Celebrate Mom: Great Gift Ideas, Helpful Tips and Fab Giveaways for a Truly Special Mother's Day

Mother's Day is May 9th, 2010- a holiday dear to the hearts of many. We celebrate mothers for the love, caring, hard work and support they provide to their families everyday of the year.

This Mother's Day, honor the special moms in your life with these great tips and fantastic gift ideas that will warm their hearts and make Mother's Day truly memorable!

1. Make Mom A Card

Instead of getting mom a store-bought Mother's Day card, why not make a special and personalized keepsake card? Peruse the paper or scrapbook section at your local Michaels or Joann's craft stores for an array of beautiful scrapbook papers, pretty silk ribbons and colorful rhinestone letter stickers. Not to mention, it's really fun to decorate and create your own Mother's Day card!

2. Breakfast in Bed

You can never go wrong with a breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. Indulge mom with her favorite breakfast food items. The whole family can get involved in helping put together a menu that will not only taste great but look fantastic too! Check out Cambria Cove's Entertaining section for beautiful serveware, glassware and table linens for the special mom in your life!

3. Bath and Body Pampering

No mama doesn't want to get pampered in the salon or spa for a relaxing massage or much-needed pedicure. Treat her to a spa or salon service suited for her needs. Or if mom doesn't have time to go to the salon, get her pampered with luxurious bath and body products from Mama Mio Skincare! Check out the "She is my Mama" section for fabulous gift ideas to pamper tired, need-pampering mamas any time or any day.



4. Get Together at Home

You don't have to throw a grand party. Just gather up a few delish recipes appropriate for Spring or summer and cook up a sumptuous lunch or dinner for mom. Invite other family members and friends for a fun, relaxing Mother's Day get together at home. For yummy desserts, try the recipes from Duncan Hines. My personal pick is this easy-to-make Grilled Angel Food Cake with Peaches...yummm!

5. Personalized Gifts (Photos or Jewelry)

Any mom (or anyone) loves a personalized touch to gifts, such as a custom photo book filled with cherished photos and images or birthstone jewelry. American Greetings Photoworks has memorable Mother's Day Photo Books that are really affordable. The photo books are normally $39.95 but you can get them 25% OFF with code: MOM2010 at checkout. (I'm definitely getting me one of these, if no one does- lol.)

Or, if mom still loves to play dress up, surprise her with unique, artisan-made jewelry from Cambria Cove online. I love my oh-so-beautiful Lori Bonn Slide Birthstone Charm Bracelet. It's got three exquisite birthstone charms in it- Turquoise for my own birthday month, Ruby for my first-born son Gabriel who's born in July and Milky Aquamarine for my youngest son Jaden who's born in March. I love this bracelet! :)

6. Offer to Babysit

For moms with young kids, there is no better gift than the gift of time for themselves. Offer to babysit their young kids while you let them go out shopping or do whatever they want on Mother's Day (or any day!). I am a mom of two toddlers myself and I love when someone offers to babysit my kids.

And for a bonus surprise for mom, why not wrap a bunch of mommy-themed picture/board books that she can use for Reading time with her little one? Here are my top board book picks from Candlewick Press. My own three and four year old boys Gabriel and Jaden love these books! Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (a classic family bedtime book for ages 3-8 years), Bunny My Honey by Anita Jeram (teaches a mother's saving grace, for ages 1-3 years), Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell (a very calming bedtime book for ages 3-7 years), and I Will Kiss You (Lots & Lots & Lots) by Stoo Hample (a playful read-aloud book that tells a mother's love to her young child in rhymes for ages 2 years and up).

7. Eco-Friendly Gift for a New Mom or Mom-to-Be

Looking for something really useful a new mom or mom-to-be will appreciate on Mother's Day? How about a stylish and healthier alternative to plastic dishware for her child? I'm talking about the 5-piece ANYWare dishware set by Untangled Living. This stainless steel dishware set (which includes a bowl, plate, cup, fork and spoon) is truly one of its kind. They're safe, high quality products free of plastics, BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead and other harmful toxins. We own the butterfly set and my kids love them!

8. Flowers, Flowers and... FLOWERS!

It can't get any clearer than that. I mean, who doesn't love flowers? Any woman loves flowers! Go find a local florist and check out what type of Mother's Day flower bouquets or arrangements they offer if you don't like ordering flowers online. Moms always feel special receiving beautiful flowers on Mother's Day. I know I do! :)

And the most fun part....

*Win these fabulous GIVEAWAYS for MOMS!

Giveaway #1:
$100 Gift Certificate from Cambria Cove (Contest Open to US and Canada ONLY)

Giveaway #2:
Mama Mio OMega Super-rich Body Cream worth $26 (Contest Open to US ONLY)

Giveaway #3:
ANYWare Dishware Set from Untangled Living with your choice of Butterfly or Gecko Set, Value up to $44 (Contest Open to US and Canada ONLY)

Giveaway #4:
Set of Four (4) Children's Board Books from Candlewick Press with all 4 titles mentioned on Mother's Day Gift Idea #6 above, Set Value is $60 (Contest Open to US ONLY)

Read the contest details below to enter this contest.

*CONTEST RULES:

To enter the contest, just leave a comment on this post with your choice of giveaways listed above (Giveaway 1, 2, 3 or 4) by May 8th, 2010 at 12MN, EST. The contest giveaways are open to U.S. AND CANADA ADDRESSES ONLY. Each giveaway item is noted, so make sure the giveaway is open to your own country of resident before you make your selection.

I will choose FOUR (4) WINNERS- ONE WINNER for each giveaway listed- using Random.org and will be announced as a comment on this post on Mother's Day- May 9th, 2010.

*IMPORTANT: PLEASE DO NOT CROSS-PROMOTE ANY OTHER GIVEAWAYS HAPPENING ON ANY OTHER BLOG OR WEBSITE. I WILL APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.

Your comment is your one entry. To earn extra entries, just do the following: (You may leave extra comments for your extra entries if you wish)

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3. Tweet this event on Twitter with a direct link to this URL page: (JUST COPY THE WHOLE PHRASE BELOW AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TWITTER PROFILE UPDATE) (2 EXTRA ENTRIES)

Check out the fabulous Mother's Day Giveaways at Hip Mama's Place! http://bit.ly/cmU8WQ #MothersDay #contests #giveaways #moms

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You will have TWELVE (12) total entries when you do the above-mentioned extra entries besides your comment. The more entries you have, the greater chances of winning! Good luck!

*Hip Mama's Place Disclosure: “The opinions I am sharing remain my own. I received some of the products mentioned in this post to facilitate my review. The giveaways are provided solely by sponsors for Hip Mama's Place readers".

Celebrate Mom: Great Gift Ideas, Helpful Tips and Fab Giveaways for a Truly Special Mother's Day

http://www.hipmamasplace.com/2010/05/celebrate-mom-great-gift-ideas-helpful.html