Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice » mother’s day

Mother’s Day 2011: Mom by the Numbers

Gift Giving Guy — Sun, 08 May 2011 19:45:03 +0000

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.

A Last-minute Mother’s Day Gift

Gift Giving Guy — Sun, 08 May 2011 02:57:07 +0000

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 with three Mother’s Day Designs: butterflies, crown and flowers. But I want something more specific and personal than a gift card to “The Earth’s Biggest Selection.”

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!

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Gift Giving Guy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:10:00 +0000

Thanks, Mom! A celebration of motherhood, Mother’s Day in the U.S. occurs on the second Sunday in May. Browse these blog posts for Mother’s Day gift ideas.

A Last-minute Mother’s Day Gift (5/7/2011)
Mother’s Day 2009: The Gift of Kiva Microloan Gift Certificates (5/10/2009)
Birthday Gifts, Martha Style (1/7/2009)
43 Last-second Online Gifts for Women (12/24/2008)
Mother’s Day 2008 (5/11/2008)
Flowers for my Mother-in-Law (on my Wife’s Birthday) (1/4/2008)
Give the Gift of Charity (12/14/2007)
Golden Tickets: Giving the Gift of a Concert (8/8/2007)
Giving Flowers (7/14/2007)
Giving Photo Books (7/13/2007)
Giving the Gift of Food (5/19/2007)

Mother’s Day 2009

Gift Giving Guy — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:13:00 +0000

It’s the busiest holiday of the year for phone calls: Mother’s Day. I called my mom to let her know I sent her a Kiva.org gift certificate via e-mail. Kiva — Swahili for unity — helps donors give microloans to needy persons around the world. The loans start at $25. Pooled together, the loans can fund someone like Flora, a Bolivian dairy farmer who wants to buy another cow to make and sell more cheese. These loans are real loans, not charitable gifts. Kiva microloans have a default rate (or non-repayment rate) of 1.8 percent based on $31 million in past loans.

My mom volunteers for many human concerns causes, so I knew she would appreciate a gift certificate that pays it forward for another mom looking support her family. I also made a donation to Kiva to cover the costs administering these microloans.

43 Last-second Online Gifts for Women

Gift Giving Guy — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:15:00 +0000

It’s Christmas Eve, and you just can’t break away from the 24-hour “A Christmas Story” marathon on TBS. But you’re still missing gifts for the women on your holiday shopping list. The calendar worked against us this year: we had five less shopping days than 2007. That’s practically a lost shopping weekend.

The solution: a last-second e-gift card. I’ve compiled a list of 43 e-gift card sites to send online now, noting which e-gift cards allow for online and/or in-store shopping.

Ale in the Mail Wine Club Gift Announcement (online only)
Amazon.com Gift Card (online only)
Ann Taylor E-Gift Certificate (higher-end, polished clothing) or Ann Taylor LOFT E-Gift Certificate (more relaxed styles in an “upper moderate” price range). Online only for both.
Bath & Body Works E-Gift Card (online only)
BedandBreakfast.com Getaway E-mail Gift Card (select B&Bs only)
Bloomingdale’s E-Gift Card (redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
Blue Nile E-mail Gift Certificates (jewelry; online only)
Coldwater Creek E-Gift Card (women’s apparel; redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
Cooking.com E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
Clinique eGift Card (cosmetics and fragrances; redeem online or by phone — but not in stores)
eBags E-mail Gift Certificate (purses, handbags, backpacks and luggage; online only)
Gardener’s Supply Company E-Gift Card (online only)
Kohls Department Store E-Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
Lady Foot Locker E-mail Gift Card (redeem online or by phone — but not in stores)
Lands’ End E-Gift Card (apparel; redeem online and in stores)
Lane Bryant E-Gift Card (plus-sized women’s apparel; redeem online and in stores)
Lenox.com e-Gift Certificate (fine china, tableware and collectibles; online only)
Liz Claiborne Online Gift Certificate (women’s apparel; online only)
L.L. Bean E-mail Gift Card (redeem online, by phone, from catalog and in stores and outlets)
Macy’s E-Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
Magazines.com E-Gift Card (annual magazine subscriptions; online only)
Martha Stewart Crafts E-Gift Card (online only)
Match.com Gift Subscription (online dating subscription; online only)
NetFlix DVD Gift Subscription (online only)
Nieman Marcus Virtual Card (redeem online, by phone and in stores)
Nordstrom Virtual Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
PajamaGram Electronic Gift Certificates (online only)
REI E-Gift Card (outdoor recreation gear and sporting goods; redeem online, by phone and in stores)
Restaurant.com E-mail or Printed Gift Certificate (select restaurants only)
Saks Fifth Avenue Virtual Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
Scrapbook.com Electronic Gift Certificate (online only)
Sephora E-Gift Certificate (beauty products; online only)
SpaFinder Gift Certificate with E-mail Announcement (select spas only)
Stella Maternity E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
Talbots e-Gift Certificate (women’s apparel; redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
Tea Forté E-mail Gift Certificate (gifts for tea lovers; online only)
Uncommon Goods E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
Victoria’s Secret eGift Card (online only)
Wine Enthusiast E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
World Market e-Gift Certificate (online only)
Yankee Candle Gift Card (both e-mail and physical gift cards are sent)
Zappos.com Electronic Gift Certificate (shoes; online only)
Zazzle E-mail Gift Certificate (upload images and create custom T-shirts, mugs, posters and more; online only)

