Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. In addition to the fact that I get to be pampered by my husband and kids, the day allows me to reflect on all of the wonderful memories that my mom and I shared. Whenever possible, we visited some really cool places. Money, however, was always an issue and as a result, we sometimes had to get creative on where we went.

Having said that, there are tons of free things that you (and your mom) or you (and your children) can do, to celebrate Mother’s Day. For starters, many zoos offer free admission on Mother’s Day. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and the Minnesota Zoo are just a few. If you do a search on Google under, “Free zoos for Mother’s Day” you can get an entire list. You can also call your local zoo and ask if they will be offering free admission for moms on Mother’s Day.

Another free option is the museum. The Mill City Museum in Minnesota, the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina and the Children’s Museum in New Hampshire all offer free admission on Mother’s Day. I would recommend calling your local museum to check if they are offering free admission for moms as well.

There are also numerous other venues that appreciate the hard job that a mom has by offering freebies. Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Times Square is one of them. They will give moms (with an accompanying child) free admission as well as a free family portrait.

The website www.coloring.wshas some great coloring pages that you can print out and let your little one color. After he/she is finished coloring the pages, you can frame them and make a great gift. In addition, you can also print out a few “do-it-yourself” cards from <"http://www.mescards.com/mothersday1/">Mescards.com. They also make great gifts.

Whatever you and (your mom or your kids) decide to do, make sure that you enjoy yourselves and have a fantastic Mother's Day!