Sometimes finding the perfect gift is a challenge, especially when you're trying to find a gift for someone really special to you, like your mom. You want to give her a gift that shows her how much you appreciate her and everything she's done for you over the years, but where do you even start? Often, the best gifts to get your mom are the ones that come from the heart. So whether you need gift inspiration for Mother's Day, or just feel like getting super emotional, these sweet stories in which daughters share the best gifts they got their moms (courtesy of reddit) are sure to get you thinking about how you can show your mom how much you love her too.
The best thing you can do is give your mom a gift that's meaningful. It doesn't need to be big or expensive, but it should put her needs and wants first. These stories are proof that anything goes, as long as your gifts come from a place of love — whether it's jewelry, an experience you get to have together, or something small that she'll hold onto forever just because you gave it to her. From handmade keepsakes like calendars and collages with meaningful family photos, to big, thoughtful gestures like registering her for a class she's always wanted to take, these are some of the best gifts daughters have given their mothers. Grab yourself some tissues before you keep reading — you're going to need them!
One year I took on the task of scanning and uploading tons of family photos in order to make my mom a personalized calendar for the year. The best part was I used photos my grandmother had given me and my mom had forgotten about. My mom as a baby, my mom with her sister in their Sunday best circa 1955, my mom and her sister with fabulous stick-straight hair, my mom with my late grandfather, etc. I spent hours putting together the calendar, marking birthdays, and putting in special moments throughout the year. On Christmas morning, my Mom opened it and cried. She loved it. It was just a calendar, but the hours I spent on it personalizing it made it priceless to her. My mom's sister, my beautiful aunt, was diagnosed with cancer that December and I'm so glad I gave my mom the calendar full of photos of the two of them. Truly the best gift I have ever given.
When my mom turned 70 I asked for the day off work so I could spend it with her. Dad told her he was taking her to lunch and dropped her off at the door to the restaurant...he drove away, and when she entered the restaurant I was waiting for her. We had lunch and then I took her shopping for clothes. She and I spent a wonderful girls day out....then Dad took her for a special dinner the following weekend. Now, I ask for a day off for her birthday every year. No longer a surprise for her, but a special tradition.
My mom kept bugging me and my guy to get married.....on and on and on....for years. He and I didn't really care one way or another. We just planned on hanging out together for the rest of our lives....no big deal.
Her birthday was coming up so we ran down to the court house, (on my lunch hour from work), and got married.
We sent her a copy of our marriage certificate for her birthday. She cried, and cried and said it was the best present ever.
One year I insisted on getting my mom a mug that says It's a girl! on it. I was like 5, and I figured she is a girl. It's actually for a baby shower/gender reveal type thing. She's still got it 15 years later though.
My mom had a shitty childhood. Middle of 13 kids, some time foster care. Living on her own at 16. She'd always been interested in art, but didn't have the money or time to take art classes in high school. A couple years after I finished college and was no longer crazy broke I looked up beginners art classes at her local community college. I made sure they'd fit into her schedule then registered her for the class and bought her all the art supplies for it. I think she cried for like 10 minutes straight when opened up the supplies and read the attached registration sheet. She loved it. She'd call me every week and tell me all about what they'd done that week. She passed away 8 yrs ago and that's one of my favorite memories with her.
I saved up and bought my mom an emerald ring. She wears it every day.
My mom was poor growing up, and she wanted a Barbie the year it came out. Her parents couldn't get her anything remotely close to that, as well as her having a brother and sister. Their neighbor, who had a little more money, surprised her with Barbie's friend, Midge, for Christmas in 1963.
My mom has talked about it with such happiness in her memory, so I spent 4 months reading up on everything antique and vintage Barbie, how to spot fakes and repainted dolls, what to look for etc etc.
Christmas before last, I found a Midge doll online. I found the original box separately, and her outfit.
I also got the original 1962 Barbie Dream house that she never had but always wanted, it's made of a cardboard type of material and has a bunch of little pieces like vinyl records and little furniture pieces inside.
She opened the doll and cried, she couldn't believe I had found the exact one she had when she was a child. It was worth all of the time I spent basically becoming a pro at identifying authentic antique Barbies! It made me so happy to see her that happy. She always makes sure it's on display with her other items in a common area in the house.
The Barbie house I just got for her to be able to see and touch it for the first time, we sat down and opened/set it up together, I had found another authentic 1959 Barbie (with the striped bathing suit) and purchased it for myself, and we posed them both in the homes and changed their clothes with the clothing that came from the seller I got the house from.
After maybe a half an hour, we packed it back up and put it in the attic - it's too big to have out on display anywhere, but it was worth it to share that experience with her because she had never been able to in her childhood. It was pretty cool.
When my mom was married, she wanted a particular song played at her wedding. Her mother vetoed it saying that it was "banging clanging rock and roll music" and they weren't having it at her wedding.
I got married last October. I called my mom and dad out on the dance floor during the reception, took the mic, and thanked my mother for being supportive of me and my bizarre ideas for my wedding (including a dinosaur cake topper for no apparent reason.) And then I told that story. And I told my mom that she deserved a second chance at a first dance. I played the song and had my parents dance.
The song was "We've only just begun" by the Carpenters. I've no idea what my grandmother had against it.
Probably what I gave my mom for mother's day a few years ago. I snuck into their house and got a whole bunch of baby/childhood pictures of me and my brothers then had us recreate them and put them all in a big photo collage. She cried. It was wonderful.
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what the gift is — big, small, expensive, or homemade, it's the thought that counts. If you put that thought and effort into getting your mom something (or planning something for her) that you know is meaningful to her in some way, she's bound to love and appreciate it for years to come.
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