A Mommy Story

I recently had someone find their way to my blog with the Google search, “What does a mommy want for Christmas?”

It made me stop and think, because honestly, what do we want for Christmas? Of course, different moms certainly have different wish lists, so I don’t think you can group all moms into one category of Christmas gifts. And then there’s the problem of mommy self-denial. We have this habit of putting ourselves last when it comes to gifts. Go ask your own mom what she wants for Christmas, and she’ll probably say, “Oh, I can’t think of anything I’d like for myself.” She’ll give you a list of things for the house, for your father, and for the family pet before she’ll think of anything just for her.

However, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Here’s what many moms of young kids (including myself) would probably ask for, if they were being totally honest. Even if they didn’t ask for these things, they probably wouldn’t say no to them, either.

Time off – Kids, work, and a house tend to eat up all of the time a mom has. If you want her to have a special treat, give her an afternoon where she is ordered to do nothing except read, relax in a bath, or whatever it is she likes to do to unwind. Take the kids elsewhere. On those rare times when I’m alone in the house (and I mean totally alone – no child up in bed), I almost don’t know what to do with myself. I can turn the music up loud! I can eat without anyone else begging for my food! I can take a bath without a toddler knocking on the door and saying, “Come in pweeze?” And I can just relax.

Pampering – I barely have time to shower 3 days a week, much less do my hair, exfoliate, or apply a moisturizing mask to my face. A gift certificate for a spa service would be a welcome gift for many moms. Not only does it give us the first gift of time off, but we are doing something to look better and feel better about ourselves also. That’s a bonus for our guys, right? One of the best gifts I ever received from Aaron was last year on our anniversary, when he gave me three gift cards: one to get my hair cut and colored, one for a massage or facial, and one more to buy something hip from Hot Topic. A day off was included in all of that, of course. It was a very welcome, and well-planned, gift.

Assistance – I never like to ask for help, even when I know I need it. But I have a dream of someday having a maid service come to the house once a month to help with the deep cleaning. It’s a frivolous expense for us, and one we can’t afford, so we continue to split our chores and do them regularly (well, maybe not as regularly as we should). However, even the gift of one maid service visit would be an amazing gift, especially now that I’m pregnant and even less inclined to do my chores.

Food – Is the mom in your life a wine connoisseur? Find a local wine tasting and take her to it. Does she like chocolates? Get her some of the best chocolates out there, then. As a side note, if you have thieving little hands in the house, buy a box to lock the chocolates in, too, so mom can be the only one to enjoy them. There’s nothing worse than sitting down to enjoy a special treat in the evening, only to find your special treat has been devoured by some bottomless pit.

Date nights – Truthfully, this gift is a benefit to both a mom and her husband/partner. But if mom is the one who gets to pick the restaurant, the movie (no complaints about a romantic comedy, guys), and isn’t the one required to find the babysitter, it’s a real treat. If this is a gift from another member of the family, it makes a great gift for the couple, if presented with the offer of babysitting, of course. Personally, I want to go out with my husband more, spending time together as an adult couple, instead of just parents. When we don’t get to spend time together over a long period, I feel like I’m less a wife and more a mom than anything else. And lets be honest – it was the wonderful time we had together as a couple that led to parenthood, so I’d like to keep as much of that couple-time as possible.

So there’s my list for what to get a mom for Christmas. Moms, did I miss anything?