Christmas Presents

Why not give her "the gift of charity"?
I've given gift certificates from this organization to my dad and mom for a couple years now and they LOVE it!

http://www.heifer.org

Iris

She sounds like one busy lady! You didn't mention if she has any hobbies or other interests, but it might be nice to get 2 tickets to a performance (theatre, music) and go with her. If she's got an artistic hobby, you could sign up for a class together (provided you live close enough!). My mom is tough to shop for too, so really any gift that allows us to spend time together is always a special gift for both of us.

K. L,
Every year there is usually someone on my list who is real difficult to buy for. Last year I called We Energies and paid a certain denomination towards my receiver’s bill. The Gas and Electric Company will print up a festive gift certificate letter. This year I am going to do the same, but with the newspaper delivery.
One year my Uncles and Aunts all pitched in and paid for one year of living expenses for my Grandparents. Such as Telecable, their phone bill, Gas & Electric, Rent, etc... It was such a memorable and thoughtful gift; expensive, but there was a lot of hands going in on it.

Best of Luck.

P.S
Everyone eats food and it is needed 365 days of the year, so anything to do with food- certificates, homemade products, or food baskets, …anything you name it….
Seems to me like a well-needed gift.

I think the best idea for a mom/grandma who has everything is a gift of time. You can print some cards out here or create your own:

http://www.newdream.org/holiday/kit/gift_of_time_cards.pdf

Peace,
K.

A gift certificate to a nice restaurant. Or - donate some money to a charity she likes.

HI K.,
Not sure this will help at all but here are a few ideas that came to mind.
Something that has your son involved and a piece of him is in it, hand and foot prints, picture frames, ornaments, maybe a homemade calender (if you scrapbook). Anything with the grandkids seem to be the favorite gift of both my parents and in laws. Kinkos does printing of pictures onto all kinds of things from coffee mugs to mousepads to t-shirts.
Depending on your budget maybe she needs a vacation- sounds like she is a busy person, so maybe something where you and her get away or you could get a nights stay at a bed and breakfast for her and your dad?
Does she like geneology? There are some fun things out there like books that trace all kinds of historical information on a persons surname...
Something really personal and meaningful but time consuming, might be to get stories, memories, and old letters from her family and friends and put them together for her in a small book.
If all else fails gift cards are my lifeline :) Hope something there helped... good luck
H. P

Theater tickets, tickets to concerts, tickets to athletic events. Some of the nicest presents I have received from my kids were tickets to the Skylight Theater, to Bucks games with REALLY good seats, and box seats to a Brewers game with that preferred parking.

Digital Photo frame with all the grandchildrens pictures in it.
C.

Hi! I may have a great idea for you! If you have some old photos of you growing up or of her life or even your kids, you can have me create a custom photo DVD set to music for her! Grandparents LOVE sitting back, relaxing and watching a "movie" of their and their loved ones lives!

PLEASE check my website!

www.creativeDVDdesigns.com

I am running a holiday special of $10 off if ordered by Nov 30th!

Photos can be digitial or prints (which I scanin).

Good luck!!R.
Owner. Creative DVD Designs, LLC

How about a gift cert to a travel agency or airline or hotel chain since she's still very active? Or a gift cert to a nice restaurant? Or what about a calendar or set of coffee mugs with the grandkids' photots? Maybe a Grandmothers necklace with all their birthstones?

a gift card. homemade gifts from or featuring your children. family photo with nice frame. special time with you.

For my mom for Christmas this year, I started a scrapbook for her. I've made about 4 pages right now and will add later with the different get-togethers we do. I also had my sister-in-law make a couple pages that we'll put in there as well. I know it's something she'll appreciate and also look forward to getting updated pages! A great store to get ideas and help is Archivers out at the Village Pointe Mall.

How about a gas coupon or one for a free oil change. With the prices so high, that may be just the thing for her. Happy Holidays.

How about a photo album filled with pictures of you and the kids? Maybe with some captions of what you are doing, or how about a little book of grandkid hugs? You know like the little coupons for a hug or backrub you get for your honey at Valentines day? Maybe a nice framed family photo, it need not be expensive, I saw some cute frames at Target online that would hold grandkid pictures.

I would suggest getting her a Gift card to her favorite place to eat with the girls or something that she like to do for her time. Movies (a movie that you and her use to watch together), books (something that she would read to you), or even something as simple as a gas card. I'm sure she would love something from the kids that they can make. Something that comes from the heart feels really good on both sides. Maybe you could give her a coupon for some one on one time with just you and her. Go see a play or something that she use to do for you when you where little. Even a high school play with ice cream afterwards would be fun. Maybe a little mushy but you get the idea. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family.

