Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Mothers Day Gifts - A Present Mum Really Wants!

She brought you into the world, looked after you when you where poorly, comforted you when you where sad, laughed with you when you where happy and encouraged you to make most of your life - she did all this with, as the song says, 'No Charge' ... and then each year you forget to buy her a Mother's Day gift, how could you!..

Beware - this year, Mothering Sunday in the UK is early and falls on Sunday 2nd March.


The Fabu-licious.com girlies believe that all Mum's deserve a special Mothers Day, and wanted to find out what would really bring a smile to her face this year. They decided to survey their Mum's on how they really felt about Mothers Day, and what would make it Fabu-licious for them.

One comment from our esteemed mothers was '"Well I really don't like Mother's Day. I don't like to think of my child having to save her pennies to buy me a gift just for being her Mum! A goodnight kiss and a cup of tea in bed would make my day!"

OK, fair enough we thought, although having questioned the adult child concerned it seems until now the gifts she had offered her mum in the past where poor to say the least.

So, we then question Hayley Rogers, owner of Fabu-licious.com and Mother to a 10 year old daughter, what her opinions of the day where. This is what she said, "My daughter is very thoughtful, and as long as the money for a gift doesn't come out of her piggy bank, she would give me the world! To be honest I do agree, to a certain extent, with what the other Mothers have said - in that a kiss and a cuppa would be fab; However, I would be a liar if I said I didn't like receiving a small thank you gift! Personally, I think any Mum would love to receive a gift that has been chosen with love, didn't cost the earth and was something to be kept and cherished - a nice cuppa and kiss would just make the gift perfect!"

So, there you have it, according to our small survey, the general consensus is to buy with care, not to spend too much - extravagance doesn't work on Mum, and to always ensure it arrives on time.



A Short History of Mother's Day

Throughout history there have been a number of ceremonies based around the idea of mothers. One of the first seems to be traced to the ancient Greeks who celebrated Rhea, Mother of the Gods, with a festival of thanks in early spring.

In 16th Century England, the Church is believed to have diverted the idea of the pagan festival to a celebration for the 'Mother Church'- the spiritual power that gave life and protected from harm. This ceremony was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, and called 'Mothering Sunday'.

Over time, people began honouring their mothers as well as the Church on this day. It was during this time that many of the poor worked as servants. Most servants would live at the houses of their employers, however on Mothering Sunday the servants would be given a days leave and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the Mothering Cake, was often taken home as a gift of thanks. Other traditional cakes used at this time of year throughout the UK also included Simnel; a rich fruitcake, a dish called Furmety and in northern England and Scotland a type of pancake was also offered.