Finding the perfect gift for the woman who has given you everything is daunting. You spend too much money and she’ll say you shouldn't have. You spend too little and you think you have cheapened what she means to you. The experience is enough to make you go crazy but don't. Houston Style Magazine has taken the guesswork out of gift giving by going straight to the source, mothers.

We survey several mothers with children of various ages to see just what would be perfect. Knowing their likes and dislikes is extremely important. We'll start with their dislikes to quickly eliminate them from the list of possible gifts. Most mothers polled disliked gifts that made them work, i.e. cleaning and cooking gifts. Contrary to what you think moms don't like cleaning even though you see them do it all the time. There is a reason they want the house to stay clean and that’s so they don’t have to clean it anymore. Yes, feeding the family does bring a lot of mothers joy but that doesn’t mean she wants you to give her pots as a gift.

One mom said one of the worst gifts she ever got for Mother's Day was a vacuum cleaner. Although I am not a mom myself, I can see why this gift would be bad. Mother's Day is a day when you want to spoil mom and give her the day off. A vacuum cleaner says to stay on the clock. This is more of a gift for the household as it is something useful for the entire family versus something that is specifically for mom and to show your appreciation of her. My advice is to stay away from any cleaning and/or cooking type gifts. The exception would be if you really know nothing else would make her happier than receiving this type of gift. If you do choose to go this route at least try to make the gift personable by getting it monogrammed or in her favorite color to make it not so blah. Do something that shows you were thinking of her when you bought it.

For the best gifts, our mothers stayed around a central theme, which was time alone to relax. Moms love their children but everyone needs a break including moms. Being a mother is a 24 hour/7days a week job and they rarely get alone time. I mean kids will literally go with them to the bathroom if they don't lock the door. A day when she can go to the bathroom by herself, make food just for her, and experience complete silence would be like a dream. How they wanted to spend that time alone had a few variations. Highly popular on the list was spending the day at the spa couple with a night at a hotel. Alone and pampered who wouldn’t want that?

If money is an issue then let mom be alone in her house. One mom said her ideal gift would be to stay at home all day, curled up on the couch in a blanket, watching Lifetime. Make the day more special by preparing some snacks and meals for her.

Don’t underestimate how amazing a card is. It has to be the right card though. The card must be both beautiful and have a strong message that describes her or your relationship with her. For that tearjerker moment, write a message expressing your love for her and all that she does. You will find that she will cherish that card for life.

You can never go wrong with jewelry. Shiny and sparkly gifts always get high points. After all, diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Whatever you decide to get your mom for Mother’s Day I am certain that she will love it because that is what moms do. They love us no matter what.

And for those of you who are like me who have mothers that have passed on you may choose to love on those who have been like mothers standing in the gap she can no longer physically fill. A gift of gratitude from you to her would mean the world.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mamas, Mommies, MeMaws, Mother Dears, and whatever else you call mom.