Mother's Day is a special day to celebrate the amazing women in our lives who have raised us, nurtured us, and shown us unconditional love. Mother's Day can also be hard for some people. I lost my mother 6 years ago but I will use this day to focus on all of my memories and good times we had together. She was a fabulous lady and I miss her every day.
The reality is that Moms do everything for everyone else and put their own needs last. We (as in moms) love to do this, but we are human and would also love a break. This Mother’s Day, do something special to show her that you SEE her and appreciate all that she does for you. Think of HER. Do not let her cook on Mother's Day. Prepare a meal for her. Plan an outing with activities you can all do together (museum, park, picnic). But make sure YOU do all of the planning. If you are going to give her a gift, take it from me, she does not want a gift card inside of an envelope. She wants something more personal.
They say that many new products come out of personal experiences. I am mom of two teenage boys who got frustrated when wrapping gifts. I wanted an easier way to disguise their cell phones, AirPods and video games, so I took it in my own hands and created a product to solve this problem. Disguise The Surprise is a gift-packaging tool that you arrange around one gift to disguise in a shirt box, or use the dividers to create your own gift box full of goodies. I will show you in this post how you can use this new gift packaging tool to give Mom a gift that is all about HER.
Does Mom play tennis? Make a tennis-themed box. If she loves to cook, make a chef box filled with spices and cooking gadgets. This is the beauty of making your own box. You know what she likes and control what goes in the box. I have several ideas that I put together for you, but truly, there are endless possibilities as to what could go in your box for Mom.
The box above looks so fresh and happy with the pink and white. I added some bath fizzies so mom can relax. I found these cute Momcouragement Cards at Home Goods. Barnes & Noble has this cute "What I Love About Mom" book that you can fill out and give her something personal that she can hold on to and read over and over. I grew up in Florida and am a sucker for anything beachy. I love these comfy socks with the flamingo. I found these at Target. I love to add craft flowers to the boxes to create a pop of color. You can find them at any craft store. This box used 3 white dividers (2 length & 1 width).
I love the colors in this box as well. I try to match the tissue paper to the color of the items in the box to create sort of a themed look. This box has an
Athleta shirt if mom likes to exercise. I added a pair of spring-colored thin socks for warmer weather. A
purse-sized umbrella with a pop of color from Target that looks fabulous. I added a small Kate Spade change purse, and a small candle from
Bella Vida Candles for her to light and relax. I love to put EOS lip balms in the small thin side sections, as well as individually wrapped
Life Saver mints. I added a few craft roses in yellow to give it a pop of color. Have the kids write a note to Mom in one of the sections or make a drawing. You can always make a drawing/note on a big piece of paper and simply lay it on top of the items before closing up the box. This box used 5 clear dividers (2 length & 3 width).
Giving Mom a nice piece of jewelry? Every woman knows the shape of a jewelry box, ruining the surprise. Use the dividers to disguise the small box inside a shirt box. She will never know what's inside which makes it way more fun for everyone! This will work for any shaped jewelry box, you just slide the dividers around all sides and it will hold it in place. If the jewelry box is thin, you can either put tissue paper under the box to lift it or place the riser dividers under it to lift it up 1". I used two riser dividers for this box and then added craft roses on top of the end sections (sides of jewelry box) to cover up the risers and add a pop of color. Like always, you can disguise one item and leave it at that...or add more items and fill the box. This box used 6 white dividers (2 length, 2 width & 2 risers).
Does Mom play a sport? If so, make her a themed box like this golf box. This would work for any sport...tennis, running, pickleball, volleyball, the gym...anything!
This box has a golf shirt, tees, ball markers, and different kinds of golf balls. All of these golf items are from Golf Galaxy, but you can find them at your local store, online, or anywhere that sells sporting items. This box used 5 clear dividers (2 length & 3 width).
Another idea would be if you are giving Mom a trip to Florida to go golfing...make a golf-themed box and then add a note, or the tickets to the event in the box informing her of the upcoming trip. This would make an awesome way to give her a trip reveal!
Does Mom like to read? You could give her a book and simply wrap it, OR you could make her a whole book-themed box. This is way more fun! Arrange the dividers around the book to hold it in place. If the book is thin, place the risers underneath to lift it up, or put a bunch of tissue paper under it. I found some comfy socks that match the colors of the box and opened the packaging so I could place them individually (one on top & one on bottom). I added three EOS lip balms on the left thin section, a body scrub, face mask (flexible packaging that folds over to fit on the right side), a few individually wrapped Life Saver mints and then a gift card. I would suggest a gift card to her favorite coffee shop, smoothie place, spa, gym...you know her, something that is her happy place. She would love this! This box used 7 white dividers (2 length, 2 width & 3 risers).
Who doesn't love a little pampering? A spa day would be such a relaxing and rejuvenating way to spend Mother's Day. How about giving her a spa themed gift box. You can find spa type items everywhere...gift box stores, Sephora, ULTA, drug stores even your grocery store. Find some items with relaxing colors and use the dividers to hold them in place. I added a pair of earrings in this box for something extra special. You could also add a gift card to her favorite local spa for some 1 on 1 pampering. If you are giving a big gift this year, say a trip for a whole week to Arizona to a hotel/retreat, use this box as the means to reveal the trip. Place a note on top or the certificate to announce and explain the trip. Wow! This box used 4 clear dividers (2 length & 2 width).
I love the way this box turned out. If Mom likes to hit the farmers market's on the weekend, she would love a box like this! I found a reusable bag that says "Farmers Market" at Home Goods that I folded up in the main section. I also included a body butter, flat candle, and goat's milk soap from Home Goods. I wanted to stick with the white and natural packaging in this box. I found a purse-sized sewing kit, thin white socks, EOS lip balms, and some mints. On the top, I found a pack of brown hair ties that tied in with the natural colors and added some craft daisies for a pop of color. I used white and kind of a kraft brown tissue paper that tied in all nicely. This box used 5 clear dividers (2 length & 3 width).
I literally could add a ton more box examples here, but I think you get the point. You know Mom and can tailor a box just for her. If you take the time to make Mom a gift box like this, it will absolutely make a lasting impression.
Remember that the dividers fit the shirt boxes that I sell on my website perfectly. But not all shirt boxes are the same length. Most store-bought shirt boxes are slightly shorter. That is why when designing the dividers, I added a hinge on one end that folds to fit most of these store-bought boxes. It won't fit every shirt box out there, but it certainly gives you more options. I like to keep mentioning this to make sure if you are using your own boxes, you know you need to fold the hinge to make them work. When assembling your boxes, keep the ends with the hinge on the same side of the box to keep it even.
Whether you are simply making Mom a card, cooking her dinner or getting her a gift, just remember to make her feel special and take some of her day-to-day responsibilities off of her plate. Go forth and cherish Mom : )
To all the amazing mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!
Duffy
