Mother's Day gift ideas pigeonhole mom

Mother's Day is less than three weeks away. Judging by the gift suggestions from the U.S. consumer marketing establishment, mom falls into one of five categories: Gardener, knitter, shoe hoarder, chef and (my personal favorite) birthing machine whose taste in jewelry is directly tied to her child's growth cycle.

To be fair, Father's Day carries its own set of stereotypes. Greeting cards poke fun at dad's flatulence, couch potato inclinations and beer and golf fetishes.

Consumers spend an average of $169 on Mother's Day gifts, according to the National Retail Federation. At this time of year, retailers are hawking dachshund-shaped letter holders, USB flash drives in the shape of champagne corks and scarves galore.

Because more than a third of gift-givers buy jewelry, online retailer Bluenile.com is offering a range of jewelry for the "various phases of mom." Expecting moms, for instance, might prefer a bracelet engraved with the child's name ($165), while moms of teenagers might enjoy a mini star diamond necklace ($285) to ease the burden of this "bittersweet" time.

I'm thinking a membership to the "Wine of the Month" club would be a more practical gift.

Charlene Berthaud, co-owner of the local Heart and Home gift and accessories boutiques, urges customers to consider mom as her own person. The store, with two locations in Newark and one in Wilmington, can look up mom's purchases dating to 2007 to help stumped children find something she actually likes. Or family members can ransack her jewelry box to get a better sense of her taste.

Popular Mother's Day gifts are Pandora bracelets with charms representing birth dates or hobbies (under $100 for a bracelet with two charms), and three-piece Crabtree & Evelyn gift sets starting at $15, says Berthaud.

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