While flowers are heartwarming and a scarf is always nice, capturing your mother's life story in a scrapbook, journal or video biography might be the ultimate way to let her know she is loved and appreciated.
When you help Mom preserve her life story, you're doing more than showing her how much you care; you're also creating a legacy together, one that will last for many years to come.
Whether you choose to tackle the project yourself or hire a professional to help, celebrating and preserving her story will be one Mother's Day gift that is both moving and memorable.
Scrapbooking Mom's Life Story - They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and when photos are presented in a beautiful scrapbook, you'll really know the truth of this old adage.
If you have access to your mother's photos and know her story well enough, you might be able to pull this together without her even knowing.
Otherwise, set aside an afternoon or evening when you can run through her photos together and with pen in hand, gather the stories and information you'll need for this touching tribute.
From there, follow these steps to create a scrapbook as unique and lovely as the woman who inspired it:

1. Brainstorm about how you want to lay out the book, considering which stories and photos you want to include.
   Do you want to keep everything in chronological order? Would you prefer to work around a theme, such as her parenting years?
2. Make hard copies of the photos you plan to use so the originals aren't damaged.
   You can do this by scanning and printing the photos at home or getting them printed up at a nearby store or online.
   
3. Find the album and finishing touches.
   You'll find a great selection at your local craft store.
   You can choose papers to complement your photos or stick with one color scheme throughout the whole book.
   
4. Organize the pages with the photos, backgrounds, borders and room for the stories.
   Choose a few photos for each page, and crop and mat them as desired.
   When you've settled on a page layout, add the stories and start sticking.
   Once the layout is done, add the finishing touches.
   

If you want to create a scrapbook but don't have the time or creative energy required to cut out all those photos and embellishments, consider an online scrapbooking site.
Many photo sites offer these books, and all you have to do is upload your photos.
The professional service will print the book for you and ship it to your door.
Whether you create the book by hand or use a service to help, she'll love flipping through the pages of her life story.
Making a Printed Biography of Mom's Life - Another great Mother's Day gift idea involves helping your mom write a short memoir in book format.
You could give you mother an autobiography journal with questions on each page and ask her to fill out one page every day.
Or, for an even more memorable gift, you can interview her and create a printed biography of her life.
One of the advantages of this type of project is that you can spend a lot of time together while you create it.
To get started, simply follow these steps:

1. If you decide to capture her story in a journal or book for Mother's Day, start by scheduling one or two quiet afternoons with your mother when you'll have her share her story.
   To prepare, ask her to run through her photos to jog her memory and start to put together a list of questions you would like to ask.
   
2. The day of the interview, bring a tape recorder so you can focus on her, rather than on how much you're writing down.
   Place the tape record in an out-of-the-way spot so she won't become uncomfortable.
   Then just start asking questions.
   
3. When you get home, make a transcript of your interview.
   As people don't always remember or tell stories in chronological order, you'll most likely need to do some editing.
   This will be the most time-consuming part but also the most worthwhile for the readers.
   
4. If you can, add photos, newspapers clippings and other documents to enhance the story.
   Scan these images, and place them in the appropriate places throughout the book.
   
5. After a final read-through, you'll be ready to publish! You can either pull together a nice bound journal through Kinkos or another copy shop or print up a simple book on your home printer.
   

If writing or publishing her story yourself seems like more than you want to take on, you could hire a professional self-publisher to edit and assemble your mother's stories for you.
You'll receive professional looking, bound volumes in the mail.
Capturing Mom's Life Story and Personality in a Video Biography - For the truly ultimate Mother's Day gift, capture Mom's life story, along with her memorable personality, in a full-color video biography.
This type of beautiful tribute really offers the family and future generations a chance to know her on a more personal level.
A video biography is like a 'moving portrait', bringing stories and images to life in a way that everyone can enjoy.
If you plan to tackle this project yourself, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Gather the equipment you'll need, including a video camera, a scanner, and a computer with editing software.
   
2. As with a journal, schedule an afternoon for the interview, make a list of questions and ask your mother to review her photos.
   On the day of the interview, instead of recording with an audio recorder, use the video camera.
   Be aware of unflattering lighting and distracting sounds.
   Taking additional footage of her gardening, playing with grandchildren or pursuing some of her favorite activities is a nice way to enhance the movie.
   
3. When you're done recording, download the footage to your editing software and start editing until you have the story you want.
   Collect, organize, scan, digitally correct and upload the photos you want to include, and weave them through-out the movie.
   Titles, transitions, zooming and panning and music will also enhance the video.
   
4. After you've finalized the movie, it's time to create a DVD.
   Adding custom DVD labels can make your gift even more special.
   Be sure to make a copy for everyone in the family.
   

If producing you own video biography sounds like a more complicated project than you want to take on, hiring a professional is your next option.
Their high quality equipment, skill level, experience and commitment lets you focus on other things.
While you assemble the photos and stories you'd like to include, a professional will handle the filming and editing, producing a captivating movie everyone can enjoy.
Presenting Your Mother's Day Gift - When it's time to unveil your masterpiece, whether it's a scrapbook, printed journal or video biography, get the whole family together to share in the moment.
Your mother will be genuinely moved.
In whatever format you choose, capturing your mother's life story for future generation might just be the ultimate Mother's Day gift.