Mother’s Day is just around the corner and that means children everywhere, both young and old are sweating bullets trying to come up with the perfect gift to celebrate mother’s day, often on a limited budget. You could go with the old standard of a handmade card or a drawing, but let’s face it, if you are old enough to be reading this, chances are you’ve outgrown that phase, and your mom probably has enough of those to last a lifetime! So how do you tell your mom she’s special with a limited budget?

10 ideas to Celebrate Mother’s Day and put a smile on her face for less than $20

1. Arrange a family photo. Whether it’s taken professionally or set up in your living room or backyard, what mom wouldn’t love an updated family photo? You can nearly always find coupons for places like JCPenney or Sears to have them done inexpensively as long as you don’t go overboard buying the “packages” they will try to sell you! Or, you can set up a tripod and do them yourself or enlist a family friend. Either way, the object is to make mom feel special and surrounded by the people she loves so make sure you do all the work and she just has to show up!

2. Instead of flowers, consider buying her a plant or tree. You can usually get something nice for less than $20 and she will always think of you when she looks at it. This would be a great time to get your artistic juices flowing and create a little handmade marker to plant with it with some sentimental message from you. She’ll LOVE it.

3. Cook her favorite meal. You might need some help on this one, but what mom wouldn’t love to have someone else cook for her for a change? Whatever you do, make sure you clean up too or the gift will seem like a chore for mom!

4. Buy her several small trinkets she wouldn’t buy for herself. Does mom have a favorite candy? A favorite body splash or something else that she wouldn’t buy on her own? Put a few thoughtful items together in a little bag or basket and she will know that you’ve been paying attention and she’ll feel loved in the process.

5. Write her a letter. Moms are usually into anything heartfelt that comes from a child, so capitalize on that! Write her a nice letter telling her some of the many reasons why she’s special and why you love her. If you can pull it off without typing it and make it both handwritten AND readable then you will earn bonus points!

6. Take her on an outing. A walk in a pretty park, a visit to a museum, a trip to see a chick flick at the movies or even ice cream at her favorite shop. Whatever it may be, if you plan it and do it with her, chances are she will love it.

7. Make a video card. Here’s a secret…Moms never get tired of seeing their babies on camera! Take some time out of your busy schedule to create a short video message for your mom of all the things you love about her and how great she is. You can put it on a DVD or post it online for her to see. Either way it will be sure to touch her heart.

8. Get the whole family together. Pick an activity that gets as much of the family together as possible. Make it a potluck to keep expenses and work to a minimum. As long as mom gets to be with the people she loves without being in charge she will be happy!

9. Look for a way to serve her. Does mom have a chore that she hates? Give her a break from the laundry or dishes by taking it over for her. She will be grateful for a chance to step back from the dreaded task and touched that you would do that for her.

10. Create a memory jar for her. On colorful slips of paper write all the happy memories you can think of with her and be sure to include reasons why you love her. Fold them up and put them in a pretty container and you’ll be sure to have a gift that will put a smile on her face for many months to come!

So how about you? Share your low-cost ideas to celebrate Mother’s Day in the comments.

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This article was syndicated and originally appeared on the CESI Debt Solutions website.