For many of us, times are tough right now. We had a couple of years of the coronavirus playing havoc with our lives, which led to real financial concerns for a large portion of society.
Financial reasons can often be the reason we choose to address key dates of celebration with a muted approach. Gifts can be expensive, and sometimes just thinking about what to get a loved one for their birthday or an anniversary gift can leave us in a cold sweat.
Buying a present for Mother’s Day is, for many, perhaps the toughest present you’ll buy all year. When you get presents for friends, partners or even other members of your family, there is nowhere near the same pressure (internal or external) as getting a gift for your mother.
We are not quite sure why this is the case, but generally, it’s down to two key factors. If you have a complicated relationship with your mother, then buying her a present, one that she may not be all that ecstatic about, can be something of a nightmare.
Then factor in that most mothers, when asked, will not give you a straight answer when it comes to you asking them what they might want. Indeed, the most common response to this question tends to be ‘I don’t need anything,’ but be warned, under no circumstances should you take this as a chance to get her nothing. This won’t go down well at all.
So there are many issues in play before we even add the aspect of cost to the predicament, but in that area, we have a few hints and tips that can assist you in your pursuit of a great gift that will come in under budget.
Ways to Keep Costs Down
Here are some ways to help keep the cost of your Mother’s Day gift buying down.
Buy Online
When it comes to shopping online, there are many obvious benefits, including the vast range of items you can shop for, but also, and this is important for Mother’s Day and other big celebrations, some sectors are far more inviting online than when you shop in physical stores.
Take, for instance, jewelry shopping. Frankly, if you are still buying items in an offline store, then you are missing a trick. The online market for jewelry is expanding, and the costs are far lower than on the high street; and when it comes to great gifts, you can’t go wrong with a stylish mother’s necklace, which is a far less expensive option than you might at first think.
Jewelry is, quite rightly, considered a luxury, but this premise is the reason why physical jewelry stores believe they can inflate prices. Clearly, there are costs to cover when you have a brick and mortar store, but that’s no excuse for how much they hike up prices, hence the need to shop for this type of Mother’s Day gift online.
Plan Ahead And Save
Often we buy gifts for events, such as Mother’s Day, far too late. This leads us to make panic buys, and most stores (online or offline) will increase their prices around big key dates, and that’s why you need to plan ahead.
Our intentions are often noble. We know we should get our mother’s a gift for Mother’s Day, even if we don’t necessarily feel that day itself is a big deal; let’s be honest, we do owe our mother’s a great deal, and any excuse to lavish her with some attention should be gladly accepted.
So with that in mind, get yourself ahead of the relevant date (which is May 9th, 2022 for the US) and save accordingly. Put aside a small amount every week, or consider asking your siblings to add to your funds. A gift from all of you will help in many ways, and your mother will be even more pleased to get something from her whale brood.
Planning ahead will help you when it comes to delivery times. Be aware, especially in the wake of a pandemic, that it may take a while for your gift to arrive, so be sure to check the reliability of delivery with the relevant store you are visiting.
Wait for Sales and Shop Around
We’ve already established that buying online is a good plan and an even better one is to wait for particular sales dates. There are, of course, dates like Black Friday or Prime Day, but also, the stores you shop on repeatedly are likely to have specific days that are sales days, so keep these in mind.
Once you have an idea of what your mother would like, start to check out the competition by visiting comparison sites. This will help you find a bargain.
Make Something Yourself
Don’t underestimate the value of a homemade gift. It’s the kind of present that takes more time and thought to put together, and therefore your mom will be more than aware of the effort you have put in.
Buying items online is easy. You can have an item in a matter of two clicks. A do-it-yourself gift might take weeks to put together. If you are not super creative, then this might be trickier, but don’t let this dissuade you from trying.
Maybe you could put together a nice photo album for her? You can take some new photos or process ones that were only ever online and put them into a nice album. Maybe get family members to post messages to add to the book; this will help to make the present that extra bit special.
If your mother had grandchildren, perhaps your children, then get them to do a playful painting to add to the front for that additional homemade appeal.
