Sometimes Mother’s Day can creep up on you, and before you know it you are panicking about what gift to get.  Other times the budget just is not there to get the gift that she really deserves. Here are some low-cost gifts that can be put together last minute to show Mom she is appreciated.

1. Time to herself.

Moms are busy. They were many hats, and most of their time is dedicated to other people. So why not give mom a break? Take the kids for a day, so she can have a day off. Give her the time to pursue whatever she wants and make sure there are no unwanted interruptions.

If Mom wants the day to go shopping, then make sure the car is not in the shop. If she want to stay at home and garden, followed by lounging in the tub with a good book, make sure the kids are out of the house so there is not competition for the bathroom or soccer balls rolling through her plants.

One last tip, do not make Mother’s Day the day she gets off. This should be a separate day. A date that is agreed on in advance so that she can makes plans if she so chooses.

2. A weekend of sleeping in

For moms with young kids, sleeping in is a true luxury. Little ones are frequently early birds and one they are awake, there is no convincing them they should go back to bed. That can mean Mom is up early seven days a week corralling kids who have gotten a full night’s rest regardless of how many hours of sleep she has gotten.

Any sleep deprived mom will cherish the opportunity to have a morning to sleep in, but an entire weekend of sleeping in is gift gold. If you can slip out of bed in the morning before she has been roused by the kids and let her wake up to the surprise of a clock that has ticked past her normal time, all the better.

However, if you are a sound sleeper and are afraid you will not hear the kids first, or if she will still beat you out of bed, announce your intentions beforehand.  That way, when Mom hears the first sounds of a waking child she can nudge you out of bed.

3, A surprise girls’ night out

Mom may have a routine with her girlfriends. Maybe they arrange playdates so they can hang out, maybe they work out sporadic nights out when they can arrange kids-free time. Maybe Mom has not seen her girlfriends in a long time due to distance or schedules, etc.

If she is a social butterfly, then try to contact the significant others of the rest of her social circle to pre-arrange a night when all “the girls” will be free. Then let Mom and her friends make their plans with the knowledge that there is no schedule juggling to be done.

4. Mix tape or playlist- This may seem like a cheesy thing from your high school days, but do not think cassette tape filled with sappy love-songs. Rather, put together a playlist that includes some of her new favorites, as well as a few favorites from specific points in her life, and then include a track or two of her kids singing. This can be something that give her on a CD, or maybe load it onto her mp3 player to surprise her.

5. Clean the house -In some homes the chores are split 50-50, in some maids do some of the basic cleaning, other moms dos the majority of the housework herself. Regardless of the percentage of routing cleaning tasks mom has on her plate, she will enjoy having a week where she will not have to do every single one of them.

Try to tackle the chores she dislikes the most first, and try to do as many as possible.