I am a grandma. All I want for Christmas is framed or framable photos of my children and their spouses and children, and some wallet size ones to put in my "brag" book and stick in my purse. Maybe a framable collage of photos. Not professionally done, but happy family photos. At thanksgiving I hope to get everyone together for some photos to send to extended family as Christmas cards.

Does she have a favorite restaurant that she frequents w/ her girlfriends? You can get her a gift certificate for that place. Does she like the theatre?
I know that my Mom's favorite gifts are gifts that include spending time w/ me. Why don't you take her out to dinner or a girls day out shopping or to the theatre. At 73, she probably doesn't really need anything but would probably love a gift of time spent with her daughter whom she loves so much.

Hello, I feel your pain. My mom is in a simular time of her life with the exception of the age. I am making a calender this year for Xmas. It is something she can hang anywhere she likes and has pictures of her kids and grandkids. I even put a funny pic in there of my dad. I picked photos that would have memories for her so I hope she really likes it. The cost was minimal but time was the key factor here. it took me 3 hours to pick out the pictures alone. I had been picking up scrap booking stuff from dollar stores so I just put it together. The other ideas I had were either a family picture (with her included of course) or a mug with a pic she likes with gift certificate to a coffee shop or gas card, stationary, etc.

Good Luck,
L.

We started getting my grandmother gift cards to car washes, restaurants, places like the mall, best buy and things like that. Even grocery stores have gift cards now. This way she can pick out what she wants and when she wants it.

How about a grocery gift certificate or gas card?? Does she read a lot of books? What about a homemade calendar using your son's pictures??

If she has Grandkids that come to her house she might love a unique toy that will help spark the imagination of her grandchildren that stays at HER house. I am a Story Time Felts Consultant and we have all kinds of wonderful products for children. We even have a Grandma's Favorites Set! It is a big felt board with the felt pieces to tell 4 popular stories. The stories are: The 3 Little Pigs, The 3 Billy Goats Gruff, The Gingerbread Boy, and Rapunzel (let down your hair). The set comes with a CD that tells the story and then sings it again in a song! It is great for Grandmas & kids of all ages! Feel free to check out my website (www.funfelt.com/D..html) and let me know if there is anything that would help you with your delimma (sp?). Good luck - whatever you decide!
D.

if in doubt give a gift certificate and that way she can get what she wants or needs without taking something back that she doesnt want.

F.

K.,
We got my mother in law (and I'm planning on doing the same for my mother) one of those digital picture frames. Then we loaded it with over 500 pictures of our family. Pictures that were on the computer from when our kids were little to extended family pictures. You name it, it's on there. We are really excited about giving it to her because we know how much she will enjoy it either at work sitting on her desk or at the house. Hope this idea helps!
L.

Some Ideas I've done in the past.
I've made a gift basket with a movie, or movie certivicate, 2 popcorn, 2 slippers, 2 small flece blanket, 2 box of candy, 2 soda or juice of choice and called it "A date with me".

Gift Certificates to Dinner and a Play and flowers.

Costco.com photo center has a whole bunch of Items you can put pictures in/on - Calandar, Coffee Mugs, Mouse Pads, Post-its. They also have a link to a website to make an actual book with your own photos in it. That will be my gift next year.

Make a home movie DVD with video clips and picture slide shows w/music and captions.

An Idea if your mom likes to Garden,
My brother and I just went in on a gift for my Grandma, its a Garden Lawn Buddy, you can find it on http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&p...
to view it. We picked it up at the Salt Lake Store.
But now she can store her gardening tools in it. it has wheels and handle that folds down to the lid, but you can sit on it, so my grandma doesnt need to sit on the ground to garden or cary all her stuff to her gardening spot. She can just wheel it over. Its really cool, I think she'll love it.

Have you ever made those Flese blankets where you get 2 pcs. Cut aprox 4" long 1" wide fringe allong the edges and tie them together. My whole family loves that.

One thing that helps me at christmas time Is sometimes I'll pick a theme, then everyone gets something from that theme. Like the year I made Blankets It was a "Cozy-cudle up - Sleep" Theme, People got Blankets and Fuzzy Socks and/or Jammie Pants. Another year I did a Therputic theme wher I gave out Yummy Hand Soap, Lotion and a microwave heat neck wrap (which I made, I make most my gifts). Another Year it was picture Theme, I made picture frames by going to Michales, getting there 5X7 wood frames, painted and sanded for a rustic look, drilled holes in the top and bottom, tied 2 to 3 frames together with ribbon, put in a magnetic 5X7 peice of sheet metal that I sanded a design in and make cute magnets with ModPoge (s/p), Those Glass looking flat marbles, cut pictures out of magazines or scrap book paper (poka-dots, Christmas trees - anything cute) Mod-poged the picture to the back of the marble so the picture was showing through the other side, glued a high power round magnet to the back and magneted a photo in each frame, then they can switch it out and put new photos in any time of year. Here's a sample pic.

http://www.magpidesigns.com/files/12-8-2004_3_-26sized.jpg

I've made ceramic christmas theme night lights for everyone one year.

