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Untitled Document
| Covering all the bases |
| These aren't your mom's Mother's Day cards |
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By STEPHANIE HORVATH
Cox News Service
Tucked among the traditional cards at your neighborhood card store are cards from the dog and cat; cards for people who may never have given birth but sure act like moms, such as stepmothers, nannies, single dads; cards for pregnant soon-to-be moms, single moms and former mothers-in-law.
Yvette Villacrusis, manager at Annie's Hallmark in the Palm Beach Mall, said the new-wave Mother's Day cards have grown in popularity.
"They sell incredibly well," she said. "Everyone's always asking for the special sections."
Hallmark and American Greetings, the nation's greeting-card giants, have been updating their Mother's Day lines for 15 years.
"It's definitely more socially acceptable because society has really evolved," said Nicole Fraser, senior creative consultant at American Greetings.
Americans will give 150 million Mother's Day cards this year. Most will be traditional, but as nontraditional families become more common, so do cards that cater to them.
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Mother's Day has been a national holiday since 1914. That's when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law, with the holiday officially to be celebrated the second Sunday of May each year.
A woman named Anna Jarvis of Grafton, W.Va., gets credit for starting the idea. Anna's mother died in 1907, and Anna held a special ceremony to remember her in 1908.
The idea quickly caught on. In 1910, West Virginia and Oklahoma celebrated Mother's Day.
By 1911, every state was doing the same.
In 1913, the U.S. Congress started working on having it be a federal holiday. That's how it finally ended up being signed by President Wilson.
Today, Mother's Day is a popular holiday, where gifts and cards are sent around the world. The official flower for Mother's Day is the carnation. Pink carnations are for living mothers, and white carnations are for those who have passed on. |
Cox News Service
The widening array of nontraditional cards includes mothers-to-be, foster mothers, stepmoms, former mothers-in-law and even single dads. |
Hallmark introduced a birth-mother card a few years ago in response to a rising number of open adoptions.
"You wanted what was best for me and made what was probably the hardest decision of your life," one card reads.
"Not only did you give me life but you also gave me... a life."
Hallmark spokeswoman Deidre Parkes said adoption groups have voiced appreciation.
Hallmark and American Greetings declined to release sales figures, but American said about 20 percent of its 3,000 Mother's Day offerings are alternative cards. |
THIS YEAR, WHY NOT...
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Take photographs to commemorate the day. Put the photos in an album for Mom so she can cherish the moment.
- Clean up the house the evening before Mother's Day.
- Let mom select the radio station while in the car. She just might play a song during which everyone can sing along.
- Consider what Mom would prefer. After all, this is her day.
- Make a homemade card, just like in elementary school.
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Latest travel packages: 'momcations' |
By D.L. STEWART
Cox News Service
In years past, it was "mancations." In coming years, it could be anything from "kidcations" to "seniorcations."
But the travel industry is currently hoping the next holiday excursion to catch on will be the "momcation."
Billed as "the revenge sequel" to male-bonding "mancations," the "momcation" targets mothers seeking a break from screaming infants, frustrating adolescents and defiant teenagers. Which pretty much covers the gamut of motherhood.
"All this talk about men's primal need for mancations drove me crazy," said Kathy Carl, a member of the Hopkinton (Mass.) Girls Getaway Group. "My friends and I wouldn't trade our kids for anything — but we recently decided it was time to hatch a plan for a no-kids, no-husbands escape."
Not only are some women envious of men who take off for a weekend to fish, drink, play poker and smoke cigars with their buddies, a few of them are openly resentful about it.
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PHIL SKINNER /Cox News Service
"Women traveling in groups is the evolution of Girls Night Out," says I'm In! founder Josh Lesnick. |
Where are the women going?
From New York City to Smalltown U.S.A. From the sands of Paradise Island, Bahamas, to the mountains of Whistler, Canada.
And what do they do?
"Babes in the Berkshires at Canyon Ranch" in Lenox, Mass., offers pilates, kayaking, a ropes course, gourmet dinners and a spa, with a package price starting at $2,000 for a three-night stay.
"Manic Mommies Escape to Newport" in Rhode Island touts group yoga, mansion tours, guest speakers and a chic boutique, starting at $399 for two nights.
"Mackinac Mamas — Mackinac Island Girls' Getaway" includes horseback riding, golf, and "chocolate and cherries pedicure and spa treatment," approximately $500 for three days.
For mothers, there are an infinite variety of ways to escape on "momcations." Or, as the travel industry hopes they will prove to be, "cashcations." |
"Activity from moms groups on I'm in! has doubled since we launched," said company founder and CEO Josh Lesnick. "We are seeing a tremendous amount of interest in women's two- and three-day trip itineraries, which feature a variety of destinations and activities — from spa to extreme outdoor adventures. Women traveling in groups is the evolution of Girls Night Out."
The company reports thousands of groups of women — with names |
such as the Hard Working Moms, the Book Club Babes and the Runaway Mamas — are using its site (www.imin.com) to plan getaway trips.
According to its research, more than 20 million women take at least one of these trips a year, spending an average of $791 per person, per trip.
The average trip for women, however, is one day less than for men, and a majority of them are within three hours of their homes.
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| Books for Mom |
Is your mom an avid reader? Here are some best-seller picks
for mom for Mother's Day, courtesy of Page After Page. |
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"Eat, Pray, Love"
by Elizabeth Gibson
A celebrated writer pens an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life. |
"Audacity of Hope"
by Barack Obama
Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to the Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. |
"Water for Elephants"
by Sara Gruen
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of "Riding Lessons". Beautifully written, "Water for Elephants" is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. |
"The Last Lecture"
by Randy Pausch
Based on the extraordinary final lecture by Carnegie Mellon University professor Pausch, given after he discovered he had pancreatic cancer, this moving book goes beyond the now-famous lecture to inspire readers to live each day with purpose and joy. |
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