Mother’s Day rolls around only once per year and while a phone call and a card are always good ideas, there’s no reason to ignore the other 364 days. In fact, sending a thoughtful gift out of the blue on a random Thursday is more likely to elicit surprise than even the most expensive Mother’s Day gift. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of our 17 favorite gifts for mom.

Send her one on Mother’s Day and then send her one on some other day too. That way she’ll know you appreciate her the whole year through!



The List: 17 Fresh & Original Gifts for Mom

1. Send Her a Greetabl

Just upload a couple fun photos of the two of you together, pick out a small gift, and the Greetabl team does the rest. What’s a Greetabl you ask? It’s hard to explain. Just click-through and check it out for yourself!

 

2. Send Her a Panda Planner

Behind every super-mom who never forgets a birthday or school pick-up is a tight organizational system. Some use Google Calendar or Trello. For those that swear by the classic daily planner, the trusty Panda Planner is hard to beat.

 

3. Surprise Her with Breakfast Out

If you know there’s a certain day of the week when your mom has a light morning schedule or nothing else planned, just pop by unannounced. Say you were in the neighborhood and ask her out to breakfast. It’s amazing how much ground you can cover over eggs prepared sunny-side-up and cheap coffee. Just don’t call it brunch, okay? That’ll ruin everything.

 

4. Get Her Tickets to a Musical or Other Show

You know what the mom in your life likes to do on a night out. Show her you’ve been paying attention with tickets to an upcoming play, art opening, or death metal show. It’s not your role to question her taste. Just play along!

 

5. Send Her Tea Every Month Forever

Think of everything your mom ever did for you. Was it worth a measly nine bucks a month? That’s all it costs to send her awesome loose leaf teas for infinity.

 

6. Send Her a Spa Day in a Box

Stress builds up over time, and only time can wind it back down. When you send her a nifty spa box, be sure to also make it clear that you’ll cover her usual duties for a set period of time – a couple hours, an afternoon, or a whole weekend. There’s no use breaking out the bath salts if she barely has time to fill up the tub.

 

7. Order Her Personalized Stationery

If the mom in your life likes to fire off missives via email or text, she might benefit from a medium that encourages her to slow down and take her time. Some comfortable gel pens and cool custom stationery should do the trick.

 

8. Write Her Some Old-Fashioned Letters

This one takes some advance planning and is well worth the effort. You pour your heart out into twelve prompted letters – say thank you, share favorite memories, plan for the future – and then seal them up and date for future opening. Your mom gets a treasure trove of personal letters she’ll appreciate for years.

 

9. Send Her a Vitamix

Everyone has a blender and everyone knows that it only works sometimes and is a pain to clean all the time. Not so with the trusty Vitamix. It’s whips up perfect smoothies and daiquiris every time and is way easier to clean than your typical blender.

 

10. Send Her to (Cooking) School

It might seem a bit counterintuitive, but only give the mom in your life this gift if she’s already a pretty good cook. You’re not looking to make a big comment, just help her pursue something that’s already a passion.

 

11. Send Her a Box of Tea Drops

What the heck are Tea Drops? That’s for us to know and your mom to find out. Just send them. If she loves tea, she’ll be intrigued, entertained, and delighted in short order.

 

12. Send Her Stemless Champagne Flutes

Most moms love mimosas. If yours is no exception, take her style up a notch with a set of modern stemless champagne flutes. There’s an outdoor variety too for bottomless Sunday mornings on the back deck. Throw in some personalized glass photo coasters to complete the gift package.

 

13. Send Her a Custom Mini-Book of Instagram Shots

If you have cute kids, or can borrow some for a quick photo shoot, you can order a custom mini-book in no time flat. What mom wouldn’t enjoy flipping through a brag book and showing off her favorite little people?

 

14. [Insert Your Own Creative Idea Here]

You know the moms in your life better than we do. Make a short list of her favorite activities. When does she seem happiest? Then do a Google search for “creative gifts for people who love to _____.” She won’t be disappointed!

 

15. Send Her a Fancy Keepsake Box

I know a few guys that use cigar boxes for watches, cufflinks, and other small trinkets of masculinity. There’s a mom’s version too that’s perfect for earrings or that one crazy important piece of jewelry that deserves its very own box. What’s her style?

 

16. Give Her a Week of Chores

It might have been decades since you last loaded the dishwasher or swept the patio at your parents’ house. If your mom lives close by, why not relive your glory days with a week of mundane chores? Make your own printable coupons and let her cash them in on short notice.

 

17. Send Her a Candle that Smells Like…

They say that nothing invokes memories quite as vividly as smell. If you were born in Ohio, send your mom a custom buckeye candle. If you took a trip together to Florida way back when, send her a candle that smells like ocean breezes and key limes.

 

***

Did we miss one of your favorite all-time mom gifts? Tell us about it in the comments and we might include it in a regular post update.