What to Do With Your Mother's Day Gift

I love, let me repeat LOVE, the gifts my children make me. Sometimes it can be a little challenging to appropriately display and/or enjoy them. Here are some possibilities:

• If you are as lucky as me and your child brought home a stunning silhouette already sized to 8x10 by his teacher, frame it!
• If your drawing/photo/poem is two dimensional but not of standard size, find a photo mat or floating frame. 
• If your gift is 3 dimensional and/or perishable, take a photo of it, with your child holding it. You might want to do this with the 2-dimensional gifts mentioned above as well, just so you have a back-up copy and can store it in your fire safe. (That's not just me, right?) 

While you'll want to admire your framed gift hanging in the hallway or your 3D gift on your dresser for the coming weeks, months, or even years, there may come a point at which you are running out of wall space or the sculpture on the dresser gets tough to dust. At that point you will have two options: a) store gift in box of keepsakes in attic/basement/closet/garage to treasure when your children are grown or b) discretely dispose of gift and treasure that photo I so wisely advised you to take. 

A thought for those photos you'll be taking of your gifts: Purchase an inexpensive 4x6 photo album - think dollar store, walmart, dollar bin at target. Slide the photos of your gifts. (You could include just Mother's Day gifts if you like the idea of yearly progression, or any gift/drawing/note from your child - even snap a photo of the dandelion he picked for you at the park!) Look through this album when you're feeling nostalgic or when your living room is a disaster and you need to be reminded of your child's angelic side. As an alternative, your could keep a slide show of these images on your computer, phone, or tablet. (But don't forget to back them up!)

Image courtesy madelinetosh

10 Ways to Make Mother's Day Memorable

1. Look through photos with your child. Photos of your child as a baby, photos of a younger version of yourself, or photos of your own mom - anything that will trigger some storytelling is magical.
2. Teach your child to do something you love. Cook, play a sport, craft, play an instrument, whatever you enjoy, your child will love learning from you.
3. Interview your child - and/or - let your child interview you. Take some time to get to know the way your child thinks (also a great birthday activity). Ideas for questions to ask your child at Giggles Galore, Blissfully Domestic, and TeachMama. If you choose to let your child interview you, you may enjoy learning just what he or she is curious about!
4. Write a letter to your child. If he or she is old enough to read, share it on Mother's Day, if not, tuck it away with keepsakes for later.
5. Take a picture with your children. Even if it means setting the timer and flying into the shot, make this a day to be in the picture. So often, moms are behind the camera, capturing the memories. Be a part of the memory.
6. Celebrate all the mother figures in your child's life and yours. Consider those who play maternal rolls that enrich your child's life and your own: teachers, babysitters, grandmas, aunts, neighbors, etc.
7. Experience something new together - visit a state park, try in-line skating, or experiment in the kitchen. 
8. Read together. Get out some of your child's favorite books from babyhood, let him or her choose a current favorite to share, or read a favorite of your own. Pick out a mom-themed picture book like Is Your Mama a Llama?, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?, Mother, Mother I Want Another, or my favorite, Let Me Hold You Longer.
9. Share your own mother with your child. Spend time together if possible, or talk on the phone, skype, share photos, stories, etc. Help your child understand the connections of generations and branches of the family tree.
10. Take some time to remember the day you became a mother, whatever that means to you. Whether it's the day you found out you were pregnant, the day you gave birth, the day you welcomed an adoptive child into your family, or some other circumstance, consider how it changed you. If you have more than one child, consider how each experience changed you. Talk about it with your children, your partner, or your own mom. Write about it in a journal, or shout it from the rooftops.