Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I wanted to share some of my favorite inexpensive gift ideas that you can give to family members, neighbors, those you minister to, or even an entire Ward or Congregation. Even the simplest gifts can demonstrate a love and appreciation for a special mother or woman in your life.
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Measuring Spoons:
“Who can justly measure the righteous influence of a mother’s love? What enduring fruits result from the seeds of truth that a mother carefully plants and lovingly cultivates in the fertile soil of a child’s trusting mind and heart? As a mother, you have been given divine instincts to help you sense your child’s special talents and unique capacities.”
-Richard G. Scott
Wether a set of measuring spoons from the Dollar Store, or a cute set like my FAVORITE Lemon spoons pictured. Add this sweet and FREE printable and you are left with a beautiful and well thought out gift. You will come to realize I’m all about practical gifts. Give things that will be used and enjoyed not tossed or placed on a shelf to create more clutter.
This quote will work well with measuring cups, a pyrex…etc. Also depending on your budget you can find something to fit anyone’s needs or styles. Consider checking the Pioneer Women line at Walmart, Anthropolgie, Target, and Magnolia Market!
You will notice many of my designs are done in black and white. Again, maybe its the frugal teacher in me, but I love the versatility a black and white design gives you! Print on white cardstock for a classic look, any colored paper to match your scheme, or my favorite a brown craft paper that gives the handout a stamped look!
Click Here to Download the Free Gift Tag
This FREE Printable below is only available to members of Living on Lemon Lane. You must be signed in to access.
2. Flowers | Annuals | Seeds:
Another favorite gift that I have loved to give, and especially receive is FLOWERS. Mother’s Day happens to be the guideline in Utah for planting annuals. Growing up our ward gave out annuals like geraniums, zinnias, chrysantheMUMs, (**See what I did there :D) Dahalias, and Ranunculuses!
I’m biased… but give me something to throw in my garden or in a pot to be enjoyed for the season. Even better the free printable gift tag and quote works perfectly for this type of gift as well!
If purchasing in bulk for a ward or congregation, consider reaching out to a local warehouse to see if they can give you bulk pricing, as well as arrange for a larger type of quantity to make sure the order can be met.
You could even do a packet of Forget Me Not Seeds, with a challenge for women to read the talk, “Forget Me Not,” by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. See the handout on option 3 that actually is a picture of this sweet flower. Instead of printing on magnet sheets, print on cardstock and attach!
***Consider allergies when handing out flowers. Best for the flowers to be kept outside and not brought indoors. Of course, not everyone loves flowers, consider having a table with a choice if not a flower, maybe a chocolate bar?
Click Here to Download the Free Gift Tag
This FREE Printable below is only available to members of Living on Lemon Lane. You must be signed in to access.
3. Magnet
This was a cute handout that I created as a handout for a special Mother’s Day Lesson. The flowers on the magnet are Forget Me Nots. This is a really simple, really inexpensive way to show the women in your life you care. You can send this off to a copy shop to be printed on a thin sheet of printer magnet, or you can even purchase thin sheets of magnets that you can print on at home. I purchased our magnet sheets at Hobby Lobby, then dropped off at my favorite copy store to print the job.
Click here for an example of what printable Magnet Sheets are
After printing, you can cut these out with scissors. I wanted something simple that wasn’t exclusive to mother’s, that could be a daily reminder of the sanctity of women. This handout combines two of my favorite things, the talk, “Forget Me Not,” by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and the words from the hymn, “As Sisters in Zion.”
The year we did this the handout, it was accompanied by a chocolate bar. My magnet still hangs on my fridge door.
***When it comes to Chocolate or any type of treat given as a gift like the bars that accompanied the magnets, always keep in mind allergies and members that may feel forgotten when food takes center stage. Be prepared and courteous of those with food allergies. Consider having something there to act as an appropriate option.
Click Here to Download the Free Gift Tag or Magnet
This FREE Printable below is only available to members of Living on Lemon Lane. You must be signed in to access.
4. Chapstick|Lip Balm
Again call me practical, but give me something I can use. A nice chapstick or lip balm is a perfect Mother’s Day gift, especially when you couple it with Elder Holland’s quote from the talk, “Because She is A Mother.”
“When you have come to the Lord in meekness and lowliness of heart and, as one mother said, ‘ . . . pounded on the doors of heaven to ask for, to plead for, to demand guidance and wisdom and help for this wondrous task,’ that door is thrown open to provide you the influence and the help of all eternity. Claim the promises of the Savior of the world. Ask for the healing balm of the Atonement for whatever may be troubling you or your children. Know that in faith things will be made right in spite of you, or more correctly, because of you.
