Moms do everything. For wiping our butts to our noses, driving us everywhere for at least the first 16 years of our lives and feeding us invaluable tidbits of knowledge along the way, they deserve way more than one day of recognition.
To celebrate moms on Mother’s Day and beyond, we’ve partnered with Extra Gum on this list of meaningful moments and enduring mementos you can create for the special woman in your life -- ones she’ll remember and cherish long after this May 10th.
Direct And Shoot A Home Video
While Facebook and other social media platforms are a good way to keep track of uploaded videos, these can get lost among the various other oversharers on the Internet. Use your smartphone, tablet or another video-capturing technology to create a short and sweet personalized video that you can save on a USB drive or even upload to YouTube. To honor your own mother, have family members and friends deliver a special message to her on camera so their kind words will be captured forever. If your spouse is a mom, capture stolen moments and snippets of her interactions with the kids that she can enjoy over and over again in the future. You can also record personal messages from you and your children to truly say “thank you” for all she does.
Make This DIY Hand And Footprint Canvas
Kids will need Dad (or another adult) for this one! To help mothers cope with the insanely fast pace at which children grow up, these painted hand and footprint canvases will serve as a nostalgic reminder of the size their “babies” once were. All you need to execute this fun, DIY craft is a blank canvas, some washable paint for the hand and footprints, and a fabric marker to leave a special message. Oh, and a little adult supervision.
Plant A Tree (Or Plant) Together
Plant a tree or perennial plant with your mother in a location that is significant for both of you, and that you can return to every year. Not only will you be giving back to nature and spending some valuable time outdoors, but each year when the plant blooms or its leaves change color, your mom (or the special lady in your life) can admire the physical beauty of something you’ve created, together.
Turn A Family Photo Into Something More Meaningful
Since social media makes it so easy to do so, the majority of our photos are shared solely on the Internet. In fact, it’s rare to print actual photos these days! Give your mother (or wife) a taste of nostalgia and a memento she won’t have to unlock her smartphone to show off by having a digital family photo framed, or transformed into a unique handmade painting. You can use services like Painted Souvenirs to turn photos into custom portraits in a variety of media, including oil paint, charcoal and watercolor. Memorable photos can also be enlarged onto a framable canvas, or photo-sharing services like Shutterfly allow you to affix your photos onto just about anything -- from quilts, to mugs, to personalized calendars. This way, your mom can display a sentimental or especially memorable moment proudly (and look at it fondly) whenever she pleases.
Create A Mother’s Day Mug Or Coffee Set
To remind your mother how much you care every single morning as she reaches for her daily dose of caffeine, take a note from home decor (and Pinterest) expert Lauren Conrad: Write a personal message on a single plain mug or spread it out over an entire coffee set. Use a metallic paint pen to etch your design, allow it to dry, then stick your mug(s) in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees to make your decorations permanent.
Give Her The Day Off
Mothers are inherently busy people, so why not give your own a well-deserved day off from her everyday responsibilities? Offer to take over her to-do list for the day, whether that means going to the grocery store or taking on a home improvement project, and send her somewhere she can relax. Surprise her with a spa certificate or massage voucher, or by transforming the living room into a binge-watching theater (think dimmed lights, shades drawn, a snuggly blanket and comfort food) for some hardcore rest and relaxation. Alternatively, if your mother is more enthusiastic about “we” time than “me” time, organize a surprise lunch or afternoon with her girlfriends -- or even better, you.
Create A ‘Mom, You’re The Best’ Mason Jar
For a gift that really says, “Mom, you rock!” -- and will remind her of that every day for the next year -- this DIY craft idea accomplishes just that. Come up with 365 ways to tell your mom how much you care and appreciate her, whether it’s reminiscing about a specific memory, saying “thank you” for something particular, or sharing a short and sweet poem, quote or saying. Write your ideas down on small, foldable note cards or paper scraps and put them inside a decorated jar or canister. This DIY, highly personalized gesture will remind your mom how special she is to you every single day, and is something she can even reuse for years to come.
How will you celebrate the special women in your life this Mother’s Day?
Make meaningful memories with moms this Mother’s Day through these small acts of kindness, presented by Extra Gum.