Top 3 Mothers Day Gifts

Of all the Mothers Day gifts you could reasonably expect, which would you choose? And what do you think would be the favourite gift for most mums?

Well, according to a poll by homes4media, the most popular gift for Mothers Day – as voted for by mothers themselves – is…a hug. 59% of mothers voted for that as their top gift, followed by a card at 58% and a lie-in at 41%.When did our expectations drop so low? Getting away with just a hug for Mothers Day, that’s not very aspirational is it? Isn’t a hug just one of those things children give you anyway, during normal day-to-day life (usually in apology for something). Isn’t it just part of any relationship, not even particularly remarkable?

And isn’t a card just…well, not a present? Aren’t you supposed to get a card AND a present? And isn’t a lie-in what they invented Sunday morning kids’ t.v. for? I thought we’d got that one sorted years ago.

Come on mothers, you can do better than that! Have a bit of pride. I suspect we’re all meant to go ‘Aaaaaah!’ when we hear that a hug is more valuable to a mother than a thoughtful PROPER PRESENT, maybe we’re meant to think how lovely because that’s so uncommercial and reflects the true spirit of Mothers Day. Certainly in the article where I read this news there was no attempt at any structural analysis or interpretation of the data. So I’ll provide it here.

I reckon the mothers polled must be mothers of three-year-olds. What the hug option really says is:

‘pleeeeeease don’t make me a monster out of a cereal packet;’

‘please don’t make me something I’ll have to keep round the house for ages just to show how much I appreciate it;’

‘No, no, a hug is fine honestly, I really don’t want anything else. The other options are too unbearable to think about.’

OR…is it that thing you do to your partner when you say ‘No, no, it’s more important to me that we’re just together, you don’t have to buy me anything’ and then we are absolutely furious (silently) when they don’t? If it’s that option my advice is don’t start on that path with your kids; they take things literally too.

Or is it that we really can’t be bothered? Is it just one more thing to think about when we’ve got too much already?

Maybe we are making a stand against the commercialization of everything, and genuinely don’t want to see our kids spend their money on increasing the profits of Mothers Day Inc. But surely we could ask for more than a hug? A whole day of being waited on for example (although to be honest, that doesn’t really count either in my list of Mothers Day gifts, I see it more as a backdrop to the gift-giving. But maybe that’s just me).

The only other reason I can think of is that mothers just don’t value themselves enough to expect much from their children, and if you fall into that category I suggest you get some practice in for next year. Repeat after me:

‘Oh darling, I don’t want anything, just a hug from you would be my most perfect present. But chocolate would also be fine.’