• by Stephanie Azzarone , Op-Ed Contributor, April 12, 2016

Retailers and manufacturers primed for Mother’s Day sales, listen up! Moms are not that interested in what you have to offer. 

The fact is, the No. 1 present moms want for Mother’s Day 2016 is a handmade gift from their child. But following that? It’s not store-bought greeting cards or flowers: What makes mom happiest is a day off entirely for herself.

We asked more than 500 moms with children under the age of 18 to choose from a list of 15 popular Mother’s Day gift ideas. The greatest number of respondents — 20% of moms — preferred handmade gifts, followed by a day off (12%). Lowest on the list: candy, jewelry and breakfast in bed. 

Unfortunately, the only gift most moms (22%) actually expect to receive this year is a Mother’s Day card. Only 19% anticipate the highly desired handmade gift – with the next highest number guessing that they’ll get flowers (14%). The worst news? Only 2% say they will receive that much-coveted day entirely to themselves. Good news here, for at least one business category: With that day off, most moms would head to the spa.

Interestingly, 9% said that on Mother’s Day, they were likely to receive nothing — and nearly 200 moms said that the “worst gift” was receiving no gift at all. Other “worst gifts” from the past? Several mentioned vacuum cleaners, along with “my kids fighting all day” and “spending the day with my mother-in-law.” 

These findings were consistent with a similar survey we conducted in 2013. Our biggest takeaway throughout both was that, for moms, the gift of time is precious. Offering them a break from the responsibilities of family and home is the perfect way to say thank you for all they do, and Mother’s Day is the ideal time to do it.