Welcome! I am a mom to two wonderful kids, a lovely retired greyhound, and a wife to a great husband. Needless to say, there are a lot of daily messes to clean up around our house. Daily Messes is my blog to share ideas on things to do with your kids, snack and meal ideas, crafts, and holiday fun. I hope you find something to enjoy!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

114 Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Anyone need some Mother's Day gift ideas? Below are ideas for gifts you can make, buy, or even things you can do as a gift. (Tip: If you shop on Amazon, they have 2 day Prime shipping.)



  1. Flowers. You can buy some from a store/florist or make your own bunch from the garden. Farmer's markets often have flowers for sale as well. You can make your own from egg cartons or coffee filters.
  2. Compose and sing her a song.
  3. Make her a homemade card.
  4. Take the kids to a Home Depot or Lowe's* kids workshop and make something special for Mother's day. (*Some Lowe's have stopped their kids workshop, so please check with your local store.)
  5. Breakfast in bed. It may be best if Dad helps. One time the kids were super sweet and tried to make us breakfast in bed. We had sour cream (they thought it was yogurt) and salad (with zucchini in it).
  6. Let mom sleep in.
  7. Don't let Mom do any chores for the day!
  8. Plan a weekend away. Even if it's not on Mother's day weekend, you can give her the details and it's still a great gift.
  9. Surprise her with a "date" night with the kids (or grandkids). (Movie tickets, dinner, snacks, lazer tag, etc.)
  10. An e-book reader. Barnes and Nobles usually have plenty in stock at their stores. The Kindle is available at Amazon.com or in some office and electronics stores (Staples, Best Buy). For an added bonus, have some books she has wanted to read already loaded on it!
  11. Take her out to eat or cook her dinner. Trust me, it is really nice to eat something we didn't have to make!
  12. A bottle of her favorite wine and some glasses.
  13. If she already has an iPad, Nook, or Kindle, buy her a new case.
  14. Take her to a movie, without the kids!
  15. set up a Skype or FaceTime session with her favorite out of town person.
  16. Chocolate.
  17.  A gift card to her favorite book store.
  18. Gift card to a spa, or already have a surprise appointment set up.
  19. Subscription to a magazine.
  20. Write her a poem.
  21. Set up an appointment at a paint-your-own pottery place. We did this several years ago and it was lots of fun!
  22. Paint your own clay pots and fill with candy. It might be fun to have everyone's fingerprints (maybe even labeled) on the pots.
  23. Buy or make a cake or cupcakes, and let the kids decorate.
  24. Perfume. (If she likes perfume.)
  25. Donate to her favorite charity. Here is one of mine: Heifer.
  26. Give her a digital picture frame already loaded with her favorite pictures (or your favorites of her).
  27. iTunes gift card, CD, Pandora or other music subscription.
  28. Gift certificate for zip lining.
  29. A photobook. There are some stores that offer same day options.
  30. Breakout or another Escape the Room experience. Groupon often has these available.
  31. Plant her a garden or build a garden box.
  32. Patio ride. The link is to the Denver Patio Ride, but lots of other cities have these. Google your city and "patio ride" or "peddle wagon".
    Photo from Yelp
  33. Buy her jewelry with all of the kids initials or birthstones. Have the kids design something for Mom.
  34. Chocolate dipped strawberries. Lots of grocery stores carry these this time of year. There are other online stores as well, such as Edible Arrangements.
  35. Take her to design-your-own-jewelry store.
  36. New DSLR camera or a purse sized camera (I have this one and love it! It also does video.)
  37. Concert tickets.
  38. New bathrobe, maybe with some bath salts.
  39. Clean something. Really. We'll take just about anything!
  40. Potted plant. 
  41. Make her a dessert pizza.
  42. Video camera.
  43. Paint a picture. Buy a canvas at a craft store and let the kids paint Mom a picture.
  44. Make your own gift basket. Some examples: favorite kind of coffee and a new mug, bubble bath with bath salts and a robe, wine and glasses, chocolate.
  45. Tickets to play.
  46. Towels...if she wants them. Seriously, my Mom asked for towels one year.
  47. A puppy or adopt a dog. (As a public service announcement, please make sure you have the time and willingness to care for a pet. They are amazing but can take a lot of effort.)
  48. Create a picture frame (click here for a video), picture, or message out of Legos.
  49. Organize babysitting for a Mom-day.
  50. Make clay hand prints of the kids. Many craft stores have handprint kits.
  51. Candles.
  52. Tell her how beautiful she is.
  53. Bon Bons.
  54. Paint a room that she has been wanting changed. 
  55. Gym membership. I would only do this if she has asked for one!
  56. Make canvas hand print art. You can buy canvas online or in craft stores. (Click here for directions.)
  57. Wash Mom's car.
  58. New cell phone or Apple Watch.
  59. Glass blowing lessons.
  60. Foot rub.
  61. Buy her a piece of furniture.
  62. Especially for kids: make your bed, brush your teeth, clean your room, or clean up the toys without being asked!
  63. Write inspirational messages on her mirror (we love you, you're beautiful, thank you). Use something that can be washed off. Here's my post on when we started doing this as a family.
  64. Yoga class.
  65. Fix something broken (a piece of jewelry, something around the house...)
  66. Give Mom a hug for no reason.
  67. Horseback riding.
  68. Buy her favorite dessert.
  69. Video your child reading his/her favorite book for Mom. This is super cute, plus it is great for when the kids are older and you can look back at when they were smaller. Or at least pull it out when they bring dates home or at their wedding.
  70. Plant a tree, bush, flowers.
  71. Wash the windows.
  72. Duck tour. This is the link to the Boston Duck Tours, but other cities have them too. (Google your city and "duck tour" or "duck boat tour".)
  73. Color Mom a picture.
  74. Change all the diapers for the day.
  75. Buy her a new purse.
  76. Bake her cookies.
  77. Create (and print) a photo collage.
  78. Tell her you love her in a different language.
  79. Take her on a hot air balloon ride.
  80. Help her with her blog. (Can you tell my husband came up with this one?)
  81. Gift card to her favorite store. Amazon will ship a gift card to your person's house or send it to their email. (I may have an addiction to Target and Amazon...)
  82. Framed picture of you and Mom or Mom with all of her kids and grandkids. 
  83. Make smiley faced pancakes. Chocolate chips and berries work great for the face!
  84. Boat ride (dinner cruise, paddle boat, tour).
  85. Airboat ride. We went to Airboat Rides at Midway on vacation several years ago and had a blast!
  86. Rent a romantic comedy.
  87. Teach her your favorite game or sport.
  88. Buy her favorite flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Some stores let you buy individual flavors. My favorite are the cherry!
  89. Create a playlist for her. (Old school: burn her a CD. Older school: make her mixed tape. Amazon sells a USB drive that looks like an old cassette tape. We went to a wedding where these were the favors with songs loaded to them.) 
  90. Watch the sunset with her.
  91. Take her swimming or to the beach.
  92. Go to the park. Bonus points: Pack a picnic basket and have a picnic in the park!
  93. Buy her a book or e-book.
  94. Make her an edible message. Spell out a message in alphabet soup, letter pretzels...
  95. Make her a candle. Many craft/hobby stores sell kits.
  96. Scrub the toilet.
  97. Take her to a game.
  98. Do the laundry and/or iron the clothes.
  99. If she has a pond, buy her plants or goldfish for it.
  100. Buy her permanent flowers (wooden, crystal, bronzed, glass).
  101. Buy her a blanket.
  102. Get her a pedicure or manicure.
  103. Take her to a wine tasting.
  104. Plan a scavenger hunt for her.
  105. Rent a limo for the day or to go to dinner.
  106. Buy her a locket with the kids pictures already in it. There are some lockets that have space for 4 pictures.
  107. Potty train your child. 
  108. New car (ok, this one is a little out there!).
  109. Make her a sculpture.
  110. If she likes to bake, buy her new pans and supplies.
  111. Take a tour (brewery, vineyard, gangster, historic, ghost...)
  112. KitchenAid stand mixer, and/or fun attachments (pasta, ice cream, meat grinder).
  113. Cookie bouquet.
  114. Embroidered gift. Get a bag, apron, key chain, etc., embroidered with her initials, name, or the kids names.


2 comments:

  1. Love your ideas! Happy Mother's Day to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this
    post and also the rest of the website is very good.

    ReplyDelete

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