Mother's and Father's Days

[UMaineTeach]

CBS evening news tonight said that a record amount of money was spent on fathers for Father's Day this year, but that the amount was still less than half what is spent on Mother's Day.

So a poll to see how CEP compares.

*rest of the question that got cut off*
"in your life for Father's Day"

[basilosaurus]

I'm the one vote (so far) who spends more on dad. We could make mom some homemade crap, but we'd buy dad a gift. I'm not counting the years my dad was single.

We also spent more on my dad this past xmas/birthday. There was something he really really wanted, so my sister and I went in on it. My mom is impossible to shop for so we just get her something perfunctory.

[Deleted]

We spend more on moms than on dads, mostly because flowers cost more and my FIL is impossible to buy for.

ETA: I can think of two factors off top that might contribute to this. One, I think we're still at a point in this country where most mothers bear the lion's share of the household/childcare related duties. So not only so maybe people feel like they owe more to their mothers but maybe husbands feel like they need to make it good.

Secondly, looking at the numbers, it seems we have more uninvolved fathers than mothers. If my mother hadn't remarried, I wouldn't be buying a father's day gift at all.

[heightsyankee]

Well, in my case I have an absentee father and a wonderful mother. I think there are a lot more adults who were raised by a single parent and that parent was usually the mom. I think that statistic alone would make for a pretty significant difference.

[pescalita]

The discrepancy between mothers day and fathers day gets me really hot, but HAB makes a good point. It's because I've got an equal co-parent that deserved the same as I got last month. My mom didn't have that, so I spend less on fathers day.

I wonder if this also has to do with women outliving men. I haven't bought my grandpa anything in 20 years what with him dead and all.

[eclaires]

We didn't really spend money on either this year, honestly.

I am very bah humbug about Mother's Day and Father's Day. I mean, I love the things Jackson makes for me at school and doing things like that with him for Father's Day for my husband b/c they are hysterical yet heartfelt. And truly, there's nothing else I want for Mother's Day - nothing can top those little notes. But otherwise... meh. Maybe it's because I've been in a cycle of finding my own parents annoying for about 2 years, and I find that appreciating them on these holidays feels forced and cheesy. Because I don't really appreciate them - hell I barely tolerate them these days. Their present is me smiling and nodding when I really want to refuse to visit them ever again...

God, I'm an asshole.

[laurenpetro]

i don't have a mother so i didn't vote but i spent more on DH than he did on me. does that help?

[meshaliuknits]

I personally, spend more on Father's Day. I don't have any parents to buy for, but I get H ice cream cake on Father's Day. H got me I Am A Pole and So Can You. I think that still puts me ahead on spending. Ice cream cake ain't cheap.

[mayflowers22]

I usually spend more on mother's day because I'm closer to her and flowers are expensive!

[meg]

i voted mom but here is why (both my parents are awesome so it isn't because of that)... for example this year, mom and dad each got an equivalent gift from henry (mug with handprints for mom, coasters for dad). from me, mom got flowers (which as HAB noted are $). From me, my dad gets what he gets every year (and what he not so subtly asks for "hey I have rhubarb I grew you can take and make me something") a strawberry rhubarb pie. The pie costs me much less, but it is what he wants and enjoys. And I put more time into his so I think it evens out in the end.

[meg]

oh and when my grandpa was alive we spent more on gam than him too. He got chocolate (what he loved) and she got flowers (again, $$).

[2curlydogs]

For our fathers we didn't buy anything - at both their requests. All my dad wants is a properly stacked german wood pile. H's dad bought himself a pontoon boat for their cabin up north.

However, I spent a lot more money on H than he did on me. So, there's that.