Posts Tagged ‘flowers’
Mother’s Day 2011: Mom by the Numbers
My mom kept me on track with my second-grade math. In 1978, we had a massive Amana Radarange microwave oven with manual dials to turn for the minutes. She would set two minutes on the Radarange to heat a cup of water. I had that long to finish a multiplication worksheet (sans calculator), so I could ace my math test in Mrs. Karrell’s class. She did this math ritual with me over and over. This Mother’s Day, consider the numbers behind our appreciation of Mom.
- According to 2008 U.S. Census figures, there are 85.4 million mothers in America.
- Mother’s Day ranks second among gift-giving holidays; Christmas is first.
- An estimated 83.1 percent of Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day 2011.
- Total 2011 U.S. spending on Mother’s Day is expected to reach $16.3 billion, up 11% from last year.
- Mother’s Day accounts for one quarter of holiday flower purchases.
- An estimated 75 million Americans will dine out for Mother’s Day today.
- Americans will send 139 million Mother’s Day cards, making it the the third-largest card-sending holiday. (Christmas and Valentine’s Day take the top spots.)
- Hallmark offers nearly 900 different greeting cards for Mother’s Day 2011.
- In 2010, Americans made 11.3 percent more calls on Mother’s Day than during the rest of the year.
I’m fortunate to have a great mom. It’s time to call to let her know and tell her about the charitable donation I made in her name to Meals for Moms.
Tags: dining, flowers, for her, for mom, giftology, greeting cards, mother's day, surveys
Looking for a last-minute Mother’s Day gift, and you can’t give it in person? Yeah, me too. I want either a Sunday home delivery or an email notification of a meaningful gift to Mom.
Last week, I tried ordering a pressed flower pendant necklace from Uncommon Goods. The flower jewelry I wanted was out of stock. I gave Edible Arrangements a shot, but the shops near me only have Monday delivery dates for their fruit bouquets. Flowers are a classic Mother’s Day gift, but I sent Mom a dozen irises in a vase for her birthday last month.
Amazon offers online gift cards
Next, I found a fashion tee website with a conscience called Project Iris. A portion of each purchase supports World Food Program USA, providing meals to mothers and children in developing countries. Great tees and a great cause that my mom supports — it sounds perfect. The problem: Project Iris online gift certificates take one to two business days to deliver. Not soon enough. I’ll note this one for a future present in Mom’s gift dossier.
In the end, I chose to give to the Meals for Moms campaign, a part of the Meals on Wheels charity. My mom volunteers at a local food bank. So I know she will appreciate a gift to a hunger relief charity that provides meals for home-bound mothers and grandmothers. I sent a Meals on Wheels e-card letting her know the gift will feed a dozen moms for a week.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Tags: charitable gifts, choosing gifts, clothing, flowers, food, for her, for mom, gift cards, jewelry, mother's day
Clark Griswold expected a four-figure Christmas bonus. Instead, he got a membership in the Jelly of the Month Club [YouTube video].
While National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation pokes fun at “of the month” clubs, I think Cousin Eddie had it right: “That’s the gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year.”
Consider giving from these 12 “of the month” clubs.
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Omaha Steaks Gourmet Entree of the Month Give 12 months of mouth-watering meat, from top sirloins in January to prime rib in December. |
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Jigsaw Java Puzzle of the Month Choose how many puzzle pieces and how many months (six or 12 months) for a puzzle fan. |
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ProFlowers Flowers of the Month Club Send fresh, seasonal flowers to your love every month with ProFlowers. |
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The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club Surprise the beer lover on your gift list with 12 months of 12-pack microbrews. |
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Stone Creek Coffee of the Month My favorite coffee addiction, sent in two-pound monthly doses for a year. |
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12 Months of Netflix Give a 12-month gift subscription to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows. |
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Threadless 12 Club Cool in cotton form. Your giftee receives a dozen creative t-shirts, voted on by the online public. |
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Tie of the Month Club The Tie Bar will deliver a dozen ties to your guy over the next year. Choose from traditional, trendy or “trenditional.” |
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Giftlit Monthly Books Give 12 month’s worth of the best books for children, teens, men and women as selected by librarians, educators, authors and literary editors. |
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Popping Through the Months Club Send a different flavor of popcorn — like chocolate drizzle caramel corn — each month. |
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Fishing Lure of the Month Thrill your fishing enthusiast with 12 months of freshwater or saltwater lures. |
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Forbidden Foods Club No one can handle a whole year of Zingerman’s forbidden foods. Select three months or six months of dangerous gluttony. |
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Tags: books, chocolate+candy, christmas, clothing, coffee, dvds, flowers, food, for her, games, gift ideas, guy gifts, indulgences, lists, movies, television shows
Willow for the ninth wedding anniversary present wasn’t easy. But now my choices for the traditional tenth anniversary gift are, um, tin or aluminum? Uncommon Goods (Twitter: @UncommonGoods) helped me track down two tin gifts. Fortunately, pewter is mostly tin, and I found this “He Loves Me” pewter jewelry box. My wife loves this gift; she keeps her engagement and wedding rings in this tiny pewter box. I also gave her a bouquet of tin flowers in pastel colors. These were the ideal flowers — never wilting, just a showing a little patina — to give just before we left for our anniversary getaway.
Tags: anniversary, flowers, gift ideas, jewelry, shopping online
Dorothy Gale was right: there’s no place like home. So when my wife was out of town recently, I wanted to welcome her back with some simple gifts.
First, I cleaned; it’s a great feeling when you come home to a freshly cleaned house. Next, I picked up a bouquet of flowers from my local florist, putting them in a pottery vase on the kitchen table.
Then I found a Tuscan-themed magnetic whiteboard from The Lang Store. This whiteboard fits the style of the dishes she bought in Italy, so I knew she would love it. I posted the whiteboard on the refrigerator and wrote in dry-erase marker “Welcome Home!”
Tags: flowers, gift ideas, welcome
