The Working Guy's Guide to Mother's Day

I'm going to be frank here. Every time I buy my mother (or father, for that matter) a piece of technology, it goes completely unused. It's not that my folks don't appreciate or use high-tech gear, it's that they like to have it installed and thoroughly explained, or preferably that the product be so simple that it doesn't need to be explained at all. It just works right out of the box.

Sorry, even a Macintosh isn't that simple.

So what's my approach to a techie Mother's Day? Get her something that she can use with her existing technology and stay away from all-new gear. After all: Even if you're around to install something, does anyone really want to spend a Sunday running wires under a desk?

Here are some Mom's Day suggestions that she'll (hopefully) love and should keep you out of tech support hell.

• A Custom DVD - Take all those videos of the grandkids you've been hoarding for years and do something with 'em. Make your mom a DVD with highlights from the past. Don't do video? Make a photo slideshow on DVD that she can watch the same way. My fellow Advisor Robin Raskin recently wrote a good primer to getting started with video. Check it out here.
• A Camera Case - My mom wouldn't touch a laptop, but she's attached to her camera like a junkie. Yahoo! Shopping has a ton available, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Make sure you get one that's big enough to fit mom's camera. (Bonus: This gift works even if she has an old-school film camera.)
• The High Tech Plant - This one's just crazy. Give mom a bean that, when it sprouts, says "I Love You" on its pod.
• A Digital Keychain - There are several of these on the market now, and none of them are very good, but they're kitschy and fun: With a digital keychain, you can load a few dozen photos onto the pocket-sized device so Mom can view them anywhere. Beats a wallet-full of fading digital prints, even though the screen is really small.
• Flowers - Can't go wrong here. I don't recommend digital ones, though.
• A Shout-Out on Your Blog - Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Your present is on the way!