Mother’s Day gifts are often imagined as flowers, perfumes, wrappers or carefully wrapped boxes. The things that can be bought quickly, delivered neatly, and photographed for social media.
But when you ask mothers what their best Mother’s Day gift actually was, the answers are rarely about the price tag.
We asked six mothers about the most memorable Mother’s Day gift they’ve ever received.
1. “The Day My Son Cooked for Me” — Bisi*, 49
For as long as I can remember, Mother’s Day used to look exactly like every other Sunday in my house.
I would wake up before everyone else, usually around 5:30 a.m., start breakfast, and begin the small routine that keeps a household moving, and by the time the rest of the family woke up, the day would already be halfway underway for me.
Two years ago, I woke up on Mother’s Day to continue the same routine, but the house was unusually chaotic. My son was cooking for me. I haven’t seen that boy enter the kitchen before, so I was curious to know what he would cook.
With the help of a YouTube video, he cooked jollof rice for me and his father, but it was for me because it’s Mother’s Day. It tasted really good. If not for the fact that he cooked right in front of me, I would have believed that it was his girlfriend who cooked it. It’s memorable, and I won’t forget it.
2. “My Son Gave Me the Gift of a Grandchild” — Ngozi*, 58
Last year, my best Mother’s Day gift arrived in the middle of the night.
My daughter-in-law went into labour on the Saturday evening before Mother’s Day. My son called me around 11 p.m., his voice shaking slightly, telling me they were on their way to the hospital.
I didn’t sleep that night. I sat in the living room praying quietly, remembering the night I gave birth to him many years ago. Motherhood has a way of bringing memories back in waves.
Around 6 a.m., he called again to say the baby had arrived safely.
Later that afternoon, he video-called me from the hospital. He was tiny, wrapped in a white blanket. It was emotional for me watching my son standing beside the hospital bed, near the cute baby, suddenly looking like a man instead of the little boy I raised.
I remembered the child who used to run to me after school with scraped knees and dirty school uniforms because he played a lot.
Now he was someone’s father. The news on Mother’s Day felt like watching the circle of life complete itself.
3. “My Daughter Wrote Me a Letter I Still Keep” — Hadiza*, 45
One of the most memorable Mother’s Day gifts was from my daughter, who was in SS2 at the time. After church, she handed me a small folded letter and told me to read it later. When I opened it that afternoon, I realised it was three pages long.
In the letter, she wrote about small things I had done throughout her childhood that I didn’t even realise she noticed.
She wrote about how I used to braid her hair neatly for school, and the nights I stayed awake while she studied for exams.
One part of the letter made me cry. She wrote that when she becomes a mother one day, she hopes she can love her child the way I loved her.
I folded the letter carefully and kept it in my wardrobe.
I’ve received many gifts over the years, like clothes, perfumes, and handbags, but nothing has ever touched me the way those three pages did.
4. “My Son’s Drawing Helped Heal Me” — Di’ja*, 36
The most memorable Mother’s Day for me happened the year after my mother died.
She had always been the first person to call me that morning. Every year, around 7 a.m., my phone would ring, and I would hear her voice saying, “Happy Mother’s Day, my daughter.”
When she passed away, the first Mother’s Day without her felt very heavy. I tried to act normally for my children, but all morning I kept thinking about her.
Later that afternoon, my six-year-old son came to me holding a piece of paper.
He had drawn a picture of our family, himself, his sister, my husband, and me standing in the middle.
Above the drawing, he had written in big uneven letters: “BEST MUMMY EVER.”
Something about that moment lifted my spirit. I realised that the love my mother gave me didn’t disappear when she died. It was still moving forward, through me, into my children.
5. “The Video Call That Made Me Cry” — Funmi, 52
My daughter moved to Canada five years ago, and since then, most of our conversations have been over video calls.
Last Mother’s Day, she called me very early in the morning. When I answered, I noticed she wasn’t alone. Several of her friends were sitting around her in the living room.
They were all holding small pieces of paper that said “Happy Mother’s Day, Mama Funmi.”
She had spent the evening telling them stories of how I worked two jobs when she was younger so she could attend a good school. How I encouraged her to apply for universities abroad, even when it meant she would be far away from home.
It was emotional, and as parents, we sometimes worry that our children will forget the sacrifices we made for them.
That day reminded me that they remember more than we think.
The Most Memorable Mother’s Day Gift…
Mother’s Day gifts sometimes come in the form of a handwritten letter, the birth of a grandchild, or a child recognising the love that shaped their life.
These small moments carry a meaning that lasts far longer than physical gifts, and while love and appreciation matter deeply, financial security is also important. One way to build that is to save in dollars with Accrue and earn up to 6% interest per annum, helping your money grow steadily for the future.
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I’ve lived many lives, but one lesson ties them all together: money is only as powerful as its utility. Through my work, I share stories about money and create guides for Africans who want to get the best out of theirs.