Mother's Day Is Almost Here: Here's What Moms Say They Want

Mother's Day is on May 12. Don't screw it up.

Last week, Groupon conducted a survey of moms for Mother's Day. Among other findings, the survey reports that, "Upon receiving a bad gift, the vast majority of moms (84 percent) say they reluctantly accept it with quiet disappointment."

That's right: disappointment. Remember how awful it felt when your mom would say, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed in you"? Do you really want to experience that again?

We didn't think so. Fortunately, both Groupon and coupon site RetailMeNot asked moms what they really want for Mother's Day, so if you're completely out of ideas specific to your own mother, you can at least get some sense of what would please the average American mom.

According to Groupon, the most popular gifts among moms are "something they can do with family," a relaxation treatment or spa treatment, or "something they normally wouldn't get for themselves."

RetailMeNot was a bit more specific. It found that 18 percent of moms most want to receive flowers, and another 18 percent would prefer to get a spa treatment. Gift certificates and jewelry were also popular choices.

Unfortunately, sons and daughters don't always come through with the preferred gifts. While many gift-givers say they will indeed be getting flowers for mom, only 7 percent told RetailMeNot that they'll be giving jewelry. And while both surveys found spa days to be wildly popular among mothers, just 2 percent of respondents told RetailMeNot that they'd be getting their mothers a spa package.

Sponsored Links

That's a lot of "quiet disappointment."

As always, our best gift-giving advice is just to put some thought into it. Moms told Groupon that getting a thoughtless gift is even worse than getting no gift at all, so the last thing you want to do is just grab something at the last minute with no regard for what she actually wants.

If all else fails, though, get her some flowers.

Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.