Why Mother's Day Is Good For Mom And Even Better For The Economy

If you are like most people you are probably at the mall today, frantically looking for that perfect gift for the special woman in your life - Your mother! That's because tomorrow, May 13th, is Mother's Day, the one day of the year when we all try to show our appreciation to this hard working woman by . . . . . . Bestowing her with lavish gifts.

It should therefore come as no surprise that Mother's Day is the fourth overall biggest spending day in the country, lagging just a tad behind Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. It is estimated that this year, over $18 Billion USD will be spent to show moms how much they are loved and appreciated - And that, is in North America alone!

So what do we all buy? A card of course, making it Hallmark's 3rd biggest card-selling holiday. The company estimates that each family buys an average of 3 cards and a total of 133 million are exchanged annually, on this special day.

Then, there are the gifts - Statistics show that the spending is almost equally divided between all kinds of merchants, with a third going to department stores, about 40% to specialty stores like florists, jewelers and electronic shops and the remaining, to discount and specialty clothing stores.

Not surprisingly, all this commercialization was last thing on Philadelphiaresident Anna Jarvis's mind when in 1905, she took an oath by her mother's gravesite to fulfill her one lifelong wish - Establish a day where mothers would be honored and recognized. So determined was Anna to make this happen that in 1907, she left her full-time teaching job and embarked on a campaign to set aside a special day to honor mothers. In 1914, Congress finally relented declaring the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day - And, a brand new retailing holiday was born!

While all this spending makes us smug about having done something 'good' for our moms, surprisingly (or maybe not) it is not what most mothers really want. All they want to do is take a break from routine household chores like cooking and doing laundry. But most important of all, they want to spend quality time with their family - One during which kids are not buried in their computer games, giving terse one-word answers - And not just on this day, but every day of the year.

That, would be the best Mother's Day gift you could give your mom. Can you commit to doing that for just one hour a day? If so, let your mother know and we guarantee you will have never seen a bigger smile from this superwoman who toils day after day, to make your life easy!

Happy Mother's Day!