h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I always send a card to my mum - mostly because she has four kids and only ever gets cards from one of them (ie me) at any time of the year. The day is only too commercial if you allow it to be, one card hardly breaks the bank, and you could take the time to make one if you dn't want to put money in Hallmark's pocket.

Considering I am about to spend my first Mother's day with my son since he was born 8 years ago, I'm going to enjoy it. He hasn't put his hand in his pocket once, and I've got two cards already. I know he loves me every day of the year, but having a day to celebrate the bond between a mother and her children is no bad thing. It reminds others of the hard work that we do, if nothing else.

It's hereditary..my mum doesn't believe in it either....


Emmily

My mother doesn't get a card. She does get flowers from myself and my two siblings who live abroad. I organise it and I am afraid I do use interflora - but that's because we all live miles away. We do however send flowers just sufficiently before Mother's day not to get the hiked up Mother's day flowers. Plus there's usually a twist - this year she'll be getting flowers in a few weeks' time and some flower fairy statues at some point.

With regards to cards in general, I have a collection of Christmas cards bought in bulk years ago I give to general people. Anyone special for whatever event (even if it's just "I'm thinking of you") gets something homemade. Usually it has been a small embroidered design put into a homemade card blank (well, why pay for card blanks when I can make ones that fit the embroidery much better - colour, shape, size of aperture). But I have also sent "cards" of marbled material, fantasy film figures, polyhedra and lately painted tiles. It probably would end up more expensive than buying a hallmark card (postage at least - though I normally don't send the last three through the post) but it's much more personal and I have the craft stuff already.

Well I got a very sheepish hug and a very rare kiss from my son so he's forgiven for no card or gift.My husband did wake me at 11 with a cup of tea and a paper.I also got a dozen peat pots as well.I suppose that it was marginally better than nothing but I'm not won over yet.My mother-in-law phoned to thank ME for her azalea so I reckon that after 30 years she knows the real situation.
However nothing from elder daughter who will claim student poverty in any case.

Incog.

My son surprised me with a card. He didn't think the flowers looked very good so presented me with a scratch card instead - I won £1

Grateful and surprised Teuchter

As I expected - Mother's day totally ignored in our house!
Been a fairly typical Sunday - did the ironing, cooked the lunch (at least we did all sit down together), painted the remainder of the kitchen ceiling, washed up - & I've got a sore throat .
I heard something on the radio toady about mothers in literature & someone made a very pertinent comment about motherhood not being the rosy picture it's often painted.
I get the feeling I'm not entirely taken for granted though!

Not being a mother I can't answer the question but mothers day always presents a dileame for me, as I have a step mother who really brought me up, and a mother who made an rather important contribution to my life by giving birth to me.

The dilemea is that they both expect mothers day cards yet get offended if I send one to the other.

The options I've tried so far are..

Send a card to one but not the other results, in the one who didn't recieve the card getting extremely upset when she finds out I choose to send a card to the other.

Sending a card to both, results in them both getting upset that I sent a card to the other.

so I tend to settle for sending a card to neither, which leads to them both feeling slighlty offended that i forgot.

Off course this means I have to also forget fathers day, even though my dad brought me up basically alone since I was in my early teens, if they find out he got a card an they didn't they get offended as well.

I normally send a card to my mom in Cyprus, but if I don't get the time to, then I will call her instead to wish her a happy Mother's Day. It's a bit like Valentine's Day. A couple can celebrate their love every single day, and Valentine's Day is just another day, but more of an excuse to go out for a meal and buy pressies.

If it's kind of a no win, un-holiday, like Valentines Day.

If you celebrate ,it's considered to be a forced commercial Day. If it's not celebrated,it is often considered a slight.

in my opinion,mothers day is a commercial money making transaction..why have a MOTHERS DAY..surely it goes without saying?

>>.. in my opinion, mothers day is a commercial money making transaction>>

Not necessarily. Mothers Day and commercialization are not mutually inclusive. You can celebrate and the day without bowing to the commercial interests. As has been stated previously – Mother’s Day has been around a lot longer than Hallmark.

Christmas is another celebration that has been commercialised. Do we stop celebrating Christmas because it just happens to be a good opportunity for someone to make some money?

http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm

Stuart

And also doing greatings cards puts money in the pockets of a lot of artists as well as hallmark, otherwise they'd get end up on the dole..

That's a good one *Z*

I've always made a fuss of my mum for mothers day. When I was a kid, she got dodgy breakfasts in bed and home made cards. As I got older, I decided to use Mothers Day to buy pressies and things for her to make up for her birthday being over Christmas and therefore a bit of a non event.

My daughter is too young to make cards yet so her dad picked two out in a shop, let her grab the one she found most attractive and got her to 'sign' it. She also picked her first daisy and proudly presented it to me while we were in the park. I plan to press it and keep it in my memory box.

Sweetof you!
I would not have dreamed of skipping my Mom on that day.

The fact is that "Mothering Sunday" is a very old celebration, far predating the modern commercial hype of "Mothers day".

You AN ignore the hype and celebrate the festival.

I think motherhood is worth celebrating!

And Im a man!

Or even a lie-in?!?

Older daughter paid a flying visit with a card & box of which was nice.

Other than that, it was a fairly ordinary Sunday, with me running round after youngest son, cooking, cleaning up, etc.

Older son & daughter #2 didn't bother at all.

Youngest son made me a card after elder daughter left, when he realized it was Mothering Sunday.

Big for the mums who didn't get brekkie in bed.

Why are people saying mothering sunday is commercialised? It is the least commercial celebration of the whole year! I always go to see my mum on the day - that is what it is for after all, getting a visit from your kids that don't live at home anymore. I made cards for her when I was little and ALWAYS made her breakfast in bed. This year the whole family came to stay with me and we had a lovely dinner out - and she got brekkie in bed as usual

Things are only as commercialised as you let them be.

Of course, I wouldn't point the finger at anyone on hootoo, but I have known people who have used the "too commercialised" line as an excuse not to do anything. As a rule, I'd guess that people who say that are not Mums themselves

My mileage varies.

I don't do St Valentine's - it really is heavily into making money out of people and also makes a number of my (more sensitive?) single friends feel somehow lesser for being single. My boyfriend has a similar attitude. However, my boyfriend and I do go out together when *we* want to and when *we* have time to. We buy presents for each other when the other needs a present or when we see something that would be perfect for them (qualified by when we can afford it.)

I do do Mother's day, but I still don't do bought cards. What annoys me today is that I forgot to phone Mother yesterday. Well, I remembered a number of times but just when I couldn't (cooking dinner, about to shower or times I knew she'd be busy herself) and forgot when the timing would have been right. Better phone her tonight.

Whether I do Easter or not depends on whether I happen to have the weekend free to go home or not. This year I don't. However, I have posted Easter eggs off to Italy for my sister, brother-in-law and niece. My sister misses British chocolate.

Whatever the occasion, cards are only bought (as opposed to made) if I don't have much time for making them myself. If they are bought, I usually try to find a little craft shop where a local artist makes cards to sell rather than buying commercial ones. This is because I prefer unusual cards.