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Kianey Carter: My first Mother's Day gift guide

Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen plenty of articles detailing gift ideas for the mom in your life - a necklace with your child's initials, breakfast in bed and a spa day. These are great ideas, but what I could really use is TIME.

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Kianey Carter
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Kianey Carter

Mother’s Day is just a few days away and I am so excited!

This will be my very FIRST Mother’s Day!! I was about five months pregnant last year and we didn’t do anything to celebrate because I didn’t feel like a mom yet. As selfish as this may sound, I can’t wait to get showered with love and a gift or two.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen plenty of articles detailing gift ideas for the mom in your life. Many include things like a necklace with your child’s initials, breakfast in bed and a spa day. These are great ideas, but what I could really use is TIME.

I am sure many of you first time moms could agree with that. You go from having all kinds of time for yourself to having little to no time for yourself.

I came up with a few gift ideas to give mom a little extra time in her life and rejuvenate her.

Give the gift of cleaning. More specifically, a cleaning service. Hire someone to come and give your home a deep clean. You know, get all the baseboards, polish the floors, dust the ceiling fans and pictures on the walls. I have a very mobile seven-month-old and I just don’t have time for this type of cleaning anymore.
Gift her a girls night out. This might be one of my favorite ideas. My girlfriends and I would often make plans to meet up just hours before. Now, it isn’t easy getting a babysitter on a moment’s notice to go have dinner and drinks with the girls. Pick a Friday or Saturday night, invite a couple of her girlfriends, make dinner reservations at one of her favorite places and tell her to have fun. For extra points, give her some cash or a gift card to pay for part of the night!
Bestow upon her a day of beauty. Before my son, it was nothing for me to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon getting my hair and nails done. Not anymore. Call mom’s favorite salon, make an appointment and pay for the services. For super bonus points, once mom gets home looking gorgeous, take her out for a night on the town.
Give her a gym membership. This is a touchy one and I know some of you might be thinking I am setting you up for failure. I’m not. I only suggest this IF she likes going to the gym and has specifically said she wants to go or misses going.

Pre-baby and during my pregnancy, I went to the gym. It was a great stress reliever for me and often helped me clear my head after a long day of work. If this is a gift you’re thinking about, make sure you couple the membership with a beautiful card and a little note saying something like you know how much she liked going before and this now allows her to get some alone time while renewing her fitness goals.

Finally, my favorite gift idea: A day alone. If I had five to six hours alone, there is so much I could do. I could spend it sleeping, reading a book, watching trashy reality TV or just lying in bed playing Candy Crush. Whatever I decided to do, it would be my time to do it without worrying about anything else.

I hope these gift ideas help someone … maybe my own husband. Look for an update on my first Mother’s Day in a few weeks. Have a happy Mother’s Day!!

Kianey is the mom of one and a WRAL-TV morning news producer. She writes monthly for Go Ask Mom.

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