Who Are Raising a Family Far from Home

If my daughter had been living nearby during her first three Christmas seasons as a young working mother, I would have been able to find any number of gifts to give her over the holidays. Along with the usual gifts of clothes, housewares, etc., I would have been able to gift her with free baby-sitting, for example, or a slew of homemade frozen meals, or laundry service for a week. Let's face it, the one thing young mothers need is more time. However, since my daughter and her husband were 2,000 miles away, finding truly special, timesaving gifts proved a challenge. In addition to the check in the Christmas card, which, let's face it, one does anyway, here are ten gift idea for your young mother who is away from home this Christmas.

1. Laptop computer with WiFi and DSL.

If you are financially able, a reliable, up-to-date laptop computer (with WiFi, CDR/DVR, a web cam and a good printer) is indispensable to today's working woman and young mother. Especially living far from home, the computer is the best link across that geographical divide and makes keeping in touch easy, and efficient.

You may think your young mother's current computer is just dandy, but if it's the same one she bought 5 years ago when she was in college, think again. My preference is Apple/Macintosh, but with cross-platform technology, Dell and Toshiba are excellent bargains. Don't skimp. Get plenty of speed and capacity. She won't have time to tap her toes patiently while a web page is loading. She may have a great computer at her place of work, but it can't replace having one of her own at home and on the road if she travels. Don't forget that Web Cam!

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