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25 gifts for mom without going broke

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published May 5, 2006

A gift from the heart sometimes means a treasure for the home. Spend a lot on Mom if you must, but a few dollars go a long way when paired with a dollop of creativity and love.

Here are a few ideas meant to inspire and perhaps save you a little money along the way. Mom would definitely approve!

1. Flowers from a grocery store (hot-pink tulips if you can find them). Improvise on a great vase. I found a vintage Columbia Restaurant sangria pitcher at a garage sale for a few dollars. A small watering can makes a darling vase, too. So does a small metal florist bucket.

2. A stack of bright new kitchen tea towels, a pretty bar of gardener's glycerin soap and a dainty Blue Willow teacup to nestle it in.

3. A one-year subscription to a homes magazine. (Some are so cheap, you might be able to pick up two for the price of one.)

4. A decorating book from a discount store. I discovered Designers in Residence: The Personal Style of Top Women Decorators and Designers for less than $5 at Ross.

5. A flameless wax sensor candle. These candles are battery operated; they are turned on and off by hidden sensors. Brookstone offers them for $20.

6. A beautiful, potted blooming orchid. The popular phalaenopsis sells for about $10 at Home Depot.

7. Chocolate-covered strawberries (buy the microwave dipping sauce in the produce section of the grocery store) or homemade lemon bars on a beautiful vintage plate that can later be displayed on the kitchen wall.

8. An IOU for a thorough, top-to-bottom house cleaning. (You do the scrubbing, loving child.)

9. A small, contemporary reading lamp from a discount store and a paperback book by a favorite author. (Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh is always a great choice.)

10. Make a spring door wreath from grapevine and shells collected from your favorite Florida beaches.

11. Bright cocktail napkins and a set of cute plastic wine glasses for a poolside happy hour with mom. Throw in some gourmet cheese straws (available at SuperTarget) if you've got some extra moola. You play bartender.

12. A windowsill herb garden kit or mature herb plants repotted in a pretty window box or ceramic pots.

13. A miniature needlepoint throw pillow with a funny or inspirational "Mom" saying.

14. Place a handmade greeting card in a small frame for a gift of instant art.

15. A lovely upholstered French bulletin board (the kind crisscrossed with ribbons). They're cheap (usually less than $10) and ubiquitous. Tuck favorite family photos throughout.

16. A hurricane-style glass candle holder (available at discount stores) filled with shells, stones and a fat, scented pillar candle.

17. A flowered china teapot worthy of permanent display and a small tin of apricot tea.

18. A pair of silver-plated candlesticks and creamy taper candles.

19. A set of pretty terry cloth hand towels for the bathroom and a shell night light.

20. A small garden statue, stepping stone or bird feeder to hang outside the kitchen window.

21. Wind chimes.

22. Any kind of antique linens - but pillowcases are the best!

23. Pretty kitchen canisters.

24. A homes-related field trip to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park in Ellenton.

25. A photograph of your family home in a good-looking frame. If you are an artist, draw or paint a picture of the house. Write a poem or essay about the meaning of where you grew up to accompany the picture.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

[Last modified May 5, 2006, 08:34:21]