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ASK DR. DISH: Gifts for mom

By Catherine Toth Fox • March 30, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

Question: My mom is so hard to shop for. Every year we have the same problem: what do we get mom for her birthday, for Christmas and now for Mother’s Day. Any suggestions?

Answer: I have the same problem! Except the way we deal with it is to ask Mom what she wants — or let her buy it herself. I know, I know, it’s no fun. But at least she gets exactly what she needs or wants without the hassle of having to return whatever we bought.

I went online this morning to look for gift ideas. A lot of sites — like Red Envelope and Amazon — categorized their suggestions by personality. For the workout mom, get her a new set of yoga mats. For the foodie mom, get her cooking tools or gadgets.

But Howard Dicus of Hawaii News Now said it best this morning on his “Ask Howard” segment. Someone asked him what to get for his mom for Mother’s Day — which is May 9, by the way — and he answered, “Time.”

Your mom probably has everything she needs. But what she would probably like is you spending quality time with her. Take her out to a nice dinner, invite her kids and grandkids, talk story and be together. I’m pretty sure my mom would like that, too — with some cheesecake, of course.

Any other ideas?

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10 Comments

  • Reply johngarcia March 29, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    Time. That’s awesome, Cat! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  • Reply M March 29, 2011 at 11:35 pm

    Hello Cat,
    That’s what we need to do more of, spending time with our family and loves ones. Not only on special occasions but everyday.

  • Reply Ynaku March 30, 2011 at 12:50 am

    I like that suggestion. Thanks

  • Reply nonstopmari March 30, 2011 at 1:20 am

    ach. tearjerker. it’s the one thing i regret now that my mom’s gone, not making time to walk all the way down to aloha tower w/ her to have lunch on the water like she wanted. she had a lot of friends. she just wanted to do that w/ me.

  • Reply MikeSumida March 30, 2011 at 3:01 am

    I wholeheartedly agree… the most meaningful gifts can’t be bought.

  • Reply turkfontaine March 30, 2011 at 9:26 am

    hi ‘mom’ at the risk of repeating myself from mother’s day’s and other days – you done good.

  • Reply turkfontaine March 30, 2011 at 9:36 am

    we americans do not honor our parents as much as we should. i’m so thankful my son does. just hearing ‘i love you, dad’ cheerfully, as he signs off a phone call is enough to fill me with indescribable joy. @nonstopmari

  • Reply dbjack March 30, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    I am thinking of giving my mom a one way ticket to Paris… think she will fit in there.

  • Reply reehasmith March 30, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    I will surely use your suggestion for my moms birth day…thanks for sharing

  • Reply bettydalycity March 31, 2011 at 12:47 am

    My three daughters gave me in past something I will always cherish. They all did together and clean the entire house for my for a month. Now they also learn to up keep in cleaning it for me everyday. That the best gift I always love forever.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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