Aussies spend more on Valentines gifts than Mother’s Day presents

Mother’s Day is meant to be the one day of the year kids go out of their way to show their mums how much they appreciate them, but it looks like plenty of mums will be going without a gift this year.

A survey by finder.com.au has revealed that Aussies spend more money on gifts for their Valentines than they do for their mothers.

The comparison site surveyed over 2,000 adult children and found that they spend about 25 per cent less on Mother’s Day than they do trying to impress their beloved on Valentine’s Day.

On average, offspring will spend $60 to celebrate their mums, but will fork out $75 for their partners or crushes.

New South Wales kids were the most generous, forking out $68 on mothers, followed by the ACT, who spent $65. Good luck to you if you live in Tasmania though. Adults kids from the island state will only spend about $36 dollars on their mums this year.

Bessie Hassan, a money expert at finder.com.au, said the results were surprising, but suggested it was possible most mums didn’t feel like their kids had to show their love through material goods.

“It’s unusual to see more emphasis on Valentine’s Day, but to some extent, wrong or right, mothers are often happy with less tangible tokens of appreciation,” she said.

“They generally don’t expect anyone to feel an obligation to buy material items for them.”

Traditionally, Mother’s Day is meant to be a day when children show their appreciation for the sacrifices their mothers have made and all the hard yards they’ve put in over the years.

As Hassan points out: “Motherhood is a demanding – largely thankless job – so having a dedicated day to commemorate mums is important”.

Read more: Johanna Griggs opens up on being a grandmother at 44

However, while there will be plenty of breakfasts in bed and handmade cards being dolled out around the country today, not everyone is celebrating.

Over a quarter of Aussies don’t celebrate Mother’s Day at all, while 8 per cent of adults kids choose to spend time with their mums or talk to them on the phone instead of buying gifts.

And while not all mums feel the need to be showered with gifts (although there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!), many will no doubt appreciate a simple act of kindness from their kids on the special day.

Morning tea at home, a fresh bouquets of flowers, or a heartfelt card are all enough to send most mothers gaga over their kids all over again.

Did you get anything for mother’s day this year? How are you spending the day?