What Mom Really Wants
The seven most stress-inducing words in the English language may be "I don't want anything for Mother's Day." Is this maternal haiku code for "What I'd really like is to spend time with you"? Or motherspeak for "If you really loved me, you wouldn't need to ask what I want"?
Assuming the latter, we asked U.S. News & World Report 's crack I-team for guidance. First, these investigative reporters said, do what Deep Throat told Woodward and Bernstein: "Follow the money." Find out where Mom shops. Sneak a peek at her credit card statements. Take notes on shopping bag labels around the house. Then, "cultivate inside sources" --a bit harder for the average son or daughter. To lend a hand, we talked to experts--all of them moms--about new mother-pleasing products.
TECHIE MOM
A working mother might appreciate the PalmOne Treo 650 smartphone (left, starts at $449, palmone.com ). Actually, who wouldn't? It combines a phone with an organizer, E-mail and Web access, and a digital camera for cute kid shots, says Robin Raskin, author of the online column Internet Mom. "I've talked to a million moms," she explains, "and they'd rather have a good practical solution than the latest gee-gaws." For moms who spend a lot of time in the car, she suggests a satellite radio, with hundreds of stations to choose from. Raskin also likes the portable Delphi XM MyFi ($300, xmradio.com ). A little larger than an iPod, it can record up to five hours of music. With any technology gift, she recommends giving a jump-start: Record a few songs on the iPod before you give it to her, or type a few names into the address book on her new smart phone.
GARDENING MOM
Kathy LaLiberte, director of gardening for Gardener's Supply Co., always asks her kids for a load of compost for Mother's Day, along with the promise to help distribute it around the garden. For a more decorative gift, she proposes the Container Water Garden Kit (above, $99, gardeners.com ). It comes with beautiful, easy-to-grow plants like calla lilies and creeping jenny.
FOODIE MOM
Mom gourmets mired in the PB&J routine will appreciate Hawaiian artisan salts (above left, $30, surlatable.com ), says Janet Sauvage, a buyer for luxury kitchen supplier Sur la Table. The red salt incorporates red clay from Maui for a rich earthiness, while the black incorporates activated charcoal. White balsamic vinegar --made with white instead of red grapes--has a milder taste than the brown variety ($10, at Sur la Table stores). For mothers who enjoy a quiet cuppa, Teosophy's Tea Collection Box ($25, surlatable.com ) contains 18 pyramid-shaped mesh "pods" of black and green teas, ultrasonically sealed to eliminate glue and other impurities.
KITCHEN GADGET MOM
"Look around the kitchen and see what she uses all the time," says Dawn Allen, vice president of merchandising for cooking.com, a kitchenware website. Then find an improved version. Coffee lover Allen gets great joy (and java) from the Bunn-O-Matic pod coffeemaker (above, $200, cooking.com ), a single-cup maker that brews in 30 seconds. Even a new color can update an old appliance. Consider a Hamilton Beach toaster ($70, cooking.com ) in apple green or pineapple yellow. For mother-child baking jams, Sur la Table's Sauvage recommends a pink silicone rolling pin ($50, surlatable.com ). It doesn't stick.
FASHION MOM
If you don't know which designers Mom prefers, you can still provide a fashionable Mother's Day gift. The solution: accessories. They're popular, and you don't have to worry about fit, notes retail industry analyst Annette McEvoy. She likes the $32 turquoise-colored earrings (right) and assorted blue necklaces ($42-$128) at bananarepublic.com. Bags and scarves may prove a challenge for color-impaired offspring. Luckily, the hue du jour is white, says LaVelle Olexa, senior vice president for fashion merchandising at Lord & Taylor, whose grown son once bought her a pair of cashmere sneakers for Mother's Day. She loved them, but only very savvy children should dare give such a quirky gift.
FITNESS MOM
Place your hands or feet on a disk, then tone up by sliding along the floor. Gliding Discs (above, $20, glidingdiscs.com ) are the latest exercise craze, says Today show fitness expert and mother of three Kathy Kaehler. What to wear while gliding (or otherwise working up a sweat)? Fitness author and Lifetime TV host Denise Austin believes "every mom wants a good fitting pair of yoga pants that holds her in." She favors styles by Nike ( nike.com ) and Danskin ( danskin.com ), priced from $35 to $60. Doing double duty for running errands, the best yoga pants have a fold-over waist for extra support and to disguise lower-tummy flab--which is more than any son wants to know.
This story appears in the May 2, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.