Don't Mess With Taxes

It's been a crazy week and Mother's Day almost sneaked up on me. But a little while ago I called a florist in my mother's town and was assured they could deliver a nice flower arrangement later today or tomorrow.

A gift for my Mom is easy. First of all there's the card; that's a must, preferably a mushy one.

She also loves flowers, and my tardiness this year made that choice a no-brainer. Costume jewelry also is a welcome present, as are various accessories like scarves and fashion belts.

You could spend a lot for those gifts, or you could find some nice but less budget busting versions of everything but the fresh flowers at a local department or discount store.

Spending on Mom: This year, with recession on everyone's mind, it looks like thriftier options will win.

One recent survey, reported in Progressive Grocer (which, by the way, notes that fresh flowers are available at most supermarkets), found that consumers are planning to scale back a bit on the number of gifts they buy Mom this year.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Mother's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers will spend an average of $138.63 this year, compared to $139.14 last year. Total consumer spending is expected to reach $15.8 billion.

While the majority of consumers will invest in one major gift (such as jewelry) for Mom, they are likely to spend at least some money on the aforementioned flowers ($2 billion expected in this category), gift cards or gift certificates ($1.6 billion), housewares and gardening tools ($696 million), and, of course, greeting cards ($672 million).

Most shoppers (35 percent) told pollsters that they will shop at specialty stores, with the rest of those surveyed heading to department (28.8 percent) and discount (25.7 percent) stores. Other outlets for Mom's gifts include specialty clothing stores and online and catalog merchants.

Other gift ideas: If you're still looking for ideas, check out Our Fourpence Worth's frugal but thoughtful Mother’s Day gift suggestions.

Mrs. Nespy's World has a wide-ranging five-part collection of gift ideas (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5).

And all you who procrastinated longer than I did will want to check out Slashfood's yummy gift list, ParentDish's last-minute gift guide and Mother's Day gifts for the procrastinator, part 1 and part 2, from Wordcandy Bookshelf.

Happy shopping and to all moms, grandmothers, aunts, nieces, godmothers and nurturing women everywhere, a well-deserved and very Happy Mother's Day!