Still Shopping for Mother's Day? Stop.

Maybe this is blasphemy, but in our house, we don't give presents on Mother's Day. (Father's Day, either.)

I decided long ago that I didn't want my kids stressing to buy me clothes, appliances, or new fangled gadgets that I didn't really need or couldn't really use. What I DID want was their time. I wanted to spend as much of the day together as possible doing something fun and focused on us as a family.

When my kids were little, that meant breakfast in our PJs, picnics at the local park, bike rides to the playground, dinner they made (with a little fatherly help!), after-dinner board games, and my right to unlimited hugs and kisses throughout the day.

Now that they're 21 and 24, I can't really get them to play board games any more, and the days at the playground are a thing of the past. But we will sit down for brunch and dinner together. They'll make sure I have fresh flowers, which are guaranteed to make me smile. And they'll humor me by answering my nosy questions about their busy lives and giving me those hugs and kisses upon demand.

How could a new toaster or a set of towels or any of the other things people buy for their mothers on Mother's Day compare?

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