There was a year when my husband had no idea what day Mother’s Day fell on, so he agreed to work. It was a bit of a disaster. So I want to help you guys out — Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday. This Sunday. Sunday, May 12. And it falls on every second Sunday of May. Are you panicking yet?

Mother’s Day, however, can be easy if you give yourself at least a couple of days to prepare. I think the overall arching theme is, don’t forget Mother’s Day. That said, if you just know the mom in your life would simply love some flowers and an acknowledgement that she is a great mom, then there are ways to learn how to arrange flowers on your own and thus earn that extra “I did it myself!” credit.

First, there are a lot of great tips in this Lifehacker article on buying flowers, arranging them and caring for them. Remember that mothers are easy to impress; their vases of flowers don’t have to have the perfection of a Valentine’s Day gift. Pick colors and flowers you know she likes. If she loves to smell flowers, go with flowers that smell great — roses, gardenias, tuberose. Your mom will love tuberose.

So, where do you find your mom these colorful, great-smelling flowers? Here in Southern California, we’ve got the Los Angeles Flower District. Generally, it’s mostly trafficked by wholesalers and professional florists, but on big holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, they extend their hours to service the public, but don’t think you can sleep in and still save. Public hours are normally at 8 a.m., and holiday hours are earlier — 6 a.m. It’s not completely free to get in, but admission on either side is minimal — $1 or $2.

As for photo tutorials, I found one I liked on Flickr from Jodimichelle, but there are no captions. I do like the how they take you from loose flowers to bouquet though, and the floral choices are pretty cool — have you ever seen black tulips? You will here.

And finally, there are a ton of videos on YouTube that can walk you through arranging flowers, but they get kind of complicated. And for me, simple is best. So I found this very short, super simple video and I think it gives the viewer a good idea of the bare bones of arranging flowers in a vase.

Good Luck and Happy Mother’s Day!