Ok, dads, this post is for you! (And ladies, you can use some of these ideas for your own moms too of course.)

Mother's Day is almost here. A day to celebrate Mom and thank her for all she does. If you haven't already figured out what to get her, I've put together a few ideas for you. 

1. Hotel Room/Uninterrupted Sleep  - This was the most common response from my Facebook poll, especially from moms with young kids. Being a parent of little ones is exhausting and often times mom is up in the middle of the night or up late/early trying to catch up on all the things that need to be done and thus not getting enough sleep. Some moms specifically requested a hotel room where they could sleep alone for a night, uninterrupted. If you want to go all out and pamper her (and you're local), you could splurge for a room at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island or Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. Or at the very least, take the kids out of the house to play at a park/zoo/museum and let mom take a nap. Just make sure the house is clean and laundry is caught up so she doesn't end up using that time to catch up on those!

2. Clean House - Speaking of a clean house, if you don't already have someone come clean your home, you could either hire someone to come clean so Mom gets a week off from cleaning the house (if she is the one who usually does it) or you (Dad) and the kids (if old enough) can do it!

 

3. Pampering - What mom wouldn't want some sort of pampering? You could book her a massage, manicure/pedicure, facial, or gift her some fun pampering goodies.
A few options for those local to me that come highly recommended are: Ponte Vedra Inn & Club Spa, Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa (Ponte Vedra), Lemongrass Salon & Spa (Jacksonville), Donna Waldron, LMT (Fernandina Beach - gives the best massages!) or Fabulous Face Aesthetics (Kingsland).
Some of my favorite handmade pampering products can be purchased from Byrds Nest Soap in Jacksonville (you can also order from her website). I love her lip balm and bath bombs! Make sure Mom gets some uninterrupted time to soak in a bath if you go with this option!

Amber Dreams Jewelry Custom Amber NecklaceCopyright Kimberly Tank Art & Photography

4. Jewelry - There's always a nice piece of jewelry from your favorite jeweler. I love to support locally owned businesses whenever I can. If you're looking for fine jewelry, look no further than Crow Jewelers based in Fernandina Beach, FL. Linda, the owner, is a super sweet person and is a gemologist. Her work is stunning and you won't regret a piece from her. If your budget isn't at the fine jewelry level, there are a couple other options that might be the perfect gift. There are two handmade jewelry companies I've discovered and love... one is Amber Dreams Jewelry and the other is Wonderment Jewelry. Amber Dreams Jewelry specializes in handmade gemstone and amber pieces and Liz, the owner, is another wonderful person I know personally. Wonderment Jewelry specializes in handcrafted silver jewelry designed with little fingers in mind (known as Mama Metal). Both have ready to go options or you can customize a piece especially for Mom. I love my custom amber necklace from Amber Dreams Jewelry (pictured above) and my custom beach inspired piece just arrived from Wonderment Jewelry and it's absolutely beautiful. 

5. Coffee/Tea- Yes, what gets many moms through motherhood! Pair Mom's favorite coffee, tea, or wine with a fun coffee mug or wine glass. If you haven't tried Bold Bean Coffee in Jacksonville, you're missing out. They have really great coffee and they roast it right in Jacksonville. For your tea drinker, Tea Nation USA teas are amazing. They are local to Jacksonville and have a wide variety of teas and can even make you a custom blend! The company is run by a husband and wife team who are pretty awesome people and really know their teas!

I often find fun mugs and glasses at TJ Maxx or Home Goods. I'm a bit of a mug collector myself so I love mugs (my recent favorite pictured above from Kennedy Space Center). If Mom enjoys reading, you could include a new book for her to read (or gift card for a book) and then schedule time to keep the kids occupied so she can relax and read it!

 

6. Handmade Art/Craft from the Kids - You really can't go wrong here as long as you put in the time (that means no last minute draw a 5 minute picture kind of thing!). Moms love handmade gifts from their littles. Bring your kids to an Open Paint at Paisley Grace Makery and paint signs for Mom. Color Me Happy Pottery in Brunswick is a great place to take your kid and have them paint a mug for mom (to go with the coffee or tea in #4!). There's also Doing Dishes Pottery Studio in Jacksonville and St Johns. 
If you're feeling adventurous, here's a link for ideas of things you can make with the kids at home: 90 Handmade Gift Ideas for Mother's Day.

Family Photography - Perfect Gift for Mother's DayCopyright Kimberly Tank Art & Photography

7. Photographs - Of course this list would not be complete (or on my blog!) without including photos! This also came up several times in my poll. And of all the things on this list, this is what will last the longest and mean the most. I know some dads are hesitant to do family photos (or pay for them), but I promise you, this will make Mom so happy! Even if it's just photos of Mom and the kids, because moms are often the ones behind the camera documenting the kids or the kids with Dad. Find a photographer who will make it easy on all of you and help you plan all the details and deliver a beautiful finished product that you can all cherish for many years to come. If a professional photo session isn't in the budget/priority list, make sure to take some snapshots of mom with the kids, and not just the cheesy ones but ones of them playing and having fun too. Then print them out and put them in an album or a frame, don't leave them on the computer (or your phone). You can also go through the photos already sitting on the computer and get them printed out and into an album to give to Mom. Artifact Uprising and Picaboo are two of my favorite album companies if you want to create your own album to gift for Mother's Day.

We're flying in my friend and favorite Day in the Life Photographer, Willy Wilson of Life Unstill Photography, to take photos of our family the week after Mother's Day and I'm so excited! I am always documenting my son and my husband but I'm not in front of the camera nearly enough and I want my son to remember that I was part of all the fun too! (Update: The photos were amazing and I'm so glad we did this! Best Mother's Day present ever!)

Now you have a few ideas you might not have thought of before! If you'd like to gift Mom with a photo session, give me a call 912.322.6714 and we can discuss details (and I'll get you a gift card to give her to open on Mother's Day!). 

<3

Kim

Owner/Photographer-Artist

Kimberly Tank Art & Photography