p Mom is turning 70. You work full time, you have a few kids, a house to run and a hobby or two. You love your mom to bits, but even if you're creative, who has time for this?? Never mind time, what about ideas? That's what I'm here for :)
p Take a peek at the post about the perfect 80th for Grandpa too, so you don't have to rack your brains, and so you'll be moved to tears :)
p 1. Funny T-shirts. The vision was to be together. My brother and his family live in the US. We don't get to be together much, and the kids barely know each other. I wanted us to connect, so my mom (and all of us) would get a little massage for the heart.
p 2. An agenda: we planned 3 full days at a hotel in Nahariya, where my parents got married. Nostalgic and cheap :)
p We hired a private tour guide and went exploring. To make it feel important, I had someone on Fiverr design a program ahead of time, then went to a print shop and printed the trip agenda in the best quality I could.
p It had a crazy effect, and my mom felt like the most important person in the world, which she really is!
p 3. Slideshows: you can get them on Fiverr for a token fee, or make them on PowToon for free.
p I made two small slideshows here, just for the attention. The real investment is in the next item :)
p A warm-up before the show :)
p 4. A Kahoot quiz: who knows the couple best? Collect old stories from friends, neighbors, grandmas if you have them, and siblings, and turn them into questions.
p Technically, you need a laptop with cables that connect to the TV, or a Bluetooth TV.
p I don't know, with all the technology these days, to be safe bring: a double-ended USB cable, a double-ended HDMI cable and an HDMI to USB cable, so you're covered.
p Questions like:
p What does Ruthie love most?
p What is Ruthie's wedding anniversary?
p How long did it take Yaakov to propose to Ruthie?
p At what age did Ruthie retire?
p (My mom has a twin, so I had lots of questions along the lines of: who broke up with whose boyfriend instead of her sister?)
p In which city was Ruthie born?
p Where did Ruthie get her bag stolen?
p How many grandchildren does Ruthie have?
p And more questions that come from your own personal, funny stories :)
p 5. Trips. Trips. Trips.
p Get out there. Wake up in the morning and drive somewhere with lots of green, or desert. The main thing is to breathe some air and relax. There are trips for every age and every level.
p We explored Akko, Rosh HaNikra and Nahariya.
q “OMG. My mother was right about everything”
p To sum up
p Focus on quality time. At their age, what matters is being with the people they love, and showing them we love them. Wrap it all in trips if you can. Life is so busy, so when you finally get a chance to just be with your parents, give it everything.
p Don't forget to tell me how it went in the Why Enjoy Alone? group or on Instagram, which serves up good times (with meaning) on a silver platter.