Friday, May 09, 2008

Writer Mom Gifts

Mother's Day is this Sunday, and while moms who write love pasta necklaces, see-through nighties, and that bouquet of blazing orange roses you bought off the guy selling them at the intersection on the way home from church last year, we would like to make a few suggestions about some writing-related gifts we would also enjoy:

Anything from Brenda Novak's 2008 Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research : There are hundreds of the most unique and interesting writer gifts you can imagine up for bid, including very cool opportunities like hanging out for a day with Kensington Editor Kate Duffy.

Books: We love to read as much as we love to write, so books are always welcome. You get extra brownie points if you know what we like to read, but a simple question like "What novel would you like to read but you can't afford, Mom?" will give you an idea. Paperback books start at $6.99 (or even less if you get them from the remainder table.)

Gift Cards: a gift card to a book store or office supply store gives her an excuse to go shopping, and she can pick out what she really wants. $25 is a nice amount to give.

Paper & Printing: One of my favorite and most unusual Mother's Day gifts of all time was a case of great quality printer paper that I'm always too cheap to buy for myself. Runner up was a couple of toner cartridges for my ink jet. Paper on sale can cost as little as $15 for ten reams; toner cartridges will be a bit more expensive but if you buy a two-pack it works out to less (plus your writer mom gets more toner.)

Portable Keyboard: If you have some extra cash to spend, the Alpha Smart Neo or Dana is an affordable alternative to a laptop, and a writing tool that your writer mom can take virtually anywhere. $219 to $350.

You writer moms out there, do you have any special requests to add to the list? If you do, please share them in comments.

6 comments:

  1. My family gives me the best gift every year, and it's free! They stay out of my way for one whole day so that I can clean my home office. It's become a twice-yearly thing, on Mother's Day and in December on my birthday. It works out great because I know my office won't get too awful in just half a year. When I'm done, I have a real sense of accomplishment.

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  2. Anonymous10:09 AM

    Hmmmmm.... the writer mom?

    Some peace and quiet when I can write to my heart's content without worrying about laundry, picking up, answering the phone, requests for lunch/dinner/breakfast/snack.

    Followed by a dinner at a place of my choosing-then a night of peace as the children happily and politely do their chores and get ready for bed without being yelled at.

    Once the kids are tucked peacefully into bed, we'll follow with a session of trying out the see-thru nightie.

    No orange roses necessary.

    But tiger lilies are nice.

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  3. A new bookcase to hold my mountains of books would be nice. I filled the last case five minutes after I put it together and still had five stacks of homeless novels.

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  4. I too would vote for a whole day without mommy commitments, getting a pedicure is always a nice treat, then a few hours at the bookstore with a friend and some cheesecake afterward.

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  5. I would like someone else to do the dishes. Or maybe some new flowering plants from Lowe's Garden Center.

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  6. I vote for a housekeeper once a month for a year, with a bonus week in November.

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