I can't buy my mum a Mother's Day present at 31 y.o

[ExtraPineappleExtraHam]

We are very very skint at the moment. Tax credits have been stopped till May, have to pay £800 in childcare and the car has just died. I have absolutely no spare money at all, except £5 for a bunch of flowers. I've got a card and I'll get the kids to make her something but I feel awful.
The week after Mother's Day we're going away for a week in a caravan (me, the kids and my parents) and I'll be able to buy her a cream tea or two then. I've also paid for the holiday so do you think this is an ok substitute or will she be annoyed she has nothing to open?

[ciderhouserules]

mays. So sorry.

OP - it sounds like you know that your mother is the type who'd get annoyed at 'having nothing to open', in which case nothing you do will be enough. FGS don't get into debt trying to appease this type of person.

most mothers worthy of the name will be happy that you are thinking of them, and with a hand-made card (IMHO, the very best type!) and a couple of daffs from the garden..

Happy Mothers Day, yourself.

[Seeleyboo]

I tell my older three to never spend their hard earned cash on my. Come and see me and I'll cook us all a meal. This brings me pleasure as they now know. I don't often get all 5 home with me for a meal so to have a full house fills me with more joy than gifts.

[zoellafortitude]

@MaysLostIt

I'm so sorry .

[dontcallmelen]

@MaysLostit I am so very sorry, sincere condolences 💐

[Drum2018]

Mayslott so sorry to read that.

If you can't afford a gift so be it. If you're mother is annoyed about it then it says a lot about her. Make a voucher (hand drawn or on computer) for an afternoon tea for when you're away next week. That will give her something to look forward to.

[aposterhasnoname]

When your kids are adults, would you want them spending money they couldn’t afford on you if they were struggling? No? Then why do you think your mother is any different?

[Drum2018]

Sorry, that should read MaysLostit.

[DishingOutDone]

Extra would you be happy with what you are proposing? You're a mum, so if your daughter was skint, would that be ok? Of course it would, I think you're being a bit dramatic to ask. Unless you have just bought a sports car or had your nails done whatever?

[MrsJayy]

We have always done cards and flowers/chocolates we take turns about who buys what when did mothers day become such a huge deal? Give your mum her card and say mum we will go out on holiday, if you want to buy her flowers Lidl have lovely flowers for a fiver

[thecatsthecats]

Mother's Day seems, like many other things, to have reached epic heights of silliness in the last few years. Oddly coinciding with the availability of platforms on which to publish what you are 'doing' for the day (I spent the day with several friends who posted gushing tributes about their Mummy, in spite of not actually seeing them that day...).

[ExtraPineappleExtraHam]

My mums not a mean person, quite the opposite. I'm an only child so that puts the pressure on. Plus last summer she gave me £6000 for some home repairs and I just really wanted to show her that I appreciate her and all she does. The reason I'm paying for the holiday is that with me and two under fives it's more of a working holiday for me!

[SuchAToDo]

Op take your £5 and go to a pounds hop, get a card, that should leave you with £4 or £4.50...then get her a plant or a box of chocolates or a nice tealight set (I got a set of three fancy tealight holders on a base all for £2...it looks really expensive)...head to a poundshop op, your mum won't care about price. It's the thought, effort and love that went into the gift that count

[formerbabe]

You'd have to be one hell of an awful mother to expect a gift in such circumstances.

[huntinghighandlow]

So sorry for you loss MaysLostIt

If my daughter (who is almost 30) came with a card and an apology she was so skint she couldn't afford a present, I'd be really upset that she was worried about my reaction. I'm sure your mum remembers how expensive young children are.

[LillianGish]

Mayslostit
You are going on holiday with your mum which is a great gift in itself and one lots of mums (and mils for that matter) would love and appreciate. Personally I think a heartfelt card with a personal message is what's required - that's what I love from my own dcs. Something that mentions things I've done or do for them that they really appreciate (often funny little things, but things that show they've noticed). I keep all the cards - I don't really remember the presents.

[MrsJayy]

Just go round on Sunday with the flowers and talk about the holiday im sure this is just your misplaced guilt no decent person is going to mind.

[kingfisherblue33]

She won't mind at all! The holiday sounds lovely. Don't stress.

[Knittedfairies]

I can't see what's so bad about a card and some flowers anyway; aren't flowers considered to be a gift?

[IwantedtobeEmmaPeel]

I'd be happy with a card and even better my child's company, my Mum was the same. Save your £5.00 as you are so broke and have paid for a caravan holiday for your Mum. Maybe you and the kids could bake a sponge for her.

MaysLostit - so sorry for your loss .

[theresafoxunderthedecking]

mothers day traces it's roots [like so many things in the christian calender] to the ancient greeks and romans it is pagan based.
thecats a lot of the 'silliness' is probably done for the benefit of fb and boasting.

[S1naidSucks]

Get your children to make her a card. There’s nothing nicer than a handmade card from your grandchildren. You can make a hand print of your own hand, let it dry, then continue with each child’s print. If there’s a home bargains within walking distance you can buy her a cheap but really nice candle. Or a Lidl for flowers.

Personally I’d be happier if the kids (grown up now) did something around the house, for me, such as wash the disease, vacuum or cut the grass.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

Why would she be annoyed?

As a mother myself, the best thing I could think of would be a lovely cream tea with my child/children. Just a chance to relax and chat and eat something I haven't had to cook myself.

We mums are less demanding than you might think.

[aintnothinbutagstring]

Get your dc to make something, I'm sure she'll love that. My DD wrote a mother's Day poem as part of her school homework, it made me cry, so much more touching than a present.

[ivykaty44]

Mothering Sunday was returning home to your mother parish church for the Sunday service 4 Sunday’s before Easter 🐣 this was when many worked in service or different parishes. It wasn’t actually “mother” but your home parish where you were born/raised

[PurpleWithRed]

Get the kids to do her a card and spend some time with her - Mother's Day is about love and appreciation, not about stupid gifts