No.1 - Just get her a
card
The No.1 way to impress her mom on Mother's Day
is to keep it simple, and a card is your best bet. It's understated, it's the
holiday standard and you really have to screw up a card in order to have it
interpreted as you trying too hard or as you not doing enough. Read more after
the break...
On the inside, wish her a happy Mother's Day and
acknowledge her parenting skills by thanking her for having brought such a
beautiful daughter into the world, or acknowledge some other aspect of her life
in order to personalize it. If you want to push it, write how you hope her
daughter turns out just like her.
No.2 - Take special care of your own mother
Prioritize. Your own mother always comes
first.
No mother would be pleased to learn that her
daughter's boyfriend went overboard on her while ignoring his own mom, chiefly
because of the negative message it can send her, such as that you were so
preoccupied with impressing her that you choked on your own mom; or, if this is
how you treat your own mother, you may not be the right guy for her
daughter.
In the introduction we mentioned transparency:
Throwing your own mom under the bus for her mom will be seen for exactly what it
is.
No.3 - Acknowledge your
girlfriend
When push comes to shove, her mother doesn't
care about flowers, salons or other gentlemanly gestures; your girlfriend's mom
is really only concerned with how you treat her daughter. Mother's Day is one
day out of 365; stepping up to the plate to play hero one day out of the year
will not necessarily impress. Let her mom know how much you appreciate your girl
all the time and try to incorporate your girlfriend into any Mother's Day plans
you might have, even though she's not a mother yet.
No.4 - Take the day's burden off her hands
Another way to impress her mom on Mother's Day
is to help free up her day so she can go off and do whatever she wants.
Everyone wishes there were more hours in the
day, and everyone could use an extra hand sometimes. Why not give your girl's
mom the whole day to herself, and do the grocery shopping, or take the car to
the shop or whatever other errand she might have to run. Then give them a chance
to catch up on mother-daughter time. Your generosity with your time will mean a
lot to her if she's a busy woman herself.
No.5 - Reunite her with an old
friend
Find out if your girlfriend's mom has an old
friend she's lost touch with over the years. Make certain that the two don't
have bad blood by probing your girl, and set about tracking down that friend.
Social networking sites are a good place to start, as well as other family
members. Playing private eye might seem like a good idea, but you don't want to
come off as a stalker to her mom or the long-lost friend so be careful how you
go about this one.
Once you've tracked down the old acquaintance in
a non-creepy way, introduce yourself and try to arrange for this person to call
your girlfriend's mom on Mother's Day.
No.6 - Arrange a trip to the
salon
By a trip to the salon we mean a pampered,
mani-pedi kind of thing, something she can enjoy with her daughter and possibly
your own mother as well. However, this entry isn't strictly suggesting that;
rather, it's suggesting that you arrange a day trip that you know she would
enjoy, whether it's to the salon, the wine country or to the 1980s hair metal
festival in town for the weekend.
There's no one-size-fits-all idea. And no mother
would want to be remembered that way on Mother's Day.
No.7 - Plan a girls' night out
Another way to impress her mom on Mother's Day
is by giving her a short break from being a mom -- on a day other than Mother's
Day.
Coordinate with a couple of her friends to plan
a girls night out, a night on the weekend when she can have a drink, catch up
with her friends, and for a few precious hours, not have to be a
mom.
No.8 - Cook brunch for her
Cooking a Mother's Day brunch is one of the more
ambitious suggestions we have for ways to impress her mom, and we only recommend
it if, of course, you know what you're doing. An afternoon of bungled recipes
and burned offerings won't be seen as funny or charming -- just a waste of a
day.
We wouldn't include such a suggestion if we
weren't aware of it actually having worked. However, it might be important to
spread the gesture around a bit; invite your mother (and your girl) as well as
dad and family. Don't independently monopolize this woman's time; make it a
group effort.
No.9 - Get her a personalized gift
A "Happy Mother's Day" CD of her favorite songs,
a DVD set; something personalized like this could prove to be a thoughtful
Mother's Day gift, as it can show that you've listened to her in the past and
know her interests.
Granted, you may be walking a fine line when you
try to find her a personalized Mother's Day gift, but each relationship is
different; if you know that she would appreciate it, don't hesitate.
No.10 - Do something handy that she needs or wants done
It's not uncommon in a household for there to be
some task or job that her mom has wanted completed for a long time, but one that
her dad hasn't gotten around to yet. Find out if such a thing exists in their
household; it can't hurt to ask.
It can hurt, however, if you don't include dad
-- whether by coordinating with him or just consulting him on the matter. Would
you, as a father in your own home, want to be subverted and made to look bad by
your daughter's boyfriend? Of course not, so go to him before you wash the car,
mow the lawn or fix the fence.
On the other hand, if there is no father figure
in the house you are suddenly the savior and have free reign to fix and update
whatever her mom has been wishing would be fixed
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