Learn Italian: Facciamo gli auguri alla mamma. - We give mom our good wishes.

In Italian, the standard expression for giving someone good wishes, congratulating them, or wishing them a happy birthday is fare gli auguri (literally "to make the wishes"). Since we are doing it, we use facciamo.

Why is the word for "the" here gli instead of i?

Auguri is a masculine plural word. Normally, masculine plural words use the article i for "the", but because auguri starts with a vowel, it uses gli instead to make it flow better when speaking.

What exactly does auguri mean on its own?

It means "wishes" or "greetings." Italians use auguri on its own all the time as a catch-all phrase to say "Happy Birthday," "Happy Holidays," or "Congratulations!"

Why does it say alla mamma instead of just a mamma?

In English, we treat "Mom" almost like a first name and just say "to Mom." In Italian, you usually need to include "the" (la). When you combine the preposition a (to) with the article la (the), they merge into the single word alla.