Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Handmade Mother's Day

Last summer, when we visited my mother-in-law in the nursing home in Bridgend, she was kind enough to inform us that she didn't want us to send her flowers for birthdays, Mother's Day etc. because they are a waste of money.

With that announcement I'm having to come up with alternatives presents for special occasions. That's not an easy task for a 93 year old lady who doesn't get out, who has no real hobbies or interests and doesn't even do much reading.

DH suggested she might like a pair of bed socks as she suffers from swollen feet and finds it hard to get socks to fit. So I made her these:-



I had also intended making her a special bag to fit over her invalid walker and even got a pattern from Ebay for it...until I remembered she has a folding walker and none of the bags were suitable. So, I had to come up with something else. In the end I found a tutorial online for a tissue holder, and also remembered I had a pack of dried lavender, perfect for lavender sachets for her clothes' drawers.



And then I made a card:-

Combined with a box of Terry's All Gold milk chocolates on offer for £1.50 in Morrisons I put together this little selection to send off to her:-


I managed to pack them tightly by reusing a cardboard wrapper from Amazon and the whole lot went as a 'small parcel' for £3.

I hope she likes everything, and she certainly shouldn't have cause to complain I've wasted money since nearly everything (except the chocs) was made with supplies I already had. And that pattern I bought will still be used as I intend making some bags for my local Age UK centre.

My own Mother's Day will be spent at a Wedding Fair in Broadstairs with DD2, and I will be meeting her future mother-in-law (also called Helen) for the first time.

Anyone else have plans for Mothering Sunday, or made anything lovely for their mum?
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6 comments:

  1. Bridget27 March 2014 at 08:25

    I've made my Mum three pairs of bedsocks to go with some pots with primulas in.
    I'm going out for breakfast and then having Mum over for tea.
    Have a great day at the wedding fair and good luck with meeting the future in law xx

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    1. Heleng28 March 2014 at 09:59

      I'm sure your mum will love her gifts. It's so difficult knowing what to give someone in a nursing home as obviously most of their needs are already met. Also, with my MIL being so far away I have to be careful with the weight of the gifts I send as postage is so dear. Royal Mail wanted over £12 to send her Xmas stuff, so we went with Collect+ for half the price. Thank you for the good luck wishes. Low self esteem means I'm not great with meeting new people especially when they're important to my kids, so I'm quite apprehensive about it.

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  2. Suze27 March 2014 at 09:40

    I think it is a lovely gift and suits her needs very well.

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    1. Heleng28 March 2014 at 10:01

      Thank you, Suze. I wasn't sure if I was being a bit mean, but it's so hard knowing what to send her when there's really nothing she needs and when I have to be careful with weight and measurements of the parcel thanks to Royal Mail's strict guidelines. I hope she likes them.

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  3. Pam27 March 2014 at 19:22

    I love hand knitted socks, the problem is that I have hot feet so can't keep them on for more than 10 minutes before steam starts to wisp out of the cuffs.

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    1. Heleng28 March 2014 at 10:04

      You're the opposite of me, Pam. I suffer dreadfully from cold feet. As long as my feet are warm then the rest of me will follow, but if my feet are cold then I'm shivering all over. That's why I'm still having a hot water bottle in bed as I can never sleep if I have cold feet. Had to laugh at the image of steam puffing out from the cuffs of your socks!

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