A good alternative to flowers on Mother’s Day is a gift basket.

There are dozens if not hundreds to gift baskets to choose from. You could give her a basket filled with luxurious beauty products, or maybe some relaxing bath salts and pampering aromatherapy massage oils depending on your mother’s preferences. There are also gift baskets that are filled with delicacies and treats from delicious cookies to chocolates. If your mother likes her coffee or tea, you can find baskets with specialty coffees and teas or a variety of calming herbal teas, if that is what she likes more. There is so much to choose from that you can definitely find something that suits her perfectly.

You could also make your own gift basket and fill it with things you know your mum would love. If you go online and look at some of the gift baskets on offer, you can get ideas for creating one of your own that makes her feel special and cared for.

Another great gift idea is a gift voucher for a massage or a spa treatment. If there is a massage clinic or a beauty parlor near to where she lives, consider buying a voucher for a treatment. It could be a relaxing massage or a facial, a manicure or a pedicure, depending on what you think she would like most. If mum lives near a spa, you can get her a gift voucher for a treatment in a spa or maybe even a whole spa day for some serious pampering and relaxation. All mothers need time for themselves and a luxurious spa treatment or a day in a spa is guaranteed to be a welcome present.

A well thought gift basket or a luxurious spa treatment is always a great alternative to flowers on Mother’s Day and will definitely make your mum feel special.

Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States annually on the second Sunday in May.  In 2010, it will be commemorated on Sunday, May 9.  In general, mothers around the country are pampered and given some time off from their normal responsibilities.  There are often gifts exchanged.  Typical gifts would be cards, flowers and small items made by children.  A poorly made breakfast-in-bed is often "gifted" to moms as well.  Another gift to consider is the reciting of a funny mother’s day poem. 

Most moms realize that their day to day activities seem a little dry.  When you are a mom, life can get a little bit routine.  Get the kids dressed; get the kids fed; get the kids to school; get the kids to activities. Giving mom a laugh is a wonderful way to show her you care. 

One way to get a laugh is to write your own funny poem.  It is very personal and very thoughtful.  Try using the first letters of mom’s name as a starting point for your poem.  Below, there is a short poem based on the name Jane.  Each letter in the name Jane starts a new phrase. 

"J"ust thinking of all the meals that you’ve made me
"A"nd the food that I slipped to the dog
"N"ow I am feeling just a little bit hungry
"E"nough to consider eating that hotdog

You will notice that in this example lines one and three and lines two and four rhyme. This pattern is pleasing to the ear.  To help you or your children find rhyming words, visit the website www.RhymeZone.com.  You can enter your word and then generate rhyming matches.  Once you have the rhymes, it may be easier to compose a sentence that makes sense.

Another short poem style that may be easier for children to accomplish on their own is the haiku.  A haiku, invented by the Japanese three hundred years ago, is a poem where the first line has five syllables and the second line has seven syllable sentence and the third and final line has five syllables.  

Here is an example of a funny Mom’s Day haiku

Mom made me eat fish
I tried to eat it quickly
Slipped my dog the dish

If you do not want to write your own poem, try entering the phrase "funny mother’s day poems" into a search engine like Yahoo.com or Google.com.  Entering this phrase will generate several pages with cute poems.  Some of these pages also offer more serious or touching poems if you want to convey a different feeling to mom this spring. 

After you write or select a poem, do not forget to practice reading the poem aloud.  This will allow you to feel comfortable and not make mistakes on Mother’s Day.  Also, consider neatly drawing and illustrating the poem so that mom has a keepsake from your efforts.  Handing her a piece of notebook paper with eraser marks is not very exciting.  Take out some construction paper and markers and creatively design a card or poster for mom.  She will appreciate all the effort made on her behalf.