Happy birthday to mom, mother, or mama. It’s time to show her how much she truly means to you.

The best way to wish a happy birthday to your mom is to pay attention to how they best express and receive love. According to Dr. Gary Chapman’s hypothesis, we each use a different love language to communicate love. The 5 Love Languages has now been on the New York’s Best-Seller list since 2007 with over 13 million copies sold. Multiple studies over the years have indicated that the love languages can be an effective system to help humans communicate in relationships, so much so that therapists and counselors have also incorporated this framework into their practice. Someone who feels love through words of affirmation likes to hear praise and be appreciated whereas others prefer spending uninterrupted quality time. Some people like to receive sweet and thoughtful gifts yet some favor physical contact or they might hold a preference for acts of service and feel love through helpful actions.

There are so many ways you can show recognition and respect to your mom without buying extravagant gifts every year while breaking the bank. Let’s see what type of mom you have and plan a birthday surprise based on her own love language.

The best friend mom

Is your mom your favourite person ever? Is she the person you share everything with? Does she give the most valuable and precious advice? If yes, this would be your best friend mom. Here are some ways to wish a happy birthday to mom.

Words of affirmation

If your mom responds well to words of affirmation, the best thing you can do is to be genuine and show appreciation. For this reason, write a handwritten letter expressing how your mom impacts your life. By giving her something that is meaningful, she will appreciate this way more than a random gift she might not even use.

Here are some ideas of birthday wishes you can include in your written note:

• Happy birthday to the most important woman in my life.
• I aspire to be like you when I’m older.
• You have taught me so much, I would be lost without a role model like you.
• Thank you for being the best mother I could ever ask for.
• You mean the world to me.
• Every single day I feel so thankful to have you in my life.
• You constantly show me how to strive to be the best person I can.
• I hope that one day I can be as loving and kind as you are.
• You are the rock that holds our family together, I can’t imagine life without you.
• Thank you for believing me and pushing me to chase my dreams.
• You are my biggest inspiration and best friend.
• Even though I might not show it all of the time, I truly appreciate every little thing you do for me.

Quality time

Since this mom appreciates quality time with family, make sure you provide this on her special day. Plan a family activity where you can spend good, uninterrupted quality time together. Organize a trivia night with funny questions about your mom or shared experiences where the winner gets a prize and claims the title of who knows mom best.

Receiving gifts

Alternatively, if your mom loves receiving a physical gift, think twice before you go out and buy a gift just for the sake of giving her a gift. WishSlate is an iOS app that helps make gifting easy and relieves so many of the stressors that accompany gift shopping. It eliminates thinking of a gift that Mom will actually like, then begins the search process of where to buy the gift, then going to a crowded mall to hunt down the item. WishSlate is simple, you can follow your friends and family and browse their wish lists to see items they would actually want.  Purchase one of their selected items and wait for the gift to arrive. Onboard your mom and get her to add items she’d like to receive to her wishlist and buy her best present yet!

Acts of service

On the other hand, if your mom prefers acts of service then a great idea is to organize a lovely breakfast spread. Print out a menu with a few options and have her select her preferred meal that you can cook. Set up a beautiful birthday table with balloons, streamers, and a birthday mimosa – have the meal waiting when she is ready to come downstairs. Nothing says I love you like a home-cooked meal made with love.

Physical touch

The physical touch love language is more difficult to integrate into your birthday plans for your mom if you don’t see her often. One special thing you can do to celebrate her day is to set up the ultimate at-home spa day. Get her a book, light some candles, run a bubble bath, and even follow it by giving her a massage. Every mom deserves to relax and be pampered on her big day.

The mom that has everything

This mom already has everything she needs. Normally if she wants something, she goes out and buys it for herself, and then when her birthday comes around you have no clue what to get her because she truly has it all. If this is the case, your mom will appreciate anything you put genuine thought and effort into. Let’s read through some ideas of things you can do for the mom that has it all…

Words of affirmation

If you are creative, paint a picture or use a graphic design tool online to create an image with words that best describe your mom or your relationship. Put it in a gorgeous frame, and voilà! You now have a beautiful gift while catering to the best method your mom will appreciate.

