Suddenly Frugal Blog

You know that I covered the notion of going green with your gifts and celebrations on Valentine’s Day, and I think I came up with some pretty clever gift ideas. I mean, who knew that you could order organic flowers via the Internet? And I think some of the other notions mentioned for Valentine’s Day would go over well with Mom.

So, if you were going to give your mother a green Mother’s Day gift, what would it be?

I would definitely start with flowers from Organic Bouquet, if I were going to send flowers. (Three out of 10 Americans do send flowers, adding up to more than $2 billion spent on flowers for Mom.) I mean flowers=Mom and organic=green, so put them together and you’ve got the perfect green Mother’s Day gift, right?

I would also consider taking my mother out for a meal at restaurant that serves a sustainable menu, including locally grown wines. Visiting a website like the Sustainable Table would help me in this respect.

If I wanted to get her jewelry, the #2 gift selection for Mom, according to the National Retail Federation, I would find jewelry made from recycled resources. I’m thinking about the goodies that Uncommon Goods sells, though you can also find awesome housewares and other nifty recycled items here, too. Also, Smart Glass Jewelry sells gorgeous, high-end jewelry made from recycled glass

A lot of sons and daughters like to pamper mom with a gift certificate to a spa, so it would make perfect sense to find a spa that offers organic treatments on its menu for your gift for Mom. For example, if you visit SpaWish.com, you can search for a spa near mom (using either her zip code or state), and then you can search within those results for organic-oriented spas.

A popular way to tell Mom you love her on Mother’s Day is with a call, so says a T-Mobile survey. Does that mean that giving mom a cellphone–and offering to recycle her old one–so you can stay in touch is a good green gift? I’m not so sure, but maybe I’m on to something here. Could you give her a cell phone case made from organic materials or something such? Does something like that even exist?

Given my love for reusable totes for grocery shopping, maybe you can fill a canvas tote bag with all kinds of green goodies, such as organic spa products, and make that your gift. Or even a cool tote on its own might be the perfect green gift. I love the bags made from recycled tee shirts at Baggy Shirts! Do you think your Mom might like one too?

What about sustainable housewares? I just found out that Crate & Barrel is stocking a bunch of furniture and other furnishings that are made from renewable and/or recycled materials. They even have a set of salt and pepper shakers made from recycled paper. What would your Mom say about a green gift like this?

What else can you suggest for green Mother’s Day gifts? I can’t wait to hear your ideas.