Need Ideas! How Can I Show My Mom "Thanks!"?

[Am_I_There_Yet]

My mom, bless her heart, stays at my house with my dog every time we go out of town.

She was here while we went to WDW in March and she was here over the weekend. In order for her to do this, she has to leave her own (much-loved) dog behind with my dad, because her dog is deaf, blind and only 6lbs. You can imagine the scene if Chloe were to go running to the door for example, and she was in the way.

Not only has my DM stayed here those two times, but at least twice a year for other trips, in prior years. She's a great person and a wonderful mother and grandmother. On top of that, she has never said no. Never. And I know that she can't be jumping for joy about leaving her own dog and house behind.

I want to show her how much I appreciate her, but I have some obstacles and need to get my brain juices flowing. Here are the ones that I can think of:

1) Her house is LOADED with "stuff". She doesn't need any decorative items, so a gift is out.
2) My dad is anti-social, so a weekend away probably wouldn't fly, and she would run into the issue of who would watch her dog, since I can't do it.
3) Dinner/lunch doesn't seem like enough.
4) I thought about a day at a day-spa, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find a good one and would hate to send her to the spa nazi that I've been to.

Any ideas??? Something around a couple $100 bucks?

 

[LoveWDW]

A weekend at the beach with you and your family? A play and dinner? Whatever, it would be nice if you would provide transportation.

 

[crazyme5kids]

What about just the two of you going away for a weekend or just overnight? Get tickets to a show and go for dinner, have brunch the next day.

 

[Laurajean1014]

How about a girls' day?

You and her shopping, beach - whatever she is interested in. My guess is that she's into you, so her being with you and you wanting to be with her is a precious gift.

My sister and I wanted to thank my mom, so we rented a limo and took her to a Broadway play and Tavern on the Green for dinner. She loved it.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

These all sound like wonderful ideas!

What a wonderful DM you have!

 

[ZuZugal]

What a great mom!

I would certainly take her out for a wonderful meal...either lunch or dinner at her favorite place. Can you then take her to a play/musical/some sort of perfomance? My mom likes it when we do that kind of thing. I would also give her a gift card to her favorite store...then she can get a little something for herself and you don't have to worry about "buying the wrong thing".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Does she have any "obessions"? My mom is totally into scrapbooking.

How about a overnighter mother/daughter trip? You can even do it locally, just to get away. Perhaps some fancy place that you two always talked about?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Great ideas! I think I'm going to search for a concert that I know she'd be interested in, and then start it off with a great dinner somewhere.

My father won't take her to places like that, so if isn't done with her Red Hat Society friends, she doesn't get to go.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Great ideas! I think I'm going to search for a concert that I know she'd be interested in, and then start it off with a great dinner somewhere.

My father won't take her to places like that, so if isn't done with her Red Hat Society friends, she doesn't get to go.

Sounds great! Whatever you do, I know your mom will appriciate it!

 

[AtlantaSue]

You could arrange the gift card for dinner, concert tickets, etc. in a really nice basket or vase, maybe throw in a bottle of perfume, wine, chocolates, etc. ---I always think the gift box/basket idea makes everything more fun!

 

[LynnTH]

My parents watched my kids for a week so we could go on a cruise (of course they wouldn't take any money) So, we went and got them a couple hundred dollars of different gift cards (they were mad at us for doing it but really enjoyed them). We did Target, Bookstores, Casino, Different Restaurants, Movie Tickets, grocery store - each one for like $25 each. They loved and since they are both retired they came in handy.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

My parents watched my kids for a week so we could go on a cruise (of course they wouldn't take any money) So, we went and got them a couple hundred dollars of different gift cards (they were mad at us for doing it but really enjoyed them). We did Target, Bookstores, Casino, Different Restaurants, Movie Tickets, grocery store - each one for like $25 each. They loved and since they are both retired they came in handy.

I do this for my clients after they've bought a house!

I buy a house plant and put it in a nice pot. Then I take those clear plastic sticks that florists use to hold cards inside of arrangements and I stick the plastic gift cards in them.

I place them all over the plant at different levels. Sometimes I tie ribbons below the cards. It looks really cute, and I always get lots of smiles out of them. It never crossed my mind to do something like that for my mom!