Alright, Mother’s Day is approaching and like most of us, we tend to put it off till last minute, never being original and always succumbing to the easy 1-800-flowers and cheezy card. Well why don’t you try something a lil different this year with a bit of a personal touch? Something cool and not as boring as another shitty floral shirt from JC Penny. Here are ten hip, affordable, and easy gifts to surprise yo’ Momma with:

1. Personalized CD compilations or an ipod shuffle with some pre-selected tracks. I do this for my parents every year with both some new stuff I think they will enjoy, as well as some sweet oldies. Click here for my Mom’s custom playlist where you can also listen to each song.

2. Paint or draw your mom something that she’d like. If you got some skills with a paintbrush or a piece of graphite, this can be an awesome gift.

3. Write a poem … mushy as it may sound mom’s (women in general) love this shit. Hand write it on some nice stationary and frame it. Now get your Edgar Allen Poe on, and start versing.

4. Write a song for your mom and pair it of course with some tunes. Whether you play the guitar, piano, keytar, or just flowing over some beats, make sure you perform if for her.

5. Flowers, yes, yes, they are so damn cliché but you can make it original. Such as edible arrangements, or my personal favorite, wild flowers. Go check out some greenery and pick a pretty mix, just be careful when taking tulips from your neighbors garden. Stick them in a nice vase, not a bong (unless your mum is down with that).

6. Digital photo frames rock. Just cause you’re all growed up, don’t mean your Mom can’t share your present photos with her friends. So pull some from your myspace or facebook pics and whatever else you see fit. I’m sure Moms will appreciate. Both regular frame sized and wallet books work fine.

7. Take Mom to a concert. Don’t take her to some redundant Celine Dion show (although she may like it) but do take her to something fresh and hip such as Feist, Metric, Kate Nash, The Black Keys, Tegan and Sarah, Band of Horses, etc. Or if she digs it, maybe something cool from her past (Iggy Pop, Def Leppard, Elvis Costello, The Police, BB King, The New York Dolls).

8. Plant her a garden of her favorite flowers, veggies or herbal medicines (ganja included).

9. Make her dinner. Show mom your gratitude for all the delicious meals she cooked for you as child. And if all you got was chef boyardee and cup o noodle, well I hear mac n’ cheese is on sale at Vons. Throw some scrimps in there and you’ll be ghetto fab.

10. Buy Mom a fashionable age appropriate outfit. When my brother worked over at Hurley, he always styled my Mom out in the cutest fits. Just cause they’re getting older, doesn’t mean they have to dress like the golden girls. Check out Volcom and Urban Outfitters. They got some good stuff.