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Google is coming to the rescue of last-minute Mother’s Day shoppers with an online gift guide and a host of other features that can even help the geekiest of geeks let their moms know just how much they care about them.
“Visit our special page for Mother’s Day for gift ideas, to find local flower delivery options, and for tips on how to stay connected—and to just say ‘thank you,'” wrote Sabrina Ellis, director of product management for Google+, in a May 7 post on the Google Official Blog. “We also encourage you to share your favorite photo or video of mom (or a note to mom) and tag your post with #HeresToTheMoms,” wrote Ellis, who also described herself in the post as a “loving daughter, and proud mom of 11-year-old Vivian and 8-year-old Ryan.”
The Google Mother’s Day page offers gift suggestions through Google Shopping (you’ll certainly need to arrange fast shipping now, you procrastinator, you), as well as sweet ideas for connecting with Mom through Google+ even from afar by scheduling a Google+ Hangout event with her online. You can also add a little fun to your Hangout with the Capture App, which lets you snap photos during your Hangout, according to Google.
If setting up a Hangout isn’t a good fit for you, then send Mom an email by talking into the Google Search App on your Android device, according to the folks at Google. Open the Google Search App, click the Voice icon and say: “Send an email to [your mom’s name], Happy Mother’s Day,” or whatever message you’d like to send.
Other fun suggestions include sending Mom a fun, personalized, loving video using YouTube, where a special Mother’s Day section is set up.
Want to send flowers for Mother’s Day? Then you can use Google Maps to find a nearby florist and make the arrangements for a just-in-time delivery on May 12.
Other creative Google ideas for celebrating the special day include creating a circle on Google+ for Mom so that you and other family members can share life’s photos of your children and family in one easy-to-find spot.
And if some of these techie ideas sound a little intimidating for your mom, you can even send her some technical support assistance from the folks at TeachParentsTech.org to make it all easier for her to operate, according to Google.
Mother’s Day is a special day, wrote Google’s Ellis.
“As both a daughter and a mom, Mother’s Day gives me the opportunity to tell my mom how much I appreciate, respect and admire her,” she wrote. “It also reminds me to aspire to do my best for my own kids, just as my mom did for me. My best almost always begins with a hug.”
Visitors can also get more celebration ideas at a special Mother’s Day Google+ Hangout from +AskMen, or they can join the Mother’s Day Guide Google+ community to ask questions and hear what others are planning, wrote Ellis.
Google seems to have a way with holiday celebrations.
Last Christmas, Google again unveiled its annual Santa Tracker to help children and adults keep track of the Big Man as he made his deliveries on Christmas Eve. And for the first time, Google also created a cool Santa Call service that let visitors create free, interactive, personalized phone messages from Santa that could be sent to loved ones.