Mother's Day is coming up in a few weeks and whether you are a dad lurking on a mom blog looking for gift ideas (Wow! A man on Mommy Shorts!), a child looking for gifts for your mother (that should be almost everyone, right?), or a mom looking for gifts for herself (you deserve it, damnit!), I've got some ideas for you.
Below are 48 gift ideas (some sponsored, some not), and a HUGE GIVEAWAY at the end. I'm giving away everything from a Keurig brewer to a Lily Jade bag to an Olympus camera in one big grand prize, so this is NO JOKE. Someone out there (it could be you!) will be my biggest giveaway winner of all time.
Plus, look out for special Mommy Shorts promo codes to get some of these gifts at a discount.
We all know how it is. Your baby starts crying and your toddler pulls off your covers, forcing you to wake up against your will. There is breakfast to be made. Dirty diapers to change. Hair to untangle. The only way I can get through my mornings is with coffee. The easiest way to brew a quick cup in a fully exhausted state is popping a pod into a Keurig. With their MINI Plus Brewer in thirteen pretty new colors— it makes the perfect Mother's Day gift.
Even more perfect? Pairing that Keurig with a Mommy Shorts mug. Then drink up and partake in a little baby mugging. Other great gift pairings are a crocheted Mom sleeve for your to-go cup, or a Pantone creamer and sugar bowl to match your brightly colored new brewer.
Special Offer: Keurig is giving 20% off any Keurig Elite or Keurig MINI Plus Brewer plus free standard shipping if you use the code “MOMMYSHORTS” in the “Promotions and Coupons” box upon check out. Offer valid for the next 72 hours.
If you’re heading back to the office after maternity leave, you should drop some serious hints to get the amazing Lily Jade Caroline Bag (currently on sale)— a gorgeous leather bag large enough for your laptop that masquerades as a diaper bag on the weekend. It's got a canvas bag with numerous pockets to organize all your baby essentials that you can easily remove when leaving the baby at home.
Other great options for working moms are commute-friendly Tieks (a pair of flats that bend and squash to fit into your purse), Square Hue (a monthly nail polish subscription box), and a stylish wood watch from Jord to keep you on your pumping schedule.
Mike bought me the 14K gold Helen Ficora necklace (top left) for my push present when I was pregnant with Mazzy. It had a single charm that said "love" on it. Then he bought the "M" charm (for Mazzy) on my first Mother's Day and added the "H" on the Mother's Day after Harlow was born. See? It's not just a Mother's Day Gift for this year, it's an easy out for the next three!
Other great personalized pieces (aka Mom Jewelry) are stackable rings embossed with your kid’s names, a necklace stamped with your child’s artwork, or a gold birch cuff engraved with your kid’s initials.
All sentimental, but definitely not homemade.
I bet you didn't know you wanted a Xyron Creative Station, but trust me you do. It's the secret to creating some pretty impressive crafting projects— really easily. Not only can the Xyron help you create stickers, labels, photo magnets, and laminated recipe cards… you can also make an old sticker sticky again. If your daughter is anything like mine, this will make you feel like a superhero. For an option you can stick in your drawer, try Xyron's popular X-shaped 1.5" Create-A-Sticker.
Other great gifts for creative moms are the Carve-a-Stamp kit, a vintage box of rubber alphabet stamps and a Learn to Knit Kit from Purl Soho.
For anyone who has ordered flowers online, you know the selection can be a little sparse and you rarely get what you were expecting. The Bouqs Company is a great new service that delivers quality flowers (read: they won’t die after two days) with bouquets that arrive in a bunch, minus the cheesy arrangement.
This gives gift-givers the opportunity to get creative and pair flowers with a new vase that says you really know your mom's/wife's/girlfriend's style— colorful, whimsical, modern, or understated.
Special Offer: Use code "MOMMYSHORTS" to get 15% off your order and free shipping on TheBouqs.com.
If a box of chocolates sounds way too expected, don't worry— I found just the gift for you. It's this awesomely dangerous subscription service called Cookies Every Night that sends you at least 30 delicious cookies a month (excuse me while I salivate).
If you are buying a gift for a mom who is ambitious enough to make their own sweets, try this super fun baking stencil, some fancy gold cupcake cups or a hot pink mini pie maker (who knew you could live without one of those?).
