Celebrate Mothers Day on a Budget

It is a bit of a surprise for me to realise that Mothers Day is less than a week away. My son was telling me he has all these “things” he would like to buy me for Mothers Day. I let him know that I love the things he makes me far more than anything he could buy me. It is true, but we also don’t have the money for him to buy me anything right now. My son’s birthday is this month as well. All our money is going to his Birthday party.

My daughter is quite happy to make me something for Mothers Day. She loves to paint, draw and glue. Mothers Day is just another opportunity to create something.

My husband on the other hand wants to do something for me for Mothers Day. He wanted us to go out for dinner like we did last year. It is just not going to happen. This year we need to do Mothers Day on a Budget.

For me it is ok that we are not doing much. Mothers Day does not have to involve money. The point behind Mothers Day is to show appreciation, not buy things. There are many things I would love to have my family do for me on Mother’s Day. I am sure there are many things every Mother can think of that they would love on their Celebrate Mothers Day on a Budget list.

Here is my Celebrate Mothers Day on a Budget list:

• Let me sleep in and have a shower without everyone trying to talk to me at the same time.
  
• Handmade crafts – cards, pictures, jewellery and more. I love that my kids want to make me something. I try to show appreciation for their effort and that I value anything they make for me. Sometimes it can be difficult letting them be creative, but once the mess is all cleaned up it is worth it. I like things that I am able to use or put up where people can see. I am thinking about getting them to paint rocks for the edge of my flower garden. I am expecting cards and painted flower pots again.
  
• Dinner – This would involve the kids helping Dad make dinner, set the table and clean up after. It may be something small but it lets my kids feel as if they have done something important and valuable for me.
  
• Cake or cookies – This is something that we have the mix for and with Dad’s help they would have a lot of fun making. They could decorate them as they like. It would be fun to see what they make.

Small and simple are what I want. I already know it is too much to ask that they don’t make a mess, no fighting, or to clean the house. For me Mothers Day is not about me getting something but giving my kids a chance to show me they love me, and I love them.

If we had the money there are a lot of things I would love but I would not give up my children’s handmade gifts for them.