Need to help with anniversary give from dad to mom

July 29, 2008 11:37 AM

Anniversary gift needed! I need to help my father get something for my mother for their anniversary. In the past, he's gotten her jewelry...but now he can't.

He had a stroke last year and is still recovering - he has difficulty with numbers and speech, so he needs assistance shopping.

Their anniversary is in three days.

My mother is difficult to by for - she pretty much buys everything she wants or needs for herself.

What she really needs is more time!

So, if it were me giving them a gift, I'd give something more impersonal than I think she'd like him to give her.

Given his inability to work, he'd rather not be too extravagant. Is there anything somewhat affordable I can find that will take some responsibilities off her plate but would also be appropriate coming from him?

I'm thinking of some pre-prepared meals, or club type gift.

They don't drink and she's perpetually on a diet so booze and chocolate/candy are out.

posted by slo to shopping (13 comments total)

Not to be clichee, but a day at the spa with a massage/pedicure/manicure, etc is always awesome....
posted by gwenlister at 11:46 AM on July 29, 2008

What about a house cleaning service? My husband hired a twice monthly maid for our first year of marriage - it was bliss!
posted by saradarlin at 11:48 AM on July 29, 2008

Those are great ideas -- I should have been more specific. My mother is EXTREMELY hard to buy for.

They already have a weekly cleaning lady and she gets massages/pedi/mani every two weeks - has a standing appointment. She's got more clothes/jewelry/purses than anyone needs.

They also have vacation homes, so travel isn't really something they look for and a weekend B&B trip would seem pointless to them.

Thanks and I hope this makes it a bit more clear!
posted by slo at 11:54 AM on July 29, 2008

What about dancing lessons for the two of them? or if they are more adventurous, sky diving lessons. (I always try to gift experiences rather than things. )
posted by gwenlister at 12:05 PM on July 29, 2008

Even if she's on a diet, there must be some favorite food she can enjoy, so maybe an X-of-the-month club or a gift certificate?

Would a magazine subscription be too impersonal?
posted by LolaGeek at 12:13 PM on July 29, 2008

A framed enlargement photo from their wedding or courtship?

She doesn't want stuff, doesn't consider travel a gift and is already well pampered with spas and massages. At that point, you're really limited. My only other idea is to have the groceries delivered for a few months if she does her own shopping.
posted by 26.2 at 12:15 PM on July 29, 2008

An iPod filled with the music she and he listened to when they were courting.
posted by oflinkey at 12:23 PM on July 29, 2008

Have him come up with a minute or so worth of heart felt words and you make a montage with old pictures and post it on youtube. I imagine him talking, even if slow or labored, over pictures of them when young and as they grow older, with kids, etc. End it with footage of him telling her he loves her (to the camera) and some other lovey dovey stuff. You say he has trouble with speech so perhaps you could read something he wrote or help him write it or both, if some coaching will help with speech you could probably splice it all together seemlessly in segments since it won't be a continuous shot of him talking.

Maybe it's a bad idea for your situation but I bet your mom would love it, good luck.
posted by wolfkult at 12:23 PM on July 29, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

How about something more sentimental, then? Like a book of love letters with his own love letter to her on the blank pages or tucked in the book?
posted by rmless at 1:18 PM on July 29, 2008

Can he write? A poem that says in what way, exactly, he loves her will make her cry for happy.
posted by amtho at 2:26 PM on July 29, 2008

Where do you live?
posted by boulder20something at 4:00 PM on July 29, 2008

From an insensitive lout: How about a really nice bouquet of flowers, accompanied by a note that says, "I love you. I'll get you a better gift when I get back on my feet".
posted by dinger at 4:18 PM on July 30, 2008

Thank you all -- these are great ideas. For the sake of time, we went with play tickets.

These are terrific ideas that I will talk to him about using for her birthday since we have more time (and hopefully his writing/speaking skills will be improved by then as well)!
posted by slo at 8:18 AM on July 31, 2008