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Mothers Day

Boston Area Gift and Activity Guide

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We all know that being a mom is no easy task. It also used to be hard to find the right way to celebrate your mom on her special day. But Povo (with your help) can make it easy to plan the best day for your mom. We’re putting together a comprehensive list of information on anything and everything in the Boston area that mothers might love. Our Mother’s Day guide captures the collective knowledge of Boston area sons, daughters and the mothers themselves to make it easy for both gift givers and receivers to find the ideal present. From traditional favorites to something only your mother could love, Povo wants to hear from you.

  • Want to learn about important moms from Boston’s history? Take our HISTORY QUIZ here.

  • See how much you know about celebrity moms. Click here to take our short POP QUIZ.

Plan the perfect gift for mom.

INTERESTING IDEAS

What kind of mom are you buying for? Explore our selection of themed gift ideas based on her interests.

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TRADITIONAL FAVORITES

If your mom likes the classics, you can't go wrong with one of these tried and true options.

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If none of these gift ideas are what you had in mind, then type what you're looking for and where you're looking for it into our search tool so we can help you find the right gift for your Mom.

Adding information to Povo is easy. Throughout the site you can contribute what you know by making an edit, adding a keyword tag, writing a review, or leaving some graffiti.

For Mother's Day, we're asking Bostonians to share their knowledge about the perfect, or not so perfect gift. So please take a minute to think about Mother's Days past and then add your ideas below.

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Best Gifts to Give

ATTENTION SONS AND DAUGHTERS: SHARE YOUR GIFT IDEAS.

Everyone could use a little help sometimes finding a great gift to give their moms. If you've given a great gift and would like to share it with other Povo visitors, then click on the "change" button to add your thoughts about what to give on Mother's Day.
Last year my brother, sister, and myself suprised my Mom by flying in for Mother's Day and we had a professional family portrait taken. She was so touched!
Why not honor your mother by making her a permanent part of Boston history? Organizers at the Rose Kennedy Greenway Mothers' Walk are offering 6" x 6" pavers as a way to honor your mom. The $500 gift allows you to immortalize your mother's name, a certificate that cites her as the honoree as well as an invite to the Greenway inaugural event in the fall of 2008.
Tiffany's sterling silver Mom heart locket is a winner. Retailing for $300 for the locket and chain, the little blue Tiffany's box alone is enough to make my Mom happy! Click HERE for Tiffany's Mother's Day collection and HERE for the Copley Place Tiffany & Co .
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Best Gifts to Get

ATTENTION MOTHERS: HELP OTHERS MAKE THEIR MOMS HAPPY.

Help others find the ultimate gift for their moms by sharing your first-hand experiences. Tell us the best gift you've ever received on Mother's Day and why. Just click on the "change" button and add it to the list. A day off from kids and responsibility!!! I one got a 'free pass' from my husband to sleep in for the weekend and take the week off from diaper duty. The gift was free but it was much more meaningful and practical than flowers or chocolates!!!
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Gifts to Avoid

My dad once gave my mom a new washer and dryer for mother's day. While the gift came from the heart, a gift to save mom time when doing our laundry didn't go over very well.
My father once gave my mother a pair of slippers shaped like a giant pig's face - they were pink with eyes and a huge nose. The mouth was the foot hole. My mother did not speak to my father for the rest of the day and to this day gets angry whenever we mention them. "Disgusting," was how she classified the slippers. While the gift was supposed to be funny, it lacked the "silly but cute" factor. Now my father gets her jewelry, wine or spa treatments.
My father buys roses for my mother every year on Mother's day. However, he forgets every year that she is allergic to roses.......
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Motherly Landmarks in and around Boston

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Make Way for Ducklings Statue
Mother Mother Church
Mother's Rest at Corbett Park
Mother Goose's Grave at the Granary Burying Ground
Mural of a Mother Goddess
Mother's Walk
Somerville Madonnas
Don Orione Madonna Shrine
Mother Brook
Mother and Child Sculpture
The aptly named restaurant in Cambridge Hungry Mother
Whistler's House in Lowell where the painter was born and raised by his iconic mother.
Julia Ward Howe House
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Mother's Day in History

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Did you know that Mother's Day began in Boston? It was inspired by the British holiday and then imported to the United States by Bostonian Julia Ward Howe. She was mother to five children and a social activist, as well as the writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace to unite all women against war. The day wasn't formally recognized in her lifetime, but her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
  • Click HERE to take our HISTORY QUIZ .