Coupon Queen: Inexpensive, thoughtful gifts for Mother's Day

I absolutely love Mother's Day — smooches from my boys, extra offers of help abound and a day to not lift a finger (maybe that is taking it a bit far). While store-bought gifts and flowers are thoughtful, there is something about a handmade gift or an act of service that goes a long way as well. If you are a little stumped this Mother's Day, here is a list of both free or inexpensive options that will fit any budget. Spend time with mom: There is no better gift to give someone than your time. It shows they are important and is a wonderful way to show you appreciate them. You can choose to spend the day in service of your mom, helping her out around the house or running her errands, or create a fun day doing things that she likes to do. Create a craft together or make a new recipe together. Showing mom she is worth putting everything else on hold could be the most frugal yet thoughtful gift there is. Make a homemade gift: If you are skilled at crafting, writing or have an artistic flair, use your talents to show mom how much you care. Make a blanket to keep her warm, paint a picture of a location or scene that has meaning for you both, or write a thoughtful letter reminiscing on happy family memories. If you have more talent in the digital field, you could upload her old family pictures and put them on digital form for her to enjoy. Make a video: Gather family pictures and videos and create a movie just for mom. You can use free apps such as Google photos to help you create one or find something similar. There are thousands of free apps to choose from. If you are as old school as our family, dig around the attic and find those 35mm slides that you can add to the video also. She will love seeing pictures of you growing up and all of the special events that you may have both forgotten about. Make a recipe box: Another thoughtful gift is to create a recipe box of some of your favorite childhood dishes that your family ate together. If you don't have the recipe, find a similar one online. When you write out the recipes, you could add notes on some of them with your favorite family dinner memories. To help fill up the box, add a few of your own family's recipes or add a few from other members of your extended family. Don't skip on Mother's Day! It's a wonderful day to make sure that the mom in your life feels special and loved. There are so many ways to do that; just choose your favorite one. This week's deal Here's a deal to grab at Dollar General: All liquid and Mighty Pacs, Purex and Snuggle laundry care products — 2/$8 Use $4/2 Dollar General digital coupon online or app (one time use) = 2/$4 Rachel Krych is passionate about helping others spend less and save more. In addition to her weekly column, she has a blog, Couponing With Rachel, which earns her compensation from Google for ads it places there, and from entertainment marketers whose promotional codes she touts. She doesn't write about entertainment in her column. Email her at couponingwithrachel@hotmail.com.