Sorry so long, I love Christmas and love making my gifts.
Good Luck and Have Fun.

Last year we made a disk we designed with all kinds of pics of the family from throughout the year. For those without a computer we made it compatable so that they could watch it on their dvd player. If this is not up your alley you could make her a scrapbook. the Quilted bear and Michaels has lots of ideas.

What about a photo book or photo calendar? You can easily make them on any photo site like snapfish or kodak, etc. Simply upload your digital photos and order.

maybe you could donate money to a charity in her name.

Hi K.,

Great ideas from the others, How about stuff delivered to her home, like for 3 to 6 months? Maybe flowers, in winter
the forced bulbs are nice, I like fruit deliveries, or "Ohmaha steaks" they have specials all of the time, even some whole meals frozen for 2. The steaks are like no store bought steaks for sure, and they have fish and chicken too. Good luck to you, M.

It sounds like your mom thinks more about others than she does herself. What about just getting her something small like flowers and then making a donation, in honor of her, to a charity with a cause she'd support. Non-profits will send both you a letter for your tax deductions, but also a nice letter to your mother stating that the gift was made in her name. If you live in the Waukesha/Milwaukee WI area, I'd be happy to suggest non-profits -- just let me know a "cause" or "issue" you are interested in.

I think this is really an under used gift idea -- especially for those who do not NEED anything or are not struggling financially.

walmart has new digitel photo frames. which are very cool !!!

Hey K.!

How about a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant or to the movies? Also, if there is a store she shops at? Another thing you can do is to make a photo collage or a calendar with pictures of your son and family pictures your mom may be in. I know Walgreens does these and the CVS Store. Good luck and best wishes with whatever you decide to get her. I hope this helps you! Good luck and take care,

C.

Hi K.,

How about the gift of time. Give her a coupon for a day out. Just K. and mom. Go out to eat, shopping, to the movie...visiting a family friend. Anything she likes to do. I know that my mother is 83 and the thing she likes best is spending time with us.

Hope that helps,
R.

What about a gift basket make from you and your kids of coffee, tea, chocolate, chocolate covered spoon cookies and all the thing she likes you can put it together yourself or go to places like oh nuts or something!! I did this last year for my mom and she loves it!

Hi K.:

I was in the same position a few years ago for my grandmother. A friend suggested giving her a memory book. A memory book is a journal type book which you fill with precious memories about your loved one. I wrote about my cherished memories of things I did with my grandmother growing up and at the end I wrote about all the things I hoped to do with her in the future with check boxes next to them.
The second part of the gift was a journal/scrapbook that she could fill out for me. It had different sections for childhood and adulthood. Some examples of questions were: How you met your spouse (my grandfather)? It included a section for a wedding photo. Favorite memory growing up. Friends growing up. Favorite hobby. Basic memories from her childhood. For her adult life it focused on first job, favorite job, the birth of children, memories of her children (especially memories of my father growing up). Each question had an area for her to write a response and place pictures.
My grandmother loved the gift and still cherishes it. As the years have passed I have added to the book I gave her with memories and pictures and I have a great book full of her experiences that I can share with my family for the future.

Kelli,
I have a Mother and a Grandmother that are both impossable to shop for for the same reasons! Some ideas that my family has come up with include: a patchwork quilt with family photos iron transfered onto some of the patches, a small step-stool from a craft store and painted it, then took the kids and put their hand and foot prints on it, donations or sposorships (child or tree?). There are millions of things that you can do with photos (my family likes bare walls...ugh!)there are photo tapestries and blankets that you can get, light cubes with photos, etc. So many others have posted great ideas on here that I just may have to borrow a couple too!
Best of luck and Happy Holidays!!!
~P.~

I would think about a gas card and maybe a gift certificate for lunch somewhere close to her work. If she doesn't go out for lunch, maybe a new lunch box and fill it with snacks she likes and the gas card. I'm all for a practical gift for someone who has everything.

K.,
My parents are hard to purchase things for too, but I have found that personalized items are what they like best.For year at each Christmas I have given them current school pictures of my kids. They like that. One year (it took a long time to make) I gave each of my parents a write-up on things that I remember doing with them as i grew up and a thank you for ways they have influenced my life. I heard of a mom asking for things that are disposable like paper pads, tissue, things that she will"use up". Another idea is a coupon for a day out to movie and dinner. Use your imagination.Parents are hard to purchase for, but they like spending time with you just like you enjoy spending time with your kids. I'm sure she'll love whatever you give her, remember, it's the thought that counts.