By Leanne Hudson

You don't have to spend a fortune on gifts and cards to show Mum you care...

Make something special for you and your mum by creating a History Book. Buy a good-quality, hardback notebook and give each page a different title such as, 'The Day You And Dad Met', 'Your Memories of School', 'Your Favourite Hobbies As A Child', 'Your Relationship With Your Parents', etc. Leave space for your mum to write her thoughts or stick photos on each page and you'll learn things about the life she had before you arrived that you might never have heard before.

Create something unique for your mum with a photo album designed by you. It's easy enough to do online, or you can take the snaps you want including in your album to your local photo developing shop and get them to do it for you. Technology has reached the point now where you can create a professional-looking book filled with a lifetime of memories that your mum can enjoy again and again.

Do something memorable together on the day and support a good cause by signing you and your mum up for the Mother's Day Classic. Around 70,000 Australians are expected to take part in the fun run this year, but if running's not your thing, don't worry. Many participants walk the course and there are two distances to choose from. The whole point is to enjoy a fun day out while raising money for breast cancer research.

Remember something special with a Memory Jar. Recycle and decorate an old glass jar or invest in a ready-made one from a shop. Then take several pieces of paper, and on each one write a memory you have of your mum. It can be anything you like, from the day she taught you how to tie your shoes to catching sight of her crying at your graduation ceremony. Fold each piece of paper, place it in the jar and keep going until it's full. Then screw on the lid and you have a collection of memories showing your mum just how much she means to you.

Preserve something special by getting your mum's old photos and negatives and turning them into digital images. You can take them into a photo shop or invest in the equipment to do it yourself at home. It might take a bit of time and effort, but your mum will love seeing her old black and white snaps and blurry photos from the '60s brought into the 21st century.