With 6 kids and 2 step kids .... my mom has more than she can ever use and tries to keep everything given her on display, so other than Christmas we try not to give her anything that she would feel obligated to put on display!!!! So for a couple of years I sent her flowers (either cut or in a pot).....this year my finances don't extend to such luxuries..... but since I live about a 10 hour drive away from her and don't often get to see her and as mentioned above, she has many children (all been adults for many years) I make sure she gets a phone call from me every week so she doesn't have to pay the long distance charges for our talks ......

but here's something special my brother and his wife did this year, my stepfather (Pete) died in September, he and my mom were married 27+ years and they were still deeply in love .... my sis-in-law has a patient who is an artist and so in a trade for her services, they had him paint a good sized portrait of Pete and gave it to her .... she is overwhelmed with this gift .... I think that was very special of them so I'm mentioning that.