Mother’s Day – What is the Perfect Gift?

Well, I won’t tell you the perfect gift but I can tell you that studies confirm experiences are better than material things.

Yes, experiences provide longer lasting satisfaction and happiness. I was pondering this because Mother’s Day is coming up and I was wondering what might be an alternative to the usual card and flowers – a wonderful and memorable experience of course.

Studies reveal that this is a good approach to take when thinking about thanking someone or yourself with a gift.

(PhysOrg.com) — A new Cornell study finds that lust for material things fade but our unique experiences remain with us for a long time.

http://phys.org/news189277732.html

Material possessions are exciting at first, but we quickly adapt to them and soon take them for granted. The new car or vacuum quickly become nothing more than a means of transport and a maintenance tool. Then we often start comparing our possessions with other people’s possessions. Computers are a great example for this. When I bought my first laptop computer, I went for top-of-the-line. I was so thrilled and excited about my new computer. It looked and acted sexy. But not even a year later it was old and slow. I was already envious of the guy with the new top-of-the-line computer at the next coffee table. My sense of fulfillment and satisfaction had declined dramatically.

Experiences have much more enduring happiness and satisfaction – at least the pleasant ones do. If you stop now and think about a favourite vacation or adventure you’ll likely get present to a whole world of great feelings and memories. You might also remember some of the people with whom you enjoyed the experience and feel a deeper connection with them as you think about the experience. Some of these experiences may have happened decades ago and you still have that satisfaction and fulfillment available to you. Even negative experiences can become satisfying ones in the future. I remember traveling in Italy with my parents and my sister as a young teenager. There was one evening in Florence where everything went wrong. Our car was broken into, my camera was stolen, the police could not speak English and we couldn’t speak Italian and then my Dad came down with food poisoning at the end of it all. because it is so memorable, we sometimes all reminisce about that evening and laugh our heads off.

So this Mother’s Day, get your mother a memorable and wonderful experience instead of flowers and a card.

Take her to a concert, a restaurant she would never dream of going to, a beautiful garden or even take her for a stroll around the seawall if that’s something she rarely gets to do with you. More importantly, share an experience with her that you can both remember fondly for years to come.

What are some unique ideas for a Mother’s Day experience? I’d love to hear what they are.

For an awesome and unique Mother’s Day Gift experience, check out my Under the Piano Mother’s Day weekend event.

http://on.fb.me/UtPMothersDayGift