Gifts don’t always have to be things you buy. They can just be acts of caring and kindness – which usually end up being the best and most memorable gifts of all. While you’ve given some great gift ideas already – here are some of my best frugal and thoughtful ideas to help you celebrate mom this Mother’s Day. Enjoy!

Set Her Up With An At-Home Spa Day

Ask any mom; one of the best gifts in the world is the gift of being given the opportunity to relax. So why not give her everything she needs to have a day (or even just a couple of hours) of complete pampering and relaxation? Set her up with her own at-home spa by doing some simple planning. Choose which treatments, (i.e. sugar scrubs, facials, etc) you’re going to prepare for her and put together some simple, homemade pampering gifts. Then you can do your best to transform the bathroom so that it reflects a spa-like atmosphere. This is bound to be one of the most memorable gifts that she has ever gotten, and it shouldn’t cost you much of anything.

Need more ideas? Check out Bankrate‘s two cents.

Cook Her a Meal

Whether it’s breakfast in bed, a nice surprise picnic on a beautiful day or an elegant home-cooked dinner, mom is bound to be thrilled to have a meal prepared especially for her. Here are some tips to help you in this department:

• How to Have the Perfect Summer Picnic
• Mother’s Day Breakfast Menus and Recipes (About.com)
• 6+ Frugal Casseroles, Pies and More for Dinner
• 10 Dinners That Make for Great Leftovers
• 15 Ways to Have Fruit for Dessert
• 15 Quick and Easy Homemade Desserts

Give Her the Freedom to Do What Makes Her Happy

If you’ve got small kids, leave Mom to do whatever her heart desires for a full afternoon. Just take the kids out to a park or a movie. Mom can enjoy the quiet doing whatever her heart desires. Or you can go the opposite route. Take mom (and the whole family if you like) out to do something that she truly enjoys. How about heading for a hike at a national park nearby or finding a free concert or event in your area? Just do a bit of research before mother’s day to see what free or low cost things are going on in your area that day.

Wash Her Car

Here’s something that’s bound to surprise mom in the best way possible: walking out to shiny car that’s been magically cleaned for her. You can simply wash the exterior and the tires, or you can go the extra mile and detail the inside of your car as well. This is sure to be a gift she’ll not forget quickly. Check out some tips to help you with this gift:

• Make Your Own Car Cleaning Products
• DIY Windshield Cleaners
• 7 Ways to Use Baking Soda for Car Care
• Tip Hero’s First Free Ebook: A Guide to Homemade Cleaners

Prepare a Girls’ Night in for Her

This is pretty easy to do and would certainly be a treat for mom. Invite her best girlfriends over and prepare an evening of girly fun for her (and be sure to keep the kids out of her hair, of course). Here’s are some ideas:

• Set them up with her favorite movie(s) or TV show(s).
• Fix up some great homemade movie snacks for them to munch on.
• If you’re a dad, or a big kid (aka of age), you could play bartender for the evening for mom and her friends. They’re sure to get a kick out of that!
• Try out some of these “fun night in” ideas.

If You Give a Physical Gift, Personalize It

There’s nothing more special than getting a gift that’s been handmade. Just this past weekend, I attended a friend’s baby shower, and the gift that got the biggest “Awww!” from the group, and the parents, was not the awesome stroller or the cute store-bought clothing. It was the handmade baby blanket crocheted by the father-to-be’s crafty cousin.

Here are just a couple of ideas to get the wheels turning:

• Frugal Homemade Gifts:From scrapbooks to recipe boxes to personalized calendars, Bible Money Matters has some great ideas that could be perfect for Mother’s Day if you get started working on them now.

Any other non-traditional ideas you can think of to help celebrate your favorite mom(s) on Mother’s Day? We’d love to hear about your ideas in the comments section below. Thanks for being a Tip Hero!