Last Minute Mother's Day Gifts

If you're anything like me you have the very best intentions (and ideas!) for gifts but life just gets in the way. On Monday I had planned on getting cards and gifts in the mail for Mother's Day, but Rosie came down with pneumonia and the week was spent tag team parenting, consoling, and fighting WWIII trying to get antibiotics into the tiny tyrant. Whew, I'm exhausted just writing about it.  And now Mother's Day is Sunday, eek! Here's my plan is to get back on track, lickety split.

Chic Last Minute Gift #1: Photos, what mother doesn't love getting photos? And better yet, Instagram photos! Pretty, perfectly curated, and you can print directly from your Instagram library with the Walgreens app (for Droid or iPhone!) You guys, I spent 1 minute downloading the app, 5 minutes choosing the pics I wanted to print, 1 minute googling a coupon (PRINTS40 for 40% off!) and like 30 seconds checking out. You can pick them up in an hour at your local Walgreens. A little kraft paper bag, Washi tape and bakers twine...boom, done. $10.74, 10 minutes of action time, 1 hour of waiting and your first chic last minute gift is handled.

Chic Last Minute Gift #2: Trader Joe's flowers.  Here are a few secrets to get $17.96 worth of flowers to look like a $50 florist bouquet.

1. Choose flowers that are all in the same color family. Pinks and purples, red/orange/yellow, or whites and blues. It's the easiest way to get them looking coordinated.

2. Strip the flowers of leaves and buds below the water line (basically 4-5" below the head.)  Keep any straggler flowers that are too short or have broken stems, we'll use them later.

3. Grab a few flowers of each variety in one hand and continue adding a few of each variety as you turn your bouquet around, until you run out.  Cut those stems down and plop into water, done-zo!

One more time, for the cheap seats in the back (this is still using the same $17.96 worth of flowers we bought for the first bouquet.)

Last but not least, I like to pull out these little brown jars for straggler flowers that are too short to make it into the big arrangements.  They are infant Advil bottles and vitamin bottles with the labels pulled off.  I keep any glass bottles with a pretty shape or color for little arrangements such as these. Toss a few of each flower in the bottles and brighten your kitchen window.  A few more tips on cheap (but pretty) grocery store flowers here and making flowers last for the long haul here.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  Mom, mother in law, and you - all taken care of!  I especially love the last part, seriously moms, you need to TREAT YO'SELF!

I hope this has been helpful, and that your mom's day gifts are all settled.  Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  Every day you don't lock your kid in the closet and run away is a win in my book, I'm impressed!