Most moms take a million pictures of their kids and rarely make an appearance in their own photos. That's sad, because when those kids look back at their photos years later, it will seem like mom wasn't even there.
Enter the Pocket Xshot (aka the selfie stick) which makes it super easy to get the whole family in your shot without messing around with a timer. You can pull back far enough to get a little background in your photo (look! it's us in front of the Grand Canyon!) instead of a regular selfie which just gives you a close-up of everybody's nostrils. Plus, it collaspes easily in your purse.
If you want to pair the XShot with something fun for the photo-obsessed mom, I recommend a Casetagram phone cover, a gift certificate to Dry Bar (might as well look fantastic in your selfie) and a pretty Chevron frame to display your photo after it's complete.
Special Offer: Use coupon code "MSXSHOT" for free shipping and a free universal phone holder with the purchase of any XShot Camera Extender.
What's that? You want a high quality camera to go with your selfie stick? Because you're tired of your fuzzy iPhone photos? For moms of toddlers, I recommend the practically indestructible Olympus TG-850.
How do I know it's tough? It says “tough” right there on the actual camera. The Olympus TG-850 is shockproof, waterproof, dustproof, crushproof and freeze proof. You know, just in case your little devil takes your new camera for a dip in the toilet and then throws it in the freezer (hey, it happens). It also has pro-quality video and a 180 degree flip LCD.
Looking for other indestructible items because you feel like moms can't have nice things? Try a teething necklace by Chewbeads, a Case Logic camera case and an iBallz shock absorbing iPad holder.
Take it from a mom of two— a perfect mother's day gift is some quality alone time at the spa (aka my bathtub, sans children). Aqua Spa Bath & Body products help you forget about your screaming children while also looking a lot prettier in your bathroom than a tube of Elmo toothpaste. Their bath salts promise to “revitalize tired muscles" with a "gently foaming, restorative bath soak salt treatment”. That sounds much better than a half-assed massage from my husband.
To continue the at-home-spa theme, try a bath caddy to hold Mom's glass of wine, a Chill Pill candle for a little aromatherapy action, and a book written by a bunch of my blogging friends called "I Just Want to Be Alone".
Special Offer: Mommy Shorts readers get $1 off any Aqua Spa product. Coupon can be found here.
If the mother in your life likes to entertain, Little Miss Party fits everything you need for a small cocktail party amongst mom friends into one big box. FYI- Cocktail time is my favorite time of day.
Little Miss Party carefully selects party products along with menu suggestions and helpful party tips. Some of the items you'll find in their special Mother's Day "Uncork and Unwind" Party in a Box include french cocktail plates, linen napkins, a Brooklyn Slate cheese board, Riedel stemware, and a three month wine subscription.
For pricing and more details on Limited Edition boxes for Mother’s Day, email: lmpinabox@littlemisspartyplanner.com.
Last but not least, the gift that keeps on giving: your passive aggressive mother, and her passive aggressive gifts. Yes mom, I get it, I need to call you—thanks for the phone case that you said was “so funny HAHA!”. Maybe next year you should get me this pillow— I'm sure it would look fantastic in my living room. Or these slippers that “just happen to dust while you walk”. And yeah, I know Cooking for Dummies “actually has some good recipes”.
I'm guessing these gifts would also be appropriate coming from your mother-in-law. Any mother-in-laws reading? You guys are hilarious too.
GIVEAWAY TIME!
I'm picking ONE WINNER to take home practically my entire gift guide. Yes, ONE WINNER. That lucky duck will take home eight different awesome prizes:
• Voucher for three monthly deliveries of an Original Bouqs size flower bouquet from their Volcano Collection
• Olympus TG-850
• "Uncork and Unwind" Mother's Day Party in a Box customized by Little Miss Party (value $350)
• Pocket XShot
• Keurig Mini Plus Brewer in color of your choice
• Lily Jade Caroline Diaper Bag
• Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker
• Selection of Bath & Body products from Aqua Spa
GIVEAWAY RULES
1) To enter, you must follow Mommy Shorts on facebook, "like" and/or "share" this post and then answer the following question in the comment section below:
What was the best gift you've ever received and who was it from?
2) For a second entry, subscribe to Mommy Shorts and leave an additional comment below saying you did so.
3) For a third entry, follow Mommy Shorts on Pinterest, repin any graphic from this post and leave an additional comment below saying you did so.
