Um dia da mãe ecológico:

Knowing what to get a green mom for Mother's Day can be a tough call. In general most green moms believe in reduce, reduce, reduce, reuse whenever we can, and then when we HAVE to… recycle. The commercialization of Mother's Day often means we get gift and get "crap we don't need". But if you take into consideration what a mom values, what a green mom values, and what type of gifts we would actually use… then you can come up with a few sure fire ideas.

1. Gift the Gift of Time – No fancy gift required just spend time together. Play a board game, watch a movie on Netfix, go for a walk and a picnic. The pace of life is so hurried nowadays that a leisurely day with family is always a gift.

2. Donate to a worthy cause in their name - The National Wildlife Organization offers symbolic adoptions so if your mom has a special place in her heart reserved for Bottlenose Dolphins or Northern Cardinals… you can adopt an animal for her and the money goes to conservation and education. Purchasing the gift is also a great learning opportunity for kids.

3. The Gift That Keeps on Giving – I know I am a broken record about season passes but they are just so awesome they have to be mentioned. A family membership to the local zoo, science center, or art museum would be a gift that mom can use with her family ALL YEAR LONG! Also a Netflix membership would be a great gift for a movie lover.

4. A Mother's Helper - As a mom myself I can tell you that a gift certificate for a cleaning service would be heaven sent. A certificate for services rendered by family would be just as nice and cheaper too. I know my mom would love it as well. I would not put it past her to be reading this and be expecting it, LOL.

Other Mother's Helpers might include a Learning Tower or Kinder Perch. This mom LOVES hers.

5. A Good Book - If the moms in your life like to read then you cant go wrong with a good book. Here is what rates high on my radar… you may get some ideas yourself:

Fiction: Sookie Stackhouse series. Other than the Twilight series I think these may be the only fiction books I own.

Wannabe Country Girls: MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook & MaryJane's Outpost

The Foodie: Pioneer Woman Cooks (deliriously good food!!) or A Spoonful of Ginger

Outdoorsy Mama: Nature's Secret Messages: Hidden in Plain Sight

Creative Mama: Handmade Home

Simple Mama: Simplicity Parenting

6. Do Pretty Without Doing Flowers - Flowers die and most are grown and harvested in ways that make our planet very unhappy. Instead of flowers this mom would rather have a pretty vintage tablecloth and maybe a pot of live wheatgrass to sit on it. If you must give flowers find an obliging field of wildflowers to pick!

7. A Gift That Makes Mom's Life Easier – When you find those rare products that truly make your life easier you can't help but shout on the rooftops about them. For me that product is the Vita-Mix. For other moms it might be a juicer, a Kindle, an iPad, or a set of Pyrex dishes. It could even be the perfect backpack style camera bag so that mom will have a nice place to store her DSLR and her lenses so she can take more pictures of the world cutest kids.

8. Give Reusables – Green moms love resuable products that will last and add value to their hectic lives. The company Reuseit.com has a great selection of products that qualify. They recently asked their fans on Facebook what moms consider as a must have reusable product. I answered a Diva Cup and Luna Panties but that may make some people uncomfrtable to get or gift for Mother's Day but you can't go wrong with the products they offer at Reuseit. They even have a Mother's Day coupon going around for 10% off if your interested: MOM10.

What would be your perfect mother's day gift?