Great Mother's Day Presents

Mother's Day is coming up soon, which means that many of us are desperately looking for fresh, fun, and not ridiculously expensive gift ideas for our moms (or our kids' moms). Here are some slightly offbeat and unusual gift ideas that might work for the mom you're shopping for!

Funny T-shirts

  

If Mom is the casual type, she'd love a T-shirt with a funny saying on it that suits her personality. Cafepress and Snorgtees are two great sites with all kinds of witty and whimsical shirts that will appeal to geeky moms, bookish moms, pun-loving moms, coffee and wine drinking moms, and every other kind of mom you can imagine. Most tees priced between $12 and $22 on both sites.

Pampering Gifts

 

 

Not all moms are "girly," but most moms do enjoy some kind of pampering, whether it's a massage, a mani-pedi, some fancy bubble bath or bath bombs (I love the ones from Lush, $5-$8 apiece), or even a box of her favorite expensive tea or gourmet cookies (a 1-pound tin of David's Cookies is $25). I love gift certificates combined with something tangible, so you could wrap a GC for a hot stone massage from a local spa with a beautiful painted stone for her garden or bookshelf (check out the pretty selection at Syndala Designs), or a GC from Teavana or Republic of Tea (single tins of tea run about $10-$15 at both sites; Teavana samplers start at $20 and RoT start at $7) with a few scones from a local bakery or a pretty mug, or a GC from her regular manicurist with a bottle of nail polish or a nice new diamond dust nail file.

Gardening Stuff

If your mom is more the outdoorsy type who likes puttering in her garden (or, like me, just sitting in the yard watching her garden grow), there are plenty of fun gardening tools and decorations that she might enjoy, like these:

This pretty little colored glass and copper hummingbird is attached to a stake that can be tucked in any corner of the garden to add a little color. $20 from UncommonGoods.

 

Put some ease in her knees with this cute padded gardening seat which can be flipped over to become a low kneeler or a small seat.  Available in purple or green. $40 from Gardeners.

If Mom prefers to be a little more personal, how about a set of family stepping stones? $30 for a large stone and $15 for small, from PersonalCreations.

Does Mom like watching birds better than flowers? This small bronze-colored birdbath will attract plenty of feathered friends to her yard without taking up too much space. $32 from Best Nest.

Family-themed Jewelry

If your mom is a jewelry-wearer (or even if she's not, she might change her mind for these), there are plenty of lovely pieces that acknowledge each of her children (and/or grandchildren) with an initial, name, or colored stone.

This sterling silver heart can be personalized with up to three birthstones (tell them the birth month and they'll tell you the birthstone). Available in several lengths. $30 from Eve's Addiction.

If Mom isn't a fan of colored stones, this understated silver necklace features up to three nested circles engraved with names. $50 from oNecklace.

This pretty stretch bracelet has up to six colored beads corresponding to family birthdays. $30 from Pearls by Laurel. 

Kitchen Gadgets

Some moms love to cook; others consider it a chore. If your mom is the former, she might love an unusual or really well-made kitchen gadget.

This clip-on spout makes draining water from pasta and vegetables, draining fat from ground beef and bacon, and pouring batter neat and easy. You can also use it to neatly pour paint or stain from a can if Mom is more at home in the workshop than in the kitchen. Not the same one, though, so you might want to get her two. At $10 from The Grommet, you can. 

I can never find the right size measuring spoon, so I love these adjustable measuring spoons - one for teaspoons and one for tablespoons. The seal is tight enough to use for both wet and dry ingredients. $10 for the pair from Pampered Chef.

This gadget might be a waste for some moms, but if yours has her own herb garden or cooks with fresh herbs a lot, this little herb stripper will get a lot of use! No more pulling off rosemary or thyme leaves one by one - just zip it through and the leaves fall right into the convenient measuring dish. $8 from Williams Sonoma.

Coffee Gifts

I was never much of a coffee drinker until I had children, and now I can't start the morning without a mug in my hand, so coffee and motherhood are inextricably linked for me.

This coffee sampler box includes a dozen 1.75-oz samples (each sample makes 6-8 cups) of various roasts and bean types. $25 from Coffee Beanery.

If Mom brews one cup at a time in her Keurig, this sampler pack of 30 flavored coffees will let her try plenty of different flavors. You can even create your own sampler by mixing and matching flavors, 4 K-cups at a time. $24 from Crazy Cups.

There's no need for a coaster with this cool "floating" mug, which comes complete with a notched cover to keep your coffee or tea hot with the spoon still in it. $17 from HomeZens.


Whatever it is that you choose to give your (or someone else's) mom for Mother's Day, sive it to her with a smile, a hug, and a heartfelt "I love you." Speaking as a mom myself, that's always the best gift of all!