Great Mother's Day Ideas for Dads

So you really want to make your wife know how much you appreciate her on Mother's Day ... but you're completely lacking in skills when it comes to the "crafts" and "original ideas" departments. If this sounds like you, don't worry! You can still create the best-ever Mother's Day for her.

• Draw her a bubble bath: light some candles, put on some music and keep the kids occupied (maybe buy them a new videotape to watch). This will allow Mom to enjoy a little piece of spa-living right at home!
• Make her a candlelight dinner: even if it's a simple meal, the gesture will make her feel like it's back in the days when you were courting her. Psst, if you need help in the kitchen, check out some of our fast and easy chicken recipes or whip up a feast in 20-munutes flat.Oh, and if you're looking to turn up the heat a notch, the recipe for romance is sure to help.
• Mix it up when it comes to flowers: don't just go for the red roses with baby's breath. Mix it up! Maybe buy half-a dozen roses, and add in some calla-lillies and/or tulips to give your bouquet a different look. You can do this yourself at home or ask the florist to help you out.
• Arrange a lunch with her friends: surprise her with a lunch date! Get in cahoots with some of the husband's of your wife's friends. Make plans ahead of time for all of the Dads to babysit for the kids so the mom's can go out to a nice lunch. Go ahead and make the reservations for them and everything! She'll be grateful for the splurge, and still get to enjoy most of the day with the people that matter most to her - you and the kids!

Ideas For Moms, From Moms

If none of these ideas seem like the right fit for the Mom in your life, then why not listen to the experts? We asked moms to tell us about the best gift they ever received, and disclose what they really want for Mother's Day this year. Among the top requests: sleeping in, breakfast in bed, having some alone time, spending the day with family and getting "thanks." Below are other unique ideas we collected on our message board - after all, who better to give insight on how to celebrate Mother's Day than moms themselves?

• For Mother's Day I would just love to sleep in a little and be able to get ready without anyone bothering me. It would be so nice to just take an extra long shower, fix my hair and put on makeup without anyone bothering me. Just give me some time to pamper myself.
  
  -- ttc3
• A family picture! We never seem to have a picture of all five of us, all dressed up looking good. One of us is always behind the camera.
  
  -- my3sheaboys
• One of the things my husband does for me each year is he buys one of those huge cards and has each child put their handprint on it with paint. I love these cards because it shows how each child how grown from the previous year.
  
  -- lilbitofheaven
• I'd love to get homemade gifts from the kids. I'm always helping my sons make gifts for dad. For a change, I'd like to get something. Or a picture of me and my boys in a frame. Again, I'm always framing pictures of the boys with dad for a present. I'd like to get something like that. No need to go out and spend a lot of money on jewelry or brunch. Just something made from the hands of my sons.
  
  -- krawz5
• Last Mother's Day my husband made a vase for me, he put my kids handprints on it and filled it with dried flowers so they would never die and every time I see the vase I remember how hard he worked on it and how proud he was. It is the best present I have ever received. It always makes me think of how much my family loves me!!
  
  -- l99t01t03
• I would be happy with just a card, and acknowledgement of the fact that a Mother's job is a very hard job. I don't need him to go overboard, or even buy me anything, just help the kids come up with something special.
  
  -- madfire62-kim
• I would like my husband to work with the kids to make a Mother's Day gift. Nothing elaborate, but something that I could enjoy year round like a pencil cup, or decorate a picture frame and insert a photo that he has taken of the kids.
  
  -- mamabuck
• I would just like for him to take us all - kids too - out to a nice dinner. This needs to be his idea. Just a small token to show that I am appreciated for what I do.
  
  -- sissy67
• I would love to be able to sleep in and have the whole day to myself, to do what I want. Like read a book and be able to finish a whole page without being interuppted, to go on the computer and not have to hear complaints that someone needs to use it for school research, to not have to worry about "what's for supper," to go shopping and not have a time-limit as to how long I'm gone or agree to take at least one child with me! That would be the best present. A day for just me.
  
  -- anniebananie67
• For Mother's day I would love for my husband to do something for me even if he wasn't all that interested in it himself. For example, offer to take me to see a chick-flik, or even better, to take me out dancing! We haven't done that in years. How great would that be?!
  
  -- emmasammom

Originally shared to: Parents.con