I LOVE YOU MAA!!!. Review on Choosing Gifts for a Mother

Before I start writing anything, HAPPY MOTHER’S Day to all of you. Mother’s Day is actually celebrated 2 times in a year(because of a long history—which I won’t delve into now.)—In some countries they celebrate it on March 30th, that’s today, and in some, on May the 11th—but I celebrate it on both the days—quite simply because I am mad after my Mom—in fact, two other things that I am mad for—start with the letter M and have something motherly about them—Mouthshut(this is the mother of all sites) and Madhuri(who has recently become a mother!).

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But hey, this review is on gifts for mother—all right, below I have a list of gifts that you can give to your Ma this Mother’s Day or on her birthday or whenever you want—these are tried and tested by me—they all have Before reading them, remember one thing—Mum’s are the easiest persons to gift—gift them anything, and you’ll always get a warm smile and a warmer hug, so don’t be tensed if you are out shopping for your mum, just chill!

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FIVE MOST LOVED GIFTS FOR EVERY MAA:

Greeting Cards and e-cards

Hand-made or bought off-the-shelf, greeting cards have a charm of their own. Those warm-flowery wording cards are very flattering—but my mum thinks they are saccharine sweet—so I always gift her those hilarious joke ones! If your mum is very web-savvy(like mine), ecards are an alternative way to wish and greet. Fast, sweet and beautiful, they fill up the screen of the receiver’s life with happiness—I would recommend https://archiesonline.com for paid ecards, and Yahoo greetings for the free ones.

My first experience:

I was 7 years old when I first thought of gifting Ma with a greeting card—problem was how to buy it—being so small, Ma used to drop me at the bus-stop and came to receive me in the afternoon—I had to give her a surprise—so I sneaked out 10 rupees from Papa’s wallet on her birthday and got down one stop earlier—to buy the card! Mum got worried and was searching for me everywhere.I arrived home 1 hour late and got a tight slap on my face. When asked the reason for my ‘awaragardi’, I showed her the birthday card. She was in tears and hugged me. That card had just 3 words in it—‘Happy Birthday Mummy’—its still with her. In fact, not even one birthday has gone when I haven’t given her a birthday card, and she has carefully wrapped them all in a box. Memories! Memories!

Flowers—only original please.

These are another indispensable gifts. I love flowers as gifts, because they are so universal. If you are really confused about what to gift, gift flowers—they are loved by one and all, except by those who are allergic to pollens. Roses, dahlias and sunflowers are some of the most refreshing flowers. A word of advice—avoid giving artificial flowers with artificial scents sprayed on them. They are okay for gifting to a new friend, but Mums deserve originals.

My first experience:

It was my sister, who was just five when I told her what a birthday is. I have never seen any mum bragging to her kids that’s its her birthday today—they always keep it silent. I told her that she needs to give something to Ma on her birthday, which was on the same day. She leapt up with joy, went to our garden, plucked a flower and gifted it to Ma. Ma was, as always, beaming with joy and I was awestruck at my kid sis’s sensibility!

Chocolates and Sweets

Another universal gift, chocolates and sweets are timeless gifts, and of course the best choice if you don’t know what else to buy. My mum loves Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and Fruit and Nut chocolates and in mithai, its Haldiram’s Rajbhog and Rossogolas all the way. But I advise you to gift something else with the chocolate—they are eat-and-forget affair.

My first experience:

I love springing surprises on birthdays. I was 10 when I bought this large bar(300g) of Dairy Milk from a nearby confectionery shop and hid it in my almirah below my clothes. Of course, I was a child then and controlling temptations was not in my dictionary. I woke up at night, cracked open the gift pack and the purple pack of chocolate—broke a small piece from it, gulped it down, with difficulty, controlled myself to not take any more and went off to sleep. The next morning I had mum staring me straight in the eye. She caught hold of my ear and opened my almirah—Gawd! It was full of ants—those nasty creatures had spoiled every bit of clothing I had with chocolate tidbits sticking everywhere. Yuck! From then on, I vowed never to leave a chocolate open in an almirah.

Perfumes and Fragrances

One of the most riskiest gift is a perfume. Quite simply because however close my tastes are to my mum, yet I am sure that 9 out of times whatever I select, she won’t like it. But there’s a solution to it, as you’ll know in my experience below:

My first experience:

Choosing perfumes, and that too from hordes of strong-smelling ladies counter is one of the most impossible jobs. This year, in the beginning of March, I went shopping with Mum. As always, she entered the cosmetics section to have a peek at the latest lipsticks and lip-liners(she’s mad after them!), I persuaded her to select the perfume of her choice. She fell in love with Hugo’s Deep Red instantly and wanted to buy it then and there. I persuaded her not to giving her lectures about saving money et al. She gave up at last and was happy to receive such a suggestion from her son. What she didn’t know was, I had bought that perfume as soon as she was out of that shop and had hidden it in my college bag. This was the first thing in the morning that she received today!

Books and Pens

Another high-risk gift is a book. I avoid giving my mum fiction books. Quite simply because she seldom has time to go through some 350-page story. Ah yes! Non-fiction is easier to buy. I remember 2 years before, mum was mad after Feng Shui after serious recommendations from her friends. On her birthday that year I gifted her 3 Feng Shui books, magnetic compasses and what not—she was more than delighted to receive them. Now, she’s catching up on Tarot reading fever, simple indication for me to buy her a big book on Tarot reading on this birthday. And gifting your Mum with a beginner’s guide to using the computer or internet is a wonderful idea.

Pens make for dignified gifts. A working mum can’t ask for more than a smooth-writing pen. But seriously, I have never gifted one.

FOR OTHER GIFTS AND ADVISES, SEE COMMENTS PLEASE

I wish this review was helpful to all of you in selecting a gift for your mum. Do remember one thing—it’s the feeling that matters, and not the size or the price of the gift.Some may argue that giving gifts is all show-off and its just the love from the heart that matters. My answer to them is, that if you have love in your heart for somebody, you need to show it. These gifts are just tokens of love for your mother.

Comments and more gift ideas are welcome.

© Karan 2003