Mother's Day Messages for Mother-in-law

She brought the love of your life into the world. She raised them to be the upstanding person they are today. For that reason alone, your Mother-In-Law deserves at the very least, a whole bunch of respect. And since it’s obvious your spouse turned out amazing enough to marry, well – she must have done a whole lot of things right. From welcoming you into her family to loving your kids – chances are she’s gone above and beyond for you, too.

But what do you say to your mother-in-law on Mother’s Day? There are different kinds of mom-in-law relationships, so we’ve organized a range of sweet messages for your mother-in-law into three popular Mother’s Day message categories. This’ll make writing your message simple—just wrap in any of the following themes —compliments, gratitude, or love¬— to show how much your mother-in-law really means to you.

Compliments

Who doesn’t love to hear how great they are?! It’s a great idea to include compliments in your Mother’s Day message to your mother-in-law, and the more specific you are, the better. It’s good to say, “You’re the best,” but it’s better to say, “In case I’ve only told you 500 times, you make the best apple pie on the planet.” Be specific. Here are some nice, complimentary wishes, but we recommend infusing them with details specific to your mother-in-law to make your message even more meaningful:

The world would be a million times better if everyone had a mother-in-law like you.
You’re the best mom, mom-in-law, and grandma we could ask for!
You’re selfless, patient, compassionate, loving—and so many other great things that make you so special (and make us so lucky!)
Wishing the very best mother-in-law the very best Mother’s Day.
You’re not just my mother-in-law—you’re someone I’ve grown to appreciate and love .
You’re a strong, beautiful woman, and you’re a great role model to our kids.
You’re a seriously kick-a$$ mother-in-law.

Gratitude

If you appreciate your mother-in-law—and we’re sure you do—now’s the time to tell her! Thank her for being who she is and for doing what she does. Details are good. For example, “Thanks for everything you do for us!” is a nice-enough message, but it’s a little generic; “Thank you for taking Jacob to school every morning. Don’t know what we’d do without you and all the things you to do to make our lives easier and happier!” feels a million times warmer, right?

Specificity is our friend. Let these examples of gratitude get you started, and feel free to add specific details to warm them up a little:

You raised your son/daughter to be a kind, intelligent, and loving. Thank you for that—and for being such an amazing mother-in-law.
Thanks so much for everything you do to make our lives better.
I appreciate you, and I sincerely thank you for being YOU.
I couldn’t have joined a better or more loving family. Thank you for accepting me with open arms.
We’re so grateful for you and your love – I’m the luckiest daughter-in-law in the world.
It’s a joy to watch you with our kids. Thank you for being such a wonderful grammy to them.

Love

The best reason you want to write your mother-in-law the perfect Mother’s Day message is because you love her. There are lots of phrases to express this sentiment—which work nicely alone but are even better when paired with compliments or gratitude (scroll up for examples of those):

You’re such an important part of our lives, and we love you so, so much!
Let’s just drop the “in-law” part. Love you, Mom!
I love you and don’t know what I’d do without you.
I love being your daughter-in-law, and I love you!
Hoping all the love you give comes back to you tenfold today.
We love you every day—but a little extra today!
I love your sense of humor, your kindness, and your chicken pot pie.

That’s it! Keep all our tips and examples in mind—and be warm, conversational, and specific—and you’ll write a Mother’s Day message to your mother-in-law that’ll make her feel like the VIP she is.