Shopping for my mom is always the hardest part of Christmas. You would think, being of the same gender, I would be loaded with ideas for what to get this woman, but no.

My dad tells me to just get her something I would like. But knowing my mom doesn’t like clothes from the ’70s, worn-out Levi’s or other people’s sweaters from Goodwill, that doesn’t work. I can’t go trendy for my mom either. She wouldn’t like to wear one of those little backpacks or go-go boots to work.

So, I tried to interpret why it is so hard to buy a present for one’s mother.

Moms are picky. They’ve spent a great many years getting their houses and wardrobes to look the way they want them. They don’t want a really cool poster of Bob Marley to hang in their bedrooms or a Friend’s calendar for their offices. Moms don’t even want a pre-shaped baseball cap to wear on the weekend.

The second reason moms’ presents are always the last ones under the tree is because a mom is truly the “person who has everything.” Well, let me qualify that — she has everything we can afford. For a while now my mom has wanted new carpeting and a new hide-a-bed sofa. I don’t think I could afford a nice rug, much less carpeting. Besides, how fun could it be to purchase a floor covering?

Unlike us, when moms see something in the store they need or want, they either buy it or forget about it. They don’t pine away for that fuzzy green sweater or that Carhartt coat with the game pocket on the back, hoping they will get them for Christmas.

The real reason it is hard to buy for moms is kind of hard to admit. We always want to find the perfect gift for each person on our list, but especially our moms. Every Christmas and birthday our moms have surprised us by finding exactly what we wanted, even if they had to stand in line or biff another mom for it. Now that we can shop on our own, we want to do the same.

We want to find the perfect present, the one that will make her exclaim: “Oh, it’s just what I wanted!” and really mean it. But we want the present to be unique and special, we don’t want to buy the exact same sweater she pointed out at the mall or another bottle of the perfume she has worn since we were watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

But after several years of going out on a limb to buy my mom the ultra-creative gift, I have come to realize it just works better to get her exactly what she asks for. While she may not always be surprised by her gifts, she gets something she can really use.

It’s a cliche, but really true — it’s the thought that counts. In following that logic, our presents to our moms should count a whole lot because we spent so much time thinking about them. Whatever you get your mom for Christmas, just remember to keep the receipt.