Christmas Gift Ideas for Mom

Busy, busy, busy. When isn't a mother racing around? Give her a gift she'll really thank you for: a weekend at the spa. She'll get pampered from every angle. Whether it's a great massage or an hours-long soak in a tub, or just a mud-mask facial, she'll come home rejuvenated.

Keep the pleasure going permanently by buying her an electronic foot massager. These devices look like a weighing scale. But far from bringing on the guilt, they melt away the tension. Ten minutes with one of these and she'll be ready to say yes to whatever you didn't dare ask her earlier.

Still, life isn't all worry and stress, even for moms. A day on the golf course with her new clubs will keep her in trim and competitive with dad. Contemporary designs feature composites that would have been top secret in Jack Nicklaus' heyday. They can provide the kind of flex that makes a 200-yard shot nearly as easy as that 20-foot putt.

Jewelry is always a great favorite. But go the extra step and personalize it. Even if it's diamond earrings or the perfect pearl necklace, the gift can still bear a unique stamp. Her initials on either side of the necklace chain can do the trick. Or the earrings can be a design that is duplicated nowhere else.

Women love chocolate. If men don't know that by now, they've been spending too much time in the cave and not enough online reading gift suggestions. But don't settle for that boring box of random goo. Go for something exotic. Try a special thin Lindt Swiss slab. Or, go all out for something made just for her inscribed with a line of poetry that you memorized when you met.

Flowers are wonderful, but they don't last. Instead, think about a beautiful bonsai that will flower repeatedly year after year. Incorporate a tiny self-watering system. It adds little to the cost and make maintenance a matter of seconds per month rather than a daily chore.

Does that special woman in your life love wine? Take it a step beyond the special vintage you had in mind. Get a subscription to a Wine of the Month club and you'll get an ever changing selection from around the world. One month it may be a super Sake from Japan, the next a great Gewürztraminer from Germany. The month after that an awesome Australian Syrah will arrive in the mail.

What mom couldn't use more shoes? But buying shoes for women is a very tricky business whether the shopper is dad, son or daughter. If you haven't heard her mention that unique pair down at the mall, better go virtual. Online shoe shopping can now fit her foot better than a careless salesperson. Templates allow her to tailor the fit to her individual foot and the selection is unbounded.

No matter what that special woman in your life is looking for you can find it with a little diligence. Remember, what they want most is to know that you cared enough to search for just the right thing. Now, if you could only figure out what that is...