While some of these links above may apply to men, I also have a similar list for the guys: Better Than Tube Socks: 21 Last-minute Online Gifts for Guys.

Mother’s Day 2008

Gift Giving Guy — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:45:00 +0000

As a child, Mother’s Day meant my older sister and younger brothers making slightly burnt pancakes for Mom’s breakfast. After her breakfast in waterbed, I impertinently asked my mom, “So when is Kid’s Day?”

Her answer was immediate: “Every day is Kid’s Day.”

Mom certainly deserves more than one day out of the year to officially honor her. And this year marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. founding of Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day in Grafton, West Virginia on May 10, 1908.

Today, Mother’s Day is the third most popular holiday for gift-giving, following Christmas and Valentine’s Day. The National Retail Federation estimates that 84.2 percent of Americans celebrate Mother’s Day. Together we will spend $15.8 billion on gifts to thank Mom. And many of us will dine out for brunch or dinner. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year for dining, with 38 percent of us celebrating Mom with a restaurant meal.

This year, I joined the 66.9 percent who gave flowers to Mom. I choose an arrangement of irises in purple, yellow, blue and white from ProFlowers.com. And my wife is making a brunch for her parents this morning.

Thanks, Mom!

Did You Know… Random Gift Trivia

Gift Giving Guy — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:52:00 +0000

I love trivia. As a kid, I got two copies of Trivial Pursuit for Christmas: one from Santa and one from my grandparents. I kept both, using the second one as my “practice” version. So today’s entry is written in the style of the “Did You Know…” section on the Wikipedia in English home page.

Did you know…

…that in 2006, U.S. gift givers spent approximately $300 billion buying presents? That’s about 10 percent of the $3 trillion consumer market in the U.S.
…that the National Retail Federation estimates that shoppers bought $24.8 billion in gift cards for 2006, a 34 percent increase over 2005?
…that 189 million roses were produced for Valentine’s Day 2006?
…that approximately 5 million Americans celebrate birthdays each week? An average of 700,000 birthdays take place daily.
…that June is no longer the most popular month for weddings? August ranks first (10.2 percent), followed by June (9.9 percent).
…that Mother’s Day is the number two American holiday for gift giving (after Christmas)? Nearly 68 percent give flowers. Also, Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year to dine out.
…that Father’s Day was not officially recognized until 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed the holiday into law? The Census Bureau estimates there are 64.3 million fathers in the U.S.

Wal-Mart, Target are America’s top gift sources

Gift Giving Guy — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:04:00 +0000

When it comes to finding gifts, America shops Wal-Mart and Target, according to Gifting Report 2007. The survey, published this month by Unity Marketing, found that 42 percent of gift seekers chose Wal-Mart for gift purchases and 31 percent bought presents at Target in 2006. In fact, discount department stores swept all eight categories of gift purchases in the survey:

consumables (food, candy, wine),
clothing and/or fashion accessories (purses, shoes, wallets),
jewelry and watches,
personal care products (cosmetics, perfumes, bath products),
home furnishings and household operations products (decorative accents, housewares, home textiles, china, glass and tableware, small household appliances),
“giftables” (flowers, candles, greeting cards, stationery, seasonal decorations, figurines),
entertainment and recreation goods (books, toys, sporting goods, video/audio, DVDs, cameras, computers, games), and
store gift certificates

The survey tracked the gift buying habits of more than 2,800 gift shoppers. Respondents were 50 percent male and 50 percent female, with an average age of 42.7 and an average income of $62,875. In 2006, the gift givers surveyed spent an average of $2,643 on gift purchases and an average of $78 on gift accessories such as gift cards, wrapping paper and ribbons. These spending averages reflect a 13.5 percent increase over 2005.

While Christmas, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day remain the top ranked gift holidays, more gift giving is occurring year-round. Nearly 42 percent of the average annual gift budget goes to gift occasions throughout the year (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and travel souvenirs) as opposed to gifts for the major holidays. Analysts noted that 42 percent figure — the percentage of the average gift budget spent throughout the year — is increasing, up from 38.5 percent in 2005.