Here are some ideas of meaningful adjectives you can include:

• Caretaker
• Loving
• Kind
• Selfless
• Superhero
• Beloved
• Dearest
• Generous
• Beautiful
• Strong
• Role Model
• Respected

Quality time

Arrange a picnic date with your mom! Pick a secluded and quaint place to lay a couple of blankets on the grass, bring a speaker, and prepare a playlist of all of mom’s favourite songs. Assemble a beautiful spread of some of her favourite snacks or even put together a nice charcuterie board. Most importantly, you get to spend the afternoon catching up with your mom and solidifying your relationship through quality time.

Receiving gifts

Try getting your mom a subscription. Subscriptions for gifts have become especially popular in the last 5 years. You can now gift subscriptions for movies, music, clothing, meal preps, and beauty products. Check out our blog on different subscriptions that are great options for people who don’t want more things as a gift. Equally, you could bring your mom a bouquet of flowers and a box of high-quality chocolates. Without fail, this small gift is always appreciated and doesn’t go unnoticed.

Acts of service

COUPONS! Make your own coupons using the hundreds of free coupon maker tools online and design some professional-looking coupons for your mom’s birthday. A person who feels love through acts of service will appreciate your effort to relieve her stress. You can walk the dog for a week, do the dishes for a month, take out the garbage, pick up the dry-cleaning, or any other chore that you know your mom dreads.

Physical touch

This love language is closely related to quality time. People who feel love through physical touch want to be near and physically close to the people they love the most. For instance, a great birthday idea for this mom is to plan a weekend getaway for you two. The trip doesn’t have to be anything expensive or over-the-top, but even a day visit to a town nearby will bring a fun and adventurous day for the two of you.

The mom that always misses you

This mama cannot come to grips with how grown-up you are. In her eyes, you’re still the little baby that she wants and needs to take care of. As per usual, this mother cherishes all of your childhood memories together and misses you constantly. She may send too many text messages when you go out or call you every day, but that’s only because she misses you dearly.

Words of affirmation

Send your mom little emails throughout her birthday week expressing your love and gratitude. Create a constant build-up to her special day while letting her know how much she means to you. Send her funny images, cute messages, or old pictures to remind her how much you love and cherish this woman.

Quality time

The best way to wish a happy birthday to the mom that always misses you is to just hang out and devote quality time to her. Organize fun activities that you can do just the two of you like going shopping, to the movies, or treat her to her favourite restaurant. The activity itself doesn’t matter as long as you are catering the day to her. This mama will love that you planned to spend time with her and just enjoy each other’s company.

Receiving gifts

In general, if your mom always misses you and she likes to receive gifts, you can always make something that reminds her of your relationship. Make a photo album filled with pictures of you two every year since you were born. Decorate the album with special pictures, memories, and write down stories that she will be able to look back on whenever she misses you. You can continue to add to the album as years go on and memories are made together. She will be able to keep this item that symbolizes your journey together which is truly priceless.

Acts of service

In order to perform an act of service, you must relieve some of the stress felt by her daily activities. What does your mom not enjoy doing? Can you help by filling up your mom’s gas tank, do the dishes, or even order dinner to their door unannounced so that mom doesn’t have to cook. These acts of service might be small gestures that you can do throughout the day but will ultimately help her have a more enjoyable time. Take care of her on her special day and allow mom to have the most relaxing birthday yet!

Physical touch

In the event that you live away from your mom, you should arrange to have her come visit you for a few days. Plan a full itinerary for the visit and show her around the places you love while showing your mama some love. Ultimately, the most important gift you can give this mom is lots of hugs and kisses! Smother her with all the love and care that she deserves on her big day. After all, a mother is the most important figure in your life and great relationships always require maintenance.

Overall, there are countless actions, activities, gifts, and wishes you can organize for mom. Be sure to get creative and organize something that will translate into a thoughtful and kind gesture for her. Don’t forget to download WishSlate on your phone to help save time, stress, and worry over a gift. Tell your loved one to add items to their wishlist and simply purchase an item off of their list. You now have a present they are guaranteed to like without all the hassle. Happy birthday mom, we hope it’s the best one yet!

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Read up more on the 5 love languages by Dr. Gary Chapman.

Interested in more gift ideas, check out our last blog post Rise and Grind During Quarantine.

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