You can’t possibly do this alone, but you do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you—he who resolutely goes after the lost sheep, sweeps thoroughly to find the lost coin, waits everlastingly for the return of the prodigal son. Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be.” — Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
I love this quote as it is a reminder of how challenging motherhood is. Womanhood was never meant to be skipping through the meadows. It was never meant to be done alone.
Like measuring spoons, depending on your budget, you can really find anything to fit within it when it comes to a Lip Balm or Chapstick. Consider buying EOS, Soft Lips, or Burts Bees when working within a budget. If you have more of a budget a quick trip to Target, Ulta, or Sephora will leave you lots of other High-Quality Balm options.
With the word BALM, you are also not limited to lotions or creams. I’ll be honest, I’ll take a chapstick over another Bath and Body Works Hand scented hand lotion… but I could stand alone here. I think my time as a teacher ruined me on this one!
Click Here to Download the Free Balm Gift Tag
This FREE Printable below is only available to members of Living on Lemon Lane. You must be signed in to access.
5. Time:
The gift that can cost nothing and mean everything. Time. Often this can be the gift that means the most. Consider a way to give the special women in your life the gift of time. Time to themselves, time to socialize with friends, time for them to do something they sacrifice in their quest to lift and help others.
If you are looking for a Mother’s Day Gift to give to an entire Ward or Church Congregation. Consider using the Men and youth in the ward to fill ALL the responsibilities of the women. Give the women a chance to congregate together and simply socialize and enjoy each other. Possibly arrange for a speaker that will inspire or speak to the concerns, struggles, and strengths of women. Stream a favorite Conference talk on Motherhood or the sanctity of Womanhood like:
Though not necessary, you could always provide a treat to be enjoyed. Again, treats are not at the top of my list. Again, I think my time as a teacher ruined me. There’s always someone or a group that will feel left out or forgotten, and on a day that brings up such strong emotions on Mother’s Day those feelings are best to be avoided or prepared for. ***So if doing food like a cheesecake bar, or cookies…etc please be aware of those with dairy, egg, nut, or gluten allergies, or other diseases that make these treats tough to be enjoyed.
6. Favorite Drink | Drink Gift Card
Consider perhaps a drink bar instead? Think Italian sodas… With many add-ins like fruits, sugar-free syrups, sprigs of mint, cute straws, and creams. I would think that most likely everyone would be able to create something they could enjoy. Consider other bases besides soda such as sparkling water, and lemonade. Plus you could have the men help serve, and create a Pinterest worthy set up with ease!
If you do a Drink Bar, consider downloading this FREE handout. I especially love this quote by President Spencer W. Kimball, that was actually given|read by his wife Camilla E. Kimball.
“No greater recognition can come to you in this world than to be known as a woman of God. No greater status can be conferred upon you than being a daughter of God who experiences true sisterhood, wifehood, and motherhood, or other tasks which influence lives for good. True, there are some temporary differences and some constraining circumstances. Some of you have lost your husbands through death, others through divorce. Some of you have not yet had the great privilege of marriage. But, on the scale of eternity, the missing of these blessings “shall be but a small moment” (see D&C 121:7). Others of the sisters are experiencing the anguish that often goes with aging. Still others of you now know the uncertainty of being young as you ponder your place in the eternal scheme of things. But real as these challenges are, all of you need to drink in deeply the gospel truths about the eternal nature of your individual identity and the uniqueness of your personality. You need, more and more, to feel the perfect love which our Father in Heaven has for you and to sense the value he places upon you as an individual.”
-President Spencer W. Kimball
Whether you do a drink bar, simply handout a favorite Drink, or even a favorite Drink spot Gift card, attach this Free Mother’s Day Handout to complete the thought behind the gift!
Click Here to Download the Free Drink Gift Tag
This FREE Printable below is only available to members of Living on Lemon Lane. You must be signed in to access.
Final Thoughts:
Often times, Mother’s Day is filled with a lot of hard feelings. Many times the focus is on how perfect a mother is and how the only form of a mother comes from one that has had children. My plea is that this is kept in mind. Let this be a day of celebrating women and their unique and powerful voice, their ability, and force to influence and lift, as well as nurture and love.
If you do an activity or use one of the printables, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take pictures and tag me! Post to the Facebook group, or tag @livingonlemonlane on Instagram! Don’t forget to pin these images to your Pinterest. This is a SMALL and SIMPLE way to support the efforts of Living on Lemon Lane and sharing these ideas with your friends and family.
