For most of us, buying mom an iPad is really out of the question. We love our moms, but we're pretty sure all of our mothers would rather us make rent than buy her a gift.
For the bargain shoppers and penny pinchers out there, today and tomorrow's ideas are for you.
One for the memory books
OK, so you couldn't afford the Canon PowerShot SX280 HS. That's OK. If most your nights are spent eating ramen and packing PB&J for lunch tomorrow, you should get mom the very budget-friendly Aluratek 8" LCD Digital Photo Frame, on sale at Best Buy for $38.99.
Put your favorite memories of mom on an SD card, shove said card in the appropriate side slot, and presto! Mom's got a rotating gallery of all the good times you had together. She'll be ecstatic that you still care about her and you'll be happy she won't mind adding an extra Benjamin to this month's allowance.
Put her old cellphone case in time out
Mom's got a ton of great attributes: She's smart, unselfish, patient, and unconditionally loving. What's she not know for? Being careful, at least with her electronics.
This Sunday get her the one gift she definitely needs: an OtterBox case for her phone and/or tablet. Starting at just $49.99 for the Defender series, this case will protect mom's must-have tech and – wait for it – even comes in pink. It's a win-win, really. The OtterBox will keep her tech from getting broken and it won't break the bank for you.
For the movie-loving mom
Sure, everyone loves a tangible gift, but hey, sometimes something intangible like, say, a subscription, works just as well. That said, if your momma loves the cinema almost as much as she loves you, she'll really dig a subscription to Netflix. While you haven't been able to purchase gift accounts since late February, you could always pay for an account and hook mom up with the info.
Netflix is almost as ubiquitous as cable at this point, but in case mom isn't in the loop all you have to tell her is that Netflix is "the best thing since sliced bread," "the bee's knees" or whatever other outdated '70s slang you'd like to use.
At just $7.99 per month it's not more than a drink or two, and since one account can host multiple viewer profiles we're sure she wouldn't mind if you slipped on there every once in a while to catch an episode or two as well. What if she's already on Netflix? Give Amazon prime ($99 a year) or Hulu Plus ($7.99 a month) a whirl.
