Thoughtful Gifts to Remember Her Throughout the Year

January:

• Fill her freezer or pantry with comfort foods (find out her favorites)
• Winter Survival Kit:
  • Vitamin C
  • Cough Drops
  • Kleenex
  • Honey
  • Epsom Salts
  • Chapstick
  • Flavored Teas and Hot Chocolate
• Snow Day Survival Basket:
  • Windshield scraper
  • Candles
  • Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate
  • Socks and gloves
  • Warm blanket

February: 

• Valentine’s Day:
  • Hand soap and bath stuff
  • Book: Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge
  • Manicure/Pedicure
  • Massage
  • Foot cream/hand cream (my kids loved to give me a massage and rub my feet. Many nights I would announce foot rubs for my children – it was a special time)
• Chocolates
• Blanket
• Notes with Bible verses of encouragement (Psalm 91)

March: 

• Flowers (we love farmgirlflowers.com)
• Plant a tree or a flower garden in her yard (gardening is great therapy)
• Landscaping

April:

• Wind chimes with the message, “I will never leave or forsake you.”
• Bird feeder with the message, “His eye is on the sparrow, I know He watches me.”
• Home Services: Air conditioner tune up, change the filters, maybe even leave a few extra filters for the months ahead
• Give your time for Spring Cleaning to
• April showers bring May flowers Basket:
  • Rain boots
  • Umbrella
  • Watering can
  • Seed packets
  • Garden gloves
  • Magazines

May: 

• Mother’s Day Basket:
  • Gift certificate to a store where she can buy something for herself
  • Gift cards for a manicure, pedicure, or massage
  • Ice cream and/or restaurant gift cards for a fun outing with her kids
  • Notes of appreciation, affirming a job well done
• Spring Cleaning
  • Pressure wash her home
  • Clean her gutters
  • Organize a closet
  • Paint a room

June: 

• Father’s Day ideas: Re-direct the focus onto their new Father’s Day—the day God became Father.
  • Loving on her children is a gift to her:
    • Help pay for summer camps
    • Butterfly gardens for kids, reminding them that life comes after death
    • Day passes – Theme park/Aquarium/Movies
• Home Services:
  • Trim her bushes
  • Spread fresh pine straw
  • Provide consistent lawn care through the warmer months

July:

• Consider giving her the keys to your beach or mountain home (trips away can be very healing for the grieving heart)

• Tropical Basket:
  • Smoothie ingredients or gift cards
  • Summer sandals
  • Beach towel
  • Fresh fruit
  • Gift cards
  • Provide a beach trip or weekend away
• Car Services:
  • Car wash
  • Oil change
  • Routine maintenance

August:

• Adopt a Fatherless Child:
  • provide money for back to school shopping for the widowed mom and her children
  • celebrate the senior year with a fatherless grad
• Movie theater tickets
• Deliver a house plant
• Take a fall day trip with them

September:

• Adopt a Widow:
  • Care by a couple is always nice – the wife can keep in touch with the widow listening for any needs she may have while her husband can offer his handy-man skills around the house and yard.
  • Ask her for a list of repairs/needs that you could assist with
• Help her plan the holidays out (changing traditions may bring tender emotions, be intentional about helping her think through potentially difficult weeks and days)

October:

• Cozy Basket:
  • Winter gloves, scarf, warm socks, a new blanket (something to snuggle up to on the chilly nights)
  • Candles (these always have a way of making the holidays warmer and brighter, especially on the cold and dreary nights)
  • Desserts and treats

• Home Services:
  • Change filters,
  • Provide maintenance to her heating system
  • Supply firewood.
  • Check her fire detectors and alarms and replace any batteries
• Lawn Services:
  •  Prune bushes
  • Rake leaves
  • Add a new layer of mulch or pine straw
  • Plant pansies
• Fill her pantry with love:
  • tea, hot chocolate, and coffee are always a safe bet. Stock her freezer with casseroles and soups

November:

• Consider including them in your Thanksgiving Feast or bring them a meal

• Thankful Basket:
  • Gift baskets are very nice – a friend always sent me a basket from Wolfman’s filled with jelly, English muffins, breads – I looked forward to Thanksgiving just for this act of love.
• Home Services (see October, as well):

• Trim tree limbs that could be hazardous in a storm
• Provide flashlights and candles in case of power outages
• Change lightbulbs inside and out

December: 

• Invite her to go with you or provide tickets to something to look forward to:
• Christmas event or play
• Take her out to lunch
• Extend an invitation to include her in a family outing or activity
• Pamper her with a manicure or day at the salon
• Help decorate for Christmas (set up the tree or install outside lights)
• Shop for her and with her
• Take her children shopping, help them pick out a gift for mom