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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

What on earth to buy my mother for Christmas?

54 replies

hiddley · 13/11/2017 21:32

I am traditionally appalling at giving/choosing gifts.

My mother is 65. She has just bought a new car, not sure what year, so not sure whether it has satnav, but can find out from my sister. I think it might annoy her though and she might not use it. Idea #1

She has jewellery to beat Mr. T.

She is overweight and fluctuates a lot in size, her clothing choices would not be mine so I couldn't pick anything she'd like.

I thought of a voucher to have a good bra fitting with a lovely shop locally, but I think she'd be too embarrassed.

She doesn't go to hairdressers, spas, anything like that.

In the past I have have bought perfume, Elizabeth Arden face cream sets, a cake slice thingymebob, a set of 8 leather placemats (which she never uses as they're for good wear) lol. A scarf which she never wore.

She's a cleaner and has a lot of hip pain but refuses to go to a doctor.
She's quite a difficult woman.
Her house is like a trinket shop.

Oh, she goes to weekly art classes, so maybe some sort of art set might be a good idea? Maybe a professional set of paint-brushes or something? Could find out from my sister what she has or needs.

She's a good cook, but a traditional one. Slow cookers etc. would be out of the question. I did once buy her one of those multi-purpose chop/slice/whizz/kitchen thingys but she hasn't used it.

My budget would be about £50. I'm straying towards the professional paint brushes now that I think of it, but I don't know if she has them already as she's painting years.

Any inspiration, no matter how off the wall you think it might be would be much appreciated.

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RJnomore1 · 14/11/2017 00:00

A voucher for a massage?

hiddley · 14/11/2017 01:32

RJ, she is very self conscious about her body and weight so no way would she go for a massage or anything like that. She even cuts her own hair!

The Tens machine is sounding like a winner for me. Not sure how much welcome it will get as a Christmas present. Probably be put in a corner with disgust 'Hmmmm, she thinks I'm on the way out now'.

God blessus but 'tis hard buying. I've never heard of Lloyds apart from the fact that it's my bank. Is it a chain of pharmacies?

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 01:37

To be quite frank, I think she probably needs hip replacements. She has a phobia of doctors however as she has had a lot of miscarriages and I guess found them cruel or unfeeling or something in the past.

If a tens machine would be something that she could use on her hips at night when she sits down, it sounds like a perfect present (though I doubt she'll see it quite that way).

I think I'll go with that. And a Crayola set for when she throws the turkey out the window in a temper lol.

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 01:48

Can't seem to post? Test?

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 01:53

OK, I'll try and post again

I've had a google and found this one.

from boots. removing link as MN won't post this reply for some reason. See how it goes without the link.

It's near £60, but there are others of varying cheaper prices and I don't know what I'm looking for. I don't want to waste money on something that doesn't work so am quite happy to pay £60+

Should I go into a pharmacy and ask specifically for advice? She doesn't tell me much though, just that she takes nurofen all day long because of pains in her hips.

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 01:56

Example machine

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DandySeaLioness · 14/11/2017 02:04

My friend got one of these on recommendation from her colleagues, she absolutely loves it:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06XWQ3FY4/ref=mpssa111?ie=UTF8&qid=1509989837&sr=8-1-spons&pi=ACSX2366SY340FMwebppQL65&keywords=neck+massager&psc=1

Horsemad · 14/11/2017 07:48

Afternoon tea somewhere really lovely.

apostropheuse · 14/11/2017 10:17

You can get some lovely presentation boxes of different teas from the likes of Whittards. A tea selection box! You could add a nice large china cup and saucer. Perhaps some nice quality biscuits or treats. A nice teapot?

Ausparent · 14/11/2017 10:29

You can get a Nixplay digital photo frame. It works on Wifi and is linked to an online account. Anyone with the account details can upload their photos and they appear on the frame. We live all over the place and got this for our mum and she loves it. Whenever one of us is getting photos off our cameras / phones, we add them to the frame and they appear in her house.

She has been caught sitting in front of it instead of the TV a few times...

goodmum23 · 14/11/2017 10:38

get her a V12 supercharger with N,oxide

FadedRed · 14/11/2017 10:54

Hi hiddley what about this one, simple and inexpensive.

www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/lloydspharmacy-tens-digital-pain-reliever

You could always get a more expensive one later if she finds it effective, not not much money wasted if she won't use it.
Mine has six settings, and I only use two of them, bit like the washing machine!

hiddley · 14/11/2017 12:14

Thanks FadedRed. It's a good idea. I'm not sure if it would be strong enough for the pain she has though? I think she might need an industrial strength one lol!

All such lovely gift ideas. If I had oodles of money I'd shop for presents all day long! Thanks all for your help.

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FadedRed · 14/11/2017 12:44

Tbh I think the simpler to use the better.
Mine is a Boots one, bought over ten years ago for about twenty quid. It has saved my sanity, and my stomach lining, many times over the years. I use one setting for generalised low back pain and another for siatica.
They work by short circuiting the pain nerve message to the brain.
Smile at 'industrial strength'

notgivinga · 14/11/2017 13:05

I have an 82 year old ml and my daughter and I are going half's on a subscription for a bouquet of flowers to be delivered for 6 months. She's a lovely lady but never uses anything that I have bought her in the last few years and I know she loves flowers.

hiddley · 14/11/2017 15:13

Ok Faded, since you use one, is the one you just linked above the one you use?

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 15:15

Ausparent, two of us are abroad, so she might like that. Not sure my brother would be the best for uploading photos for her though, he tends to be very busy.

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Spink · 14/11/2017 15:27

I got my mum a Silke hair wrap- it’s made a huge difference to her hair, it’s much smoother & silkier, & she says she feels like a film star in it. Plus it is tiny & light so v easy to transport.. www.silkelondon.com/collections/shop-the-collection?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwYD3q7C-1wIVY7XtCh2UcwrwEAAYASAAEgJS-PD_BwE#Silke-Wraps

What on earth to buy my mother for Christmas?
goose1964 · 14/11/2017 16:43

I have an infrared massager which helps a lot with my hip pain

FadedRed · 14/11/2017 16:43

Hi hiddley No, not the one I use, which is so old that Boots no longer make it. It just looked similar in size, and use of use.
This is mine.

What on earth to buy my mother for Christmas?
What on earth to buy my mother for Christmas?
FadedRed · 14/11/2017 16:44

ease of use.

Blackcatonthesofa · 14/11/2017 16:46

A bird bath for the garden. Or an artsy bird feeding dispenser.

crimsonlake · 14/11/2017 18:01

What about a little wooden watercolour box for holding paint tubes and doubles as an easel, usually a bit larger than A4 size. Or a book on water colour techniques? A nice watercolour paint pad?

hiddley · 14/11/2017 18:12

I don't know about my Mum, but I want that silke hair wrap!

Goose - can you tell me about the infrared pain reliever?

Blackcatonthesofa - my Mum has two naughty cats, but she does take them in sometimes and throw food out for the birds in snow and frost.

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hiddley · 14/11/2017 20:07

Crimson - that's where I fall down in my knowledge as I'm not sure whether she uses oils or watercolours, whether she has an easel or just uses a Tesco bag filled of mixed and matched brushes and A4 paper! Will have to get back onto my sis again as I know she de-clutters for my mother semi-annually. Right now, my lovely sister is more amused that the nurse told me today that I had put on 4 kilos in 2 months rather than whether or not our mother would appreciate a Tens machine. Hmm

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