by Louie Lucillio
Are you at wit’s end when trying to decide what to get your Mom or your wife for the upcoming holiday in her honor? It’s easy to slip into an unthinking pattern of buying the same sorts of presents for her every year, one after another. Flower, candy, that sort of thing. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that approach occasionally, but if you’ve done it over and over and over, it’s time to look for a new approach to shopping for the Mom or Moms in your life for this Mother’s Day. Check out the following paragraphs for some cool tips. By the way, I’m a 35 year old man who lives in his Mom’s basement, so I know what I’m talking about!
1. Ipod. Let’s face it; if the Mom in your life doesn’t have her own iPod by now, she’s officially unhip, and you’ve got to remedy the situation pronto. Do you want everyone in town staring at Mom and pointing whenever they see her? Hearing her called ugly things like “freak”? Of course you don’t. And yet every day she walks among a public who knows she doesn’t own an iPod she risks such a fate. Don’t let your Mom be the last on your block to be cool. Get her and iPod, and help preserve her good name and standing in all the right social circles.
2. High Definition TV. Do you really love your Mom? Of course, you’ll say you do. But do you really, really love her? If so, then you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn’t get arrested for rampaging in the streets next year. What am I talking about? Here’s what - early next year the new law kicks in making all TV stations switch to digital only programs. If your Mom isn’t ready for the change, there’s likely to be a bit of unpleasantness. Don’t let that happen. For this Mother’s Day, get her a new HD television or a converter box for her old one.
3. Satellite radio. Unless your Mom speaks Spanish, or enjoys teeny bopper music, or gets off on 15 straight hours of some blowhards foaming at the mouth about politics and how America is going to heck in a hand basket, there’s probably not much for her to listen to when it comes to local radio. There might be one or two stations, but that’s about it, and that’s not much choice. But with a satellite radio receiver, she can choose from hundreds of genres and formats, most of which are commercial free. And you can get her a receiver for the car, for the home, or a sport receiver for jogging, etc.
4. Get her a nicer computer. Hey Ma, welcome to the 1990s! Ha! Just kiddin’ a little there. Just about every adult in America has a computer and uses it these days, and I assume your wife or mother is no exception. But both hardware and software become superseded by better, faster, more powerful versions at a very rapid rate. If her computer is more than a couple years old, she probably needs an upgrade or a whole new system. More memory, more storage, a faster processor, etc.. And if she’s got one of those old style monitors, she’d love to get one of the newer flat screen ones. They’re so much nicer, and they get cheaper all the time. So what are you waiting for?
5. Get Mom a nice compact home stereo system. The advances in audio technology the past few years have been absolutely incredible. You might’ve grown up thinking that small meant low quality and poor sound, and back then you were right. But not anymore. Forget the huge component systems and speakers the siize of a recliner. That stuff is history. Now good audio comes in small packages. Check out names like Klipsch and Henry Kloss if you doubt it. Not only is high end audio much smaller than it used to be, it’s also much less expensive. So no excuses, cheapskates!
6. Digital camera. Like most Moms, I’m guessing that your mother has one or more children? Am I right? I thought so. And, if she’s like most Moms, she loves to take pictures of her kids and/or grandkids. (Not my Mom, though. For some reason, she seems to think she has plenty of pictures of me and doesn’t want anymore. In fact, no matter how many photos of me I give her, she always says no thanks. Go figure.) Well, how about getting her a snazzy new digital camera? Like everything else, they’re getting better and cheaper every year, so if she already has one, you might be able to give her a much better one.
7. Gourmet coffee machine. Is your wife or mother a big customer of these fancy coffee shops that are springing up everywhere these days? And I do mean everywhere - some churches now have Starbucks! They’re taking over the planet! (Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one the next time I visit the county probation office.) No doubt these shops make great coffee. But with a gourmet coffee machine of her own, your wife or mother could do the very same thing at home for a lot cheaper. You can find these machines at wholesale clubs, specialty stores, online sites, etc.