What to Buy Mother for Mother's Day?
by Rosalind Neville
Are all mothers the same when it comes to shopping for them? Definitely not! . . . Mothers, like all other human beings, have different personality types that also means they each have a different set of values. If you can determine her personality type you will also discover what she values most. Whether she is your mother, your mother-in-law or the mother of your children, identify her personality type and give a gift to suit. As well as being appreciated your money is not wasted.
Recently my man asked me to buy a birthday gift for his sister whom I had only met a couple of times; I had never been to her home and had scant knowledge of her interests or tastes. When I lamented to a friend, who knowing I have written a book on personality types, asked, `What personality type is she?' She offered the advice, ` Why not choose a gift that would appeal to her personality type?'
My friend's sister is a very bubbly blonde - who looks like the Flirt personality type, so I decided the gift must be glamorous. She was well known in the sixties as Pam Fletcher, a popular singer on Graham Kennedy's In Melbourne Tonight. I had been contemplating a large savoury dish (one I had admired in a shop recently that I would really like for myself) but decided that although it was attractive, it was too practical. It would be more suitable for her older sister who is the typical Daddy's Girl - a more practical personality type. I found a gigantic silk chiffon scarf in a beautiful old-rose-pink colour, she has brown eyes and I remembered that she wore pink well, had it gift wrapped and only hoped it was worth the money spent.
She was quite touched by the gift as she said, `Nobody has ever bought me anything so lovely before'. I had struck the right chord. I had programmed into what she values. The Flirt is the protector of love and beauty. She values creativity and beauty and enjoys looking glamorous.
To maximise the value of your dollar and ensure your gift will please, this Mother's Day, try your hand at determining the personality type of the Mother to whom you will be giving and give to suit.
The 7 Female Personality Types
Mummy's Girl: She is pretty and feminine; wears tiny frills and liberty florals; prefers pastels and spring colours, wears bows and clips in her hair. She is girlish and probably has a baby voice, easy to influence, lacks strong opinions and loves to please: brings out the protective instincts in others.
Being the Protector of Self she likes pretty things for herself or whatever her whimsical hobby is at the time. Her gift does not have to be practical, it can be cute or whatever is the latest gimmicky brooch or hair adornment at the time as long as it pretty and feminine. If she does not like your gift she won't tell you, but will complain to others later. . . .
This type of lament:
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
Daddy's Girl: Her intelligence and confidence are immediately obvious. She is practical with an authoritative voice -a strategist. She dresses in the classical style with a feminine blouse rather than severely tailored clothes. She favours blue and navy blue - preferring good quality garments that do not date.
She is practical and enjoys knitting or making garments that are both attractive and useful. Gifts for the home would be most acceptable provided that they are attractive and useful and, of course, fit in with her colour scheme. She is very likely to be a business woman; a brief case, diary, desk set or other business accessory would be most acceptable. If she doesn't like the gift, she will most probably ask where it was purchased so that she can exchange it for something more suitable.
It was a Daddy's Girl who said, ` I love mother's day and birthdays when I receive lots of wonderful gifts I just can't wait to exchange'.
The Mother: She has a soft rounded appearance. She mothers everyone, is a loyal, reliable friend. She wears soft flowing, easy care garments in autumn tonings or pastels. Even in jeans she looks feminine rather than sporty. Her hairstyle is most likely to be soft curls in a wash and wear style.
She would prefer you to remember the children and it is their gifts that will be appreciated most. A gift that all the family can enjoy such as a game or a box of sweets would be most acceptable. A recipe book for children's birthday parties or food that all the family will enjoy, an accessory suitable for family picnics would also be favoured by the Mother.
The Sister: She wears autumn tonings or favours red. Her clothes tend to be severe but she always wears a smart accessory that makes the statement, `I am feminine', She may be tomboyish or, if glamorous, has that fresh, healthy, girl-next-door quality. Full of life, daring, challenging and great fun she is capable of reaching the top in her career - provided she is working for a cause.
The Sister is not interested in practical gifts for the home. A game or an item that is relevant to her favourite sport or hobby would be popular ie. golf club covers, or a smart ski cap, or the latest swimming goggles. If she is keen on reading - the most recently released book by one of her favourite authors. Or if music is her passion, a compact disc of her favourite composer. Anything that she can use while she is enjoying her leisure time would be a popular gift for this bubbly outgoing woman. If she doesn't like your gift her thanks will be fairly undemonstrative.
Famous US clergyman W C Bennett, said, `Blessed is he who expects no gratitude, for he shall not be disappointed'.
Favourite Aunt: She likes unusual clothes. She may wear the layered Greenwich Village look or frequent the Indian handcraft shops. She does her own hair and wears her grey hairs with pride. Although she prefers her own solitude, everyone is drawn to her warmth and inner strength. She is the protector of the home. A home-maker - her house is pretty, smells of homecooking with flowers in the garden.
The Favourite Aunt values the effort put into the gift rather than its value. She prefers to make gifts for her friends and would be delighted with a jar of marmalade, homemade sweets or biscuits or a plant that you had struck yourself from your garden. If you don't have time to make gifts, shop for the Favourite Aunt at one of those craft markets that has a good range of handmade goods, home made jams, vinegars etc. Having a preference for unusual things, if your gift is different she will be delighted. Although she will love a present from you, if she thinks you made it yourself; if it is obvious that you did not, and it has no appeal, she will flippantly tell you whom it would suit instead.
Remember gratitude, like love, is never a dependable emotion.
The Flirt: She always looks sexy even when mopping the floor. Her clothes accentuate her figure; she wears bright colours and dramatic accessories. Her hair is usually a distinctive colour that attracts attention. She has a sensual magnetism, sparkles in the company of men, and charms women too. A creative woman, she is the protector of love and beauty.
The Flirt would appreciate a glamorous gift, whether it's a pair of wild earrings, a dramatic scarf, sexy underwear or a decorative ornament that is strikingly beautiful; but definitely not cottage-craft or practical. Romantic music will also appeal to her. She will rave about your gift whether she likes it or not and, if she doesn't, will wrap it up for someone else the next day.
It was Oscar Wilde who said, `One should never give a woman anything she can't wear in the evening', and if he was referring to the Flirt personality type, I couldn't agree more.
The Wife: She has a comfortable matronly, `I belong' appearance. Her clothes and her voice are suited to her husband's status. Her clothes may be drab or dowdy or even fashionable but never dramatic or sexy - or very feminine - unless her husband demands it. She is the protector of marriage. She believes that she is nothing without a man. She chooses well; he has to be worthy of her adoration, which may cause her to neglect her family and friends.
To please the Wife, a joint gift for them both would be most acceptable, a bottle of good champagne they can enjoy together, a food hamper of interesting delicacies, a hostess dish useful for entertaining his friends, or a compact disc of romantic music that they can enjoy together. If she tells you that Hubby will love this gift, you know you have struck the right note.
Remember when shopping for Mother's Day, nothing is so exhausting as indecision, nor so futile. Follow these simple rules and although contrary to your usual mode of gift selection, give it a go. The results will be either pleasantly surprising or the gift can be exchanged. You won't know until you try. If it does work, you will have solved female gift-giving for ever more. Rosalind Neville is one of Australia's leading authorities on courtship and principal of Entre Nous (Introduction Service).
