Besides, now mom can save her cards online, rather than in that overflowing box of items she’s had since you were in kindergarten!

To read more Creating Your Happy Mothers Day Cards Online

The best Mother Day gifts don’t have to be purchased from a jewelry store, a florist shop or an expensive spa. In fact, you can create meaningful Mothers Day crafts or perform much-needed household chores to show that you recognize and appreciate all she does for you.

Often in surveys, mothers will admit their #1 wish isn’t a diamond necklace or a new car, but rather that you won’t forget! Impress her this year by planning something thoughtful and moving, without breaking the bank.

The greatest Mother Day gifts are those of donating your time, your effort and truly giving of yourself, while expecting nothing in return. It may just be easier to grab that Mothers Day card and flowers from the store, but if you want to show mom you really appreciate her, then a homemade coupon booklet of services is a clever idea.

If there are young children still at home, then you can always give the gift of babysitting for a few hours to give her time for a spa treatment or grocery shopping run, as well as an over-night babysitting to give her a break. Perhaps she can visit a bed and breakfast or take a road trip.

Cooking is another one of those practical coupons, which will give mom a chance to relax, even if it’s just spaghetti. If she loves to cook, then perhaps she’d appreciate the opportunity to “show you how it’s done” and spend some time together. You may also include a coupon for a car wash, wax, vacuuming and interior cleaning.

You may not have a ton of money for Mother Day gifts this year, but you can definitely put together something nice regardless. Instead of choosing the $80 designer bouquet ordered online and delivered by a local florist, you can make a trip to the local nursery and hand-pick garden flowers that will last longer and bloom for years to come!

Instead of lining up like cattle at an extremely busy Mothers Day brunch, you can whip up some strawberry-banana pancakes with whipped cream and serve her breakfast in bed! You can plan a picnic if it’s a warm sunny day and suggest a walk in the park or rent a movie to watch together. Often the best Mothers Day present is your thoughtfulness.

To read more Surprise Your Mum With Your Mother Day Gifts