Best. Mother's. Day. Present. Ever.

Even though I suspect it's a tradition mostly kept alive by retailers who like to invent holidays to keep the cash registers ringing, I do like to send my mom a little something on Mother's Day. I admit I sometimes run short of ideas. I mean, she has everything she needs, thank heaven.

But a couple of years ago, I hit on the perfect Mother's Day gift - Netflix, or any movies-by-mail service.

My mom is a special fan of classic movies, so it's something we have in common. And she doesn't use email, so she's not going to be downloading movies any time soon. I keep her queue in order for her, which gives us something to talk about besides the weather every couple of days.

When she's not feeling well, I increase her Netflix "dosage," and make sure she gets extra helpings of old comedies and musicals to make her feel better.

She and her boyfriend (she's 81, he's 82) love having a bunch of movies around when there's nothing on basic cable, and it's stormy outside. It's one gift that actually does keep on giving...as long as I keep my credit card info up to date.