The Making of Mother's Day Cards

May 11, 2007 — -- It's time to hit the card stores and find the perfect card to express exactly how you feel about your mother.

And according to the National Retail Federation, you won't be alone because 86 percent of consumers will be out there purchasing greeting cards for Mother's Day along with you.

Carolyn Koesters, a writer and editor at American Greetings, said a big focus for its Mother's Day cards was on the mother-daughter relationship.

"The mother-and-daughter bond is amazing and complex," she told ABC News. "When we're little girls, we start out wanting to do everything just like our mom. We'll dress in high heels and play like we're just like them. A few years down the road we're challenging what our mothers tell us in our teen years and then hopefully we come back around to gaining awareness and understanding about our moms as women and we have a lot of cards that really can express that."

The writers at American Greetings drew inspiration this year from their own moms, using a new research method comparable to speed dating.

They brought their mothers to work for a "momathon," and each writer sat across from a mom, chatted for a few minutes, then rotated to another mom until all the writers had learned about each mother's unique relationship with her child.

Koesters said they also drew inspiration for their cards from chat rooms, experts, books and the media.

Another trend this year for American Greetings' Mother's Day cards is the concept of mom as CEO of the family. Recently, www.salary.com calculated the amount a stay-at-home mom would be paid for all her various jobs involved in raising a family. The estimated annual salary came close to $140,000.

The company has many cards that specifically thank moms for all of their hard work because, Koesters said, "today's mom is no longer wearing an apron and baking pies. She's busy. She's on the go and she's got so many roles, and being a mom is a full-time job."