America's Moms Are About To Get $23.6 Billion Worth Of Love
How do I love thee, mama?
It's Mother's Day again. Yay, moms! Time to go shopping for something to express our eternal love and gratitude.
Kevin McGill / Via Flickr: caoimhin
But what worldly gifts are worthy of our moms, our creators, goddesses of the Earth?
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Truly no gift will do justice, but Americans are expected to spend more than ever before trying. Mother's Day spending will reach $23.6 billion this year, according a forecast by the National Retail Federation, our country's chief shopping cheerleader. That's $2.2 billion more than last year.
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Plenty will be spent taking moms out to eat. The restaurant industry is preparing to serve 92 million people on Sunday.
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Even more sons and daughters are expected to give flowers. Last year, Americans gave $152 million worth of bouquets, $57 million of plants, and $22 million of floral arrangements on Mother's Day, according to Nielsen.
But the hands down number one plan for Mother's Day: Greeting cards.
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That's right, almost 78% of people plan to shower their mothers with gratitude via the immortal words of a greeting card writer.
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And I think we can all agree: We can do better than that, people!
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These are our MOMS, guys!
Sal Petruzelli-marino / Sal Petruzelli-Marino / Via Flickr: wondermonkey2k
They dealt with this.
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And this.
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And after all those years, all they got in return was this.
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And way too much of this.
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Yet despite all of it, your mother still loves you more than you will ever know. And she will always be yours.
Ahmed Mohamed / Via Flickr: 121135108@N03
So, on Sunday, at least try to do better than a greeting card. While $23.6 billion sounds like a lot to spend in just one day, our moms deserve so much more. Happy Mother's Day!
David Goehring / Via Flickr: carbonnyc
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Venessa Wong is a technology and business reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Venessa Wong at venessa.wong@buzzfeed.com.
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