SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — There are some gifts only a mother could love: Tiny clay ashtrays (given to a nonsmoker), an earring holder made from a bent wire hanger, a few pieces of wood glued together to make a jewelry box.

Mothers treasure these gifts long after a child is grown and gone with children of their own. Years later, chipped and dusty, the crafts still hold a place of honor. Ashtrays become paperweights and soap dishes, crooked potholders hang from a wall.

The trinkets are a reminder of days gone by, much too quickly, and of the special bond shared between mother and child, no matter the age or distance between them.

Today, John Yandall is a deputy sheriff for Washoe County. But in 1975, he was a youngster at Meyers Elementary School and brought home a special Mother's Day present for his mom, Jan Yandall.

“I have one remaining treasure my son made,” Yandall said. “It was supposed to be an ashtray. Funny, because none of us has ever smoked. I can't believe I still have it.”

South Lake Tahoe Mayor Kathay Lovell is the mother of twins, Ryan and Jill. She still has the wooden bowl that Ryan, now 33, made for her in shop class at South Tahoe Middle School. Lovell also proudly wears a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant that Ryan bought for her in the third grade. Ryan saved his money and shopped at the Mother's Day boutique at Tahoe Valley Elementary School.

Lovell said she scoured the house for treasures from Jill, but realized that her daughter has a Mother's Day tradition that continued through adulthood. When Jill was a child, she would pick flowers for her mommy. As an adult, Jill brings her Mother's Day bouquets.

“She would always get me flowers,” Lovell said. “Sometimes, I don't even know how.”

Judy Cefalu, a board member for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, counts many South Tahoe youth as her “children,” including the hundreds of children she worked with as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA.

In her immediate family, Cefalu has three children: Chris Cefalu, 48, a board member for the South Tahoe Public Utility District; Gina DeLoia, 47; and Joby Cefalu, 41. She also has five grandchildren.

“Oh God, they're so cute,” she said.

Over the years, Cefalu has saved the hand-made presents from her children, storing them away in boxes for safekeeping.

“You have no idea the stuff I've had,” she said.

But there's one item that remains on display: A green, hand-painted ashtray made by one of her children as a kindergartner at Bijou Elementary School. She's not sure which child made it — the name on the bottom is illegible by now — but she treasures it just the same.

“I don't know why I kept it out, I think because it was chipped.” Cefalu said. “I love it and now it is just a soap dish.”