As Valentine’s Day approaches, many working moms will receive gifts they will appreciate, but not gifts they will really use. Let’s face it. Most Valentine’s Day gifts are not designed with the working mom in mind. They are not useful, and they do not help improve her quality of life.
So let’s start by outlining the gifts a working mom does not want for Valentine’s Day. The typical working mother does not want chocolate. She is probably still trying to lose weight from the holidays.
She does not want flowers. They look pretty for a short time, but they require extra care and they will soon die.
She does not want jewelry. Where would she wear it? She works all the time.
The most important gifts a working mother could receive are time and energy. Here are some ways you can offer her these most valuable gifts of all.
Gift of Time for Working Mothers
Time is perhaps the single thing that a working mom needs most. Not only does she feel she doesn’t have time for her family, she can’t even imagine having time for herself. Give the working mom in your life the gift of time by sending her shopping. Give her a gift card to her favorite store and make child care arrangements ahead of time.
Also consider giving her a day at the spa, a massage or even a weekend getaway with her spouse or some friends. She may not take time for herself on her own, but she will not let this valuable gift of free time go to waste.
Family Time
Guilt is a fact of life for the working mom. Because she has to split her time between work and home, she never feels she spends enough time with her family. Help relieve some of the guilt by offering her some time with her spouse and children. Arrange for a family movie night, a nice dinner at a family-friendly restaurant or even a day at an amusement park. She will appreciate some uninterrupted family time away from home.
Gift of Beauty
Working moms rarely feel beautiful. They simply don’t have the time to spend hours on their hair and makeup. Consider giving the working mom in your life a day at her favorite beauty salon getting her hair and makeup done. Manicures and pedicures are also wonderful morale-boosters. She will return to work after Valentine’s Day feeling like a new woman.
Organize It
A cluttered home can make life seem out of control. Help the working mom de-clutter by offering to organize her home office. Clean out closets or kitchen cabinets. File all those papers that have piled up in recent months. Help your working mom get organized, and you will see her spirits brighten immediately.
Spring Cleaning in February
It’s difficult to keep up with cleaning when you’re a working mom. It seems that everywhere she turns there is a mess to be cleaned up. Offer to clean out the refrigerator for her. Do all the laundry for a month. Clean the bathrooms (even the toilets).
Cleaning doesn’t have to stop at home. Give your working mom a gift card to have her car cleaned and detailed. Send her best suits out to be dry-cleaned. Arrange to have the driveway power-washed or the gutters cleaned.
Finding a gift for the working mom is not difficult if you know what she truly wants. Give her the gift of time and energy, and she will thank you the rest of the year. Here are some additional Valentine's Day tips.
Kari Lomanno - Kari Lomanno is a high school English teacher and mother of two children ages 9 and 7. She lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with her husband ...
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