With just two weeks until Mother's Day, new research commissioned by Australia Post shows that Mums across the country really value the simple things when it comes to showing them your love and appreciation.
Nicole Sheffield, Australia Post's Executive General Manager Community and Consumer, and a mother of four, talks about how important it is to celebrate and thank our mums for all they do for us.
"I love Mother's Day. It's a special time of year when we're reminded to make that extra effort to fuss over our mums, mothers-in-law, grandmothers and other really important women in our lives to show our love and appreciation for everything they do," she said.
"It's the perfect opportunity to connect and there's no more powerful way to show your mum how much you care than through a handwritten card or a homemade gift - it really is the simple things like a beautiful message in a card or spending time with loved ones that make the day complete," she said.
The research found that Mother's Day is special to Australians with 75% celebrating Mother's Day and 24% of those celebrating extending the love to wives, stepmothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, aunts and guardians.
The research also found that what mothers like to receive and what children like to give are often two different things, with further variations across metro and regional locations.
Universally over 86% of Mums would love a handwritten message in a card and 59% a homemade gift. While 45% would be extremely happy with a card only, 88% of people who celebrate Mother's Day will purchase and give a gift.
Other key highlights from the research include:
- 47% of regional and 45% of metro mums would be extremely happy with a card only
- 77% of Australians that celebrate Mother's Day give a card (72% of metro and 84% of regional people)
- 46% of metro gift givers will purchase in the last week; with 12% of males leaving it until the day before versus 5% of females
- On average 71% of men and women nationally will take at least 5 minutes to consider what they write on Mum's card and 11% spend more than 15 minutes
- Regional Mums (74%) are more likely to receive a card than metro Mums (65%) and interestingly also are more likely to be visited by family (44% regional versus 36% metro)
"At the end of the day though, showing the mums in your life how much you care is what matters, whether it's with a phone call, handwritten note or card, a hug or gift – she'll be chuffed you've made the effort," Ms Sheffield said.
