Motherhood Back in Vogue for Current Mother’s Day Cards

This year’s Mother’s Day cards reflect the fact that motherhood is back in style, says an official of a greeting card company with headquarters in Kansas City.

The current crop of sentiments recognizes that there’s more to motherhood than baby talk and bottles, and reflects its reality--and humor, says Sally Groves, greeting card product director at Hallmark Cards.

“Mothers, including the 3.7 million who will give birth this year, know that being a mother is hard work,” she says, “and a good laugh can provide some much-needed relief.

“Friends can be the best support system a mother has, and there’s no better time to show that support than Mother’s Day,” she adds.

Designed for Friends

A special group of the company’s cards, for example, is designed for friends to give to each other. They describe the victory of dressing a squirming infant, the sanctuary of a relaxing and prolonged bubble bath as family members vainly knock on the door, or the horrors of housework.

One offers some advice for a great Mother’s Day: “Pile the kids, the dog, sandwiches, potato chips, soft drinks, games and a radio into the car . . . then go back to bed and go to sleep.”

Other cards confirm that the job of being a mother is doubly difficult when mom works. One, for instance, has a carnival barker extolling the miracle of the modern age: “She walks, she talks, she juggles a challenging career and an active family life! Fantastic? Incredible?” Inside, the card says, “Happy Mother’s Day to the star of the show.”

More Humor

Another asks what you get when you cross an octopus with a high-speed computer, and answers, “I don’t know, but it still can’t do everything a working mother can do!”

A card that shows a young mother in robe and slippers holding a screaming baby on her hip while ironing a blouse says, “Being a mother is a snap! First your mind snaps, then your nerves snap . . .”

“Such cards are really inside jokes, and sending them is a way for mothers to share feelings, as well as support each other,” Groves says.