Creative Gift

Subscription to a magazine.

Bulbs for hr Garden

A Kindle

Bottles of wine, blank invitations, pretty cocktail napkins, gift card to a cheese shop. Maybe she could hold a wine tasting party with some of her friends.

Tickets to a performance or an event.

A 2 night stay at a nice B&B

Does she like Pride and Prejudice? There are 2 new good books

"The Unexpected Miss. Bennett" by Patrice Sarath (I know the author after Christmas I could get a Book plate signed for you to add to it, PM me)

"Death Comes to Pemberly" by P.D. James

Can you provide a price range?

Some ideas...
Gourmet coffee and a nice mug
Gift card (restaurant, craft store, book store)
Framed photo of the grandkids
Books or movies
a nice throw blanket, slippers
A 2012 calendar
massage gift certificate

If you like her, take her out to lunch and a movie... your treat! Make a pretty "invitation" on the computer for a "girls day/night out" and then make all of the arrangements based on your budget and her interests.

My MIL too - she hates clutter, is picky about clothes, very frugal, and not very aware of pop culture. Gift certificate to the theatre would be my suggestion - in DC, I have gotten these for the Kennedy Center or National Theatre where they do ballet, opera, broadway shows, comedy shows, etc. Also, maybe something like itunes gift card or an ipod or ipad depending on your budget..

It's not terribly expensive, but last year we got a bunch of the "has everything" people on our list fancy address stamps. Something to use when all the stickers run out. :) We bought ours online, but I think most office stores can make them while you wait.

i need more information to be helpful.

some gifts I've gotten my mil over the last 20 yrs - most under or around $50
new crockpot, large griddle, miniature tea sets for her collection, a red accent blanket for her bed, a black and white bedspread she had been hinting about, lots of jewelry, Red Door Perfume set, Very nice House Coats, nightgowns, and slippers, a gorgeous cape with a broach as a closure, a quilt rack for the foot of her bed, Gone With the Wind Memorabilia, Kindle gift cards,

A family portrait session????

My mother-in-law loves the calendars and other photo books that I make for her. It's pretty easy to upload and arrange the pictures. I use shutterfly.com but have heard snapfish is also good. I think you can pick up at Walgreens too.

I am in the same boat;) I make my mom and MIL scrapbook calendars. for an example you can see them on my blog, with instructions: http://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/its-a-sc... good luck!

Gift certificate to a day spa for a facial or other service of her choice? Something homemade like a Christmas ornament. If you have kids, how about a picture frame with a nice photo of them? It's a little late to put together a scrapbook of great photos and mementos but keep that in mind for her next birthday or next year (start collecting things now!). Some luxurious chocolates? Books if she's a reader - a new novel from a favorite author, a nice cookbook if she's into that, or perhaps one of the new "coffee table" books. GMA had a segment on yesterday and I only caught part of it, but the anchors each recommended their favorite new book. One I remember was about the I Love Lucy show - maybe something that brings up memories of old shows or movies? Go browse the bookstore (in your spare time, ha ha) and see if anything jumps out at you regarding her interests.

You can never go wrong with food. Bake her something homemade, or buy some fancy nuts and chocolates in a basket, add some clemintines.

Some beautiful roses.

And where are the husbands in these decisions??? Mine doesn't have a clue either!

I make a calender with a the year's family pictures. They love it.

I would suggest framed photo collages. It's time consuming picking out the right photos but the finished product is always worth it.

My friend just got a few of these from the Paper Store for people who were hard to buy for. They are sterling silver napkin holders, and the weight is changeable, so you can buy seasonal ones or ones that suit her personality. I'm not sure exactly what they are called, but if you go to Paper Store website, you can search silver napkin holders. I think it is about $45 and then I'm not sure how much for each additional weight.