Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 10, 2013

Redbook

magazine's list of what Moms really want for Mother's Day:
10. A 24-hour ban on the word, "Mom"
9. An album made of all the photos floating around
8. Really good chocolate
7. A day of beauty at the salon
6. Popcorn in bed in the afternoon with a movie
5. Fresh flowers for every room in the house
4. An afternoon at the movies alone
3. To have the house to myself all day
2. To have breakfast lunch and dinner cooked for me
1. To stay up late and sleep late --without interruption

No matter how pinched the household budget, we're still going to do our best to keep Mom out of the kitchen for Mother's Day. Restaurants still expect it will be the busiest day of the year, according to the National Restaurant Association --about 38 percent of all Americans will dine out that day. In fact, many will dine out twice, celebrating with different people: The NRA reports that 59 percent celebrate at dinner, 51 percent at lunch or brunch, and 22 percent at breakfast.
Flowers are still the most popular gift, purchased by 66.8 percent of those celebrating. (Kaye)

Hallmark says Mother's Day is the third-most popular card-buying holiday, with 162 million cards sold. That's because so many people use the occasion to celebrate relationships with sisters, aunts, and other important women in their lives, it. (Only Christmas and Valentine's Day are bigger.) And among Hispanics, Mother's Day is the single biggest card day of the year. (Kaye)

Mother's day deals:
--In honor of moms and National Hamburger Month, White Castle is offering its online-only Slider-bration deal (10 Original Sliders for $2.50) exclusively for Mother's Day this Sunday. Use the Promo code "MOM" when placing an your order.
--Hooters is honoring moms with a free meal up to $10 with a drink purchase on May 12 at any of its locations.
--Red Lobster is holding a daily sweepstakes in honor of moms. Each day in May through Mother's Day a winner will receive a $50 Red Lobster gift card plus a $100 gift card good for spa treatments, chocolates or flowers. To register go to the Red Lobster Facebook page and follow the instructions to enter the daily drawing.
--TCBY will give a free frozen yogurt (up to 6 ounces) to moms on Mother's Day. Check with the store in your area to make sure it is participating.
--IKEA is offering a free breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and potatoes and a cup of coffee on May 12 from opening until 11 am.
--O'Charley's will offer a free slice of pie on May 12 to all mothers who dine in one of its 213 restaurants in 17 states (locations available at www.ocharleys.com/locations/).
--McCormick & Schmick's is giving moms complimentary truffles with brunch or dinner on Mother's Day.

Trolling for publicity:

Hey mommies --are you ready to kick your feet up and relax this Sunday? Although flowers, perfume and breakfast out are always popular gifts, the best stuff comes from the heart --even if you're an A-list mom! KATE HUDSON brags to Us Weekly that her nine-year-old son RYDER loves to make jewelry and created a "beautiful tree" out of sticks and shells. SARAH JESSICA PARKER is also a sucker for sentimental gifts --her 10-year-old son JAMES writes "lovely, sweet touching notes" while her twin daughters draw pictures all the time.
ANGIE HARMON's trio of daughters melted her insides with a huge, posterboard size card one year and BUSY PHILIPS' four-year-old daughter BIRDIE created a vase with tissue paper and glitter that gets stuck on every surface it touches! (Lee)

Digital Domain:

Here's a shocker --Social media may pose a threat to marital stability, according to a study of 24-thousand married people by the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford.
The study examined the impact of "media multiplexity," (the ability to communicate via multiple platforms) on married relationships. The theory holds that the more ways people have to communicate, the stronger their relationships should be. But the study found additional communication channels not only failed to correlate with greater marital satisfaction, but actually seemed to correlate with dissatisfaction. (Kaye)