Hey Dads, Partners, Co-Parents, Spouses, Step-Parents and supporters of Moms everywhere:

I’m about to make your Holiday Season.
I know you think the mothers in your life are the hardest to buy for – I get it, trust me. We say we don’t want anything (except maybe a damn nap) but, when it comes down to it, we really want you to deliver. And deliver big. Big as in sentimental, which is hard to snag on Amazon or rush with Express Shipping. But here’s the secret: you can do sentimental, and do it well, for very little effort and zero money. 
Now I’ve got your attention.
We mamas want nothing more in this world than the knowledge that we aren’t screwing this whole Motherhood thing up. We lay in bed at night and wonder if we’ve hugged enough, yelled too much, should have splurged on the organic milk and how we’re going to pull it all off again the next day. Turns out, being a Mom is a real mind game. We love our kids to the point that it’s physically painful yet we have little to no reassurance that we’re doing right by them.
And that’s where you come in.
If you want to deliver the most precious gift a mom could ever receive, ask her children about her. Record video of her babies babbling about what their Mommy does that makes them feel special, what their favorite thing to do with their Mom is and what their Mom does that makes them laugh. Let the videos be grainy, spur of the moment, un-styled and real life and we won’t care. In fact, we’ll love it more than anything, ever.
Think you can pull it off? 
I know you can! I’m even going to give you a little script and a quick How To and you’ll be all set for the Season.
Tip: screenshot the image below so it’s in your photo gallery! 
The Script
Here’s a quick set of questions to ask your kids about their mom:
This Is The One Gift A Mom Really Wants

The Set Up
For toddlers and little kids, you may have better luck asking them the questions one at a time at random intervals. If you want to try to get this done in one shot, have some bribery on hand. I have the best luck getting my 3 year old’s attention when he’s strapped in the car seat – maybe give that a try for the wiggliest among us.

For bigger kids, have them sit in a distraction free space and ask them the questions interview style. Make sure to turn off all background noise and any screens so the video is as clear as possible. 

The Gear
You really don’t need anything special to make this magic happen, just a phone that records video. Once you have the video clips recorded (keep in mind you can record little clips randomly over the next few weeks if that works best for you), download a video editing app and get to work. I think iMovie is crazy easy to use – you’ll just drop in the video clips, edit them if you like and voila! 
Some tips:
Add a title like “Merry Christmas 2017” so that we’ll know how old the kids were when we watch this video constantly over the next 50 years. If you really want to send her over the top, end the video with a little message from you, her partner, telling her how lucky your kids are to have a Mom like her. Bonus points for sharing how much you love and respect her. No pressure, but that will be the best gift you’ve ever given.

Save the video by emailing it to yourself, uploading to a DropBox account or publishing on a private YouTube channel and pull out the laptop to play for Mom on Christmas morning. 

You’re welcome!

photo by Kimberly Michelle Gibson Photography