5 Ways to Celebrate Your Mom

(*while this was a tip sheet originally written for mother’s on mother’s day it could just as easily be used to celebrate your dad, grandmothers, or other special people in your life)



Mom’s often have the thankless jobs of wiping noses, changing diapers, and being the brunt of teenage angst. If you are blessed to have your mother still around, take this opportunity to do something special for her to show her how much you love her and how much you appreciate all she has done for you.

One of our former clients, Stuart, decided to celebrate his mom, Ida, by hiring Family Legacy Productions to make a movie about her life. As part of the movie, we filmed her giving Stuart a tour of the neighborhood she grew up in. It was a beautiful sunny day, and as Ida reminisced you could feel the love and appreciation being shared between them. She was grateful for the chance to share her memories with her son, and he was grateful to have such a wonderful, vibrant mother to spend time with.

However you choose to celebrate your mom, know that it will inevitably bring you closer together.



1. Make something for her. This could be a collage of photographs and other meaningful images that relate to her life or a necklace with her favorite gemstones. Whatever you think would most reflect to her how much you care. This is something you could even get your kids or siblings involved in. The time and thought involved in a hand made gift goes a long way in saying, "Mom, you are very special to me."



2. Write her a long letter thanking her for all that she has done for you. You may already have the type of close relationship where you tell each other all the time how much you care, but putting these feelings in letter form is a very powerful way to share with your mother. Even if your mom is not the demonstrative type or even sentimental, a letter in which you express how much she means to you and your gratitude to her for bringing you into this world is worth a thousand times more than the typical mother’s day bouquet. She can then save the letter and come back to it whenever she wants a reminder of how much she is loved by you.



3. Plan a special getaway just the two of you. The older I get, the more I notice how much little trips with my mom are so meaningful to both of us. It gives us the chance to decompress together and to continue our joint exploration of the world that we started when I was just a child. This could mean short drive to a weekend away in a nearby place or an elaborate European adventure. Either way, you will be creating memories as you spend time alone together in a new place without the usual distractions and stresses of everyday life.



4. Surprise her with a book or movie with all her friends and loved ones expressing their love and admiration for her. Otherwise known as a Tribute movie, this is something you can do on your own with your home movie camera or seek professional collaboration. It’s rare in life that we give our nearest and dearest the gift of hearing from all the people who love them, just how loved they really are. And your mother will be able to enjoy it for years to come.



5. Give her the gift of time. If your mom is anything like mine, she is overbooked and overextended. Offer to take on some of her responsibilities for a day, week, month, or maybe even indefinitely. This could mean walking her dog, helping her with gardening or taking over a committee she has been. Just give her a break. Moms are notorious overachievers who work too hard and seldom get to just play. Give your mom the gift of a quiet afternoon where she can enjoy just sitting in her garden reading a favorite book, or maybe even taking a stroll on the beach with you. She has been working hard to make your life great since before you were born, now’s your chance to show how appreciative you are. Let this extend beyond Mother’s Day, to show her that she is loved every day not just on commercial holidays.





Don’t let your loved one’s journey be forgotten. Reconnect to their story and create a legacy of belonging.



To receive more tips on how to create powerful family connections, meaningful traditions, and a sense of belonging visit our website at http://www.familylegacypro.com