Gift-giving can be a real challenge. You don’t want to wait till December to start getting gifts for those who are hard to shop for. We want to provide something thoughtful and meaningful, but it seems like some people in our lives already have everything they want. Others are just hard to shop for, and mothers-in-law often top this list.
Whatever the season, shopping for your mother-in-law can be one of the toughest tasks on your list. Use this simple guide to make it a little bit easier to accomplish.
Give Experiences
By later adulthood, most of us have as many material things as we want, so simply adding more items around the house isn’t appealing, no matter how thoughtful or even expensive the gift might be.
Experiences are different. Maybe your cinephile mother-in-law would like movie tickets and a gift card to her favorite restaurant. If she doesn’t love movies you could get tickets to a touring Broadway show. You could also consider something bigger, like airfare to a dream destination she could never go to, or for a visit to her hometown or native country.
Give the Gift of Doing
Whether it’s due to lack of time or the effects of aging, your mother-in-law may have big projects she hasn’t been able to undertake. Your next gift to her could be to jump into one of them with her. She’ll satisfy a long-standing desire, and you’ll get an opportunity to bond through a unique time together.
Maybe it’s boxes of old photos she wants to frame or get scanned into a computer for safekeeping. Perhaps she’s wanting to redecorate a room or upgrade her landscaping. Or maybe she just wants to pick up a new hobby. Whatever you can best offer her, give her your time and effort.
Let Her Faith Guide You
There’s no better gift category for a holiday than something related to it. A beautiful Hanukkah menorah could be the best choice for your mother-in-law. You could give her a cross pendant or a Present it on the first night of the season and she’ll have seven more nights to enjoy it this year, with many more years to come.
Of course, a menorah is just one option. There are countless books, decorative items, and other gifts that could be just what she’ll want from you. Every year, as the holiday approaches, your gift will remind her of the special bond you share.
It’s tough to shop for lots of people, not just your mother-in-law. Instead of resorting to the generic items of last-minute desperation, think ahead and figure out a way to give her something that she’ll always cherish and remember, even if it’s something intangible.