4) For a fourth entry, follow Mommy Shorts on Twitter and retweet the following:
I just entered a huge #MothersDay gift guide giveaway via @mommyshorts for over $1000 worth of prizes! http://bit.ly/1fr20qr
Winner will be announced on May 9th.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
———————————
UPDATE: Congratulations to Riara! Her best gift ever (up until now, of course) was "a trip to England to stay with my grandma, from my parents, in the third grade". Happy Mother's Day, Riara! Please email hannah@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize.
The contest is now closed.
subscribed to mommyshorts!!!
Best gift I have ever received was a purple reflective piggy bank because it was the first gift I got from my daughter that she 100% picked out herself!
My favorite present is a ring my husband bought me for our 15th anniversary. I was blown away by it!
Shared FB, Subscribed to Mommy Shorts annnnd re-pinned!
The best gift I ever got was a family tree necklace. This September we get to add another leaf! But if I won this give-a-way, that would take the cake!
I’m subscribed!
I pinned it too!
I was a cellist in high school, and always regretted not keeping my cello. For Christmas one year, my boyfriend (who is obviously now my husband!) got me a new cello!
I’m a subscriber!
Well this is my first Mother’s day as a momma, so no gifts yet, but I do consider my son and husband to be my best gifts 🙂
Subscribed!!
Subscribed to the blog!
My husband got me my birthstone earrings, which was awesome because I told him if her bought diamond ones we couldn’t afford, I was going to kill him. So, either he listens to me and cares about my feelings, or he listens to me and didn’t want to die, but either way, he listens to me!
I subscribe already!
Pinned! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/123849058477212225/
I tweeted you, too. 🙂
Best gift ever were tickets to a Bon Jovi concert from my husband. You know you’ve married the right person when your husband knows you well enough to realize that Bon Jovi tickets are a better option than fancy jewelry 🙂
My fav thing I got was a ring with our daughters birthstone!
Subscribed!!!
Subscribed, happily!
My comment with my favourite present is up on Facebook, where I have also liked and shared! 🙂
Pinned!
Cliche answer but true: Best gift I ever got was my husband and son!
The best gift I ever got was from my church’s sunday school class. I was having difficulty becoming a mother, I had looked into adopting, I signed up for foster care, but for years no kids came my way. So, on Mother’s Day, the sunday school kids all made me Mother’s Day pictures to let me know that I really did have little ones as a part of my family. It really touched my heart! (and by the next Mother’s Day I was pregnant with my first.)
My husband gave me my dog Geno,he is the most wonderful dog. He is great with my son who has autism and such a loving pup.He was my birthday gift a few years ago.
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My best gift (besides my daughter) was front row tickets and a meet & greet with Carrie Underwood! Both gifts given by my husband 🙂
I have a tie for best present.. The first was finding out my daughter got to come home from the NICU the day after Christmas 2009. the second was getting to go to Australia from my parents
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/341147740496127253/
follow on pinterest and pinned something
RachelCrisman
I subscribed!
I follow on Pinterest!
https://twitter.com/RayrayCrisman/status/459414686786523136
follow and tweeted
@RayrayCrisman
THANKS SO MUCH!
shared on facebook
i can’t think of one physical gift that i truly cherish. my first thought was my RE who made our little girl happen in one round. is that a gift?
and on Twitter
The best gift I ever received was all of mine and my husband’s student loans paid off (from my grandparents).
I tweeted and follow on Twitter!
Pinned an image!
Subscribed
I’m subscribed! I’m so glad I finally did because I love your posts and they don’t always come up in my Facebook news feed anymore. 🙁
Best gift ever was a new charm with my daughters birthstone. I have had a charm bracelet my whole life and every big milestone comes with a new charm. I waited so long for this one!
A Hamilton watch from my husband that matched the one he already had.
I subscribe.
I follow you on Twitter and tweeted. https://twitter.com/AlissaEnders/status/459418770193522688
I THINK I subscribe to your blog…I follow it from mine, if that counts?
The best gift I ever got was the money for a down payment for our home 🙂
Followed on Twitter and retweeted
Followed on Pinterest and repinned
My parents have me a beautiful set of luggage years ago right after graduated for all my future adventures, it was the most exciting gift full of possibilities.
I subscribed to mommy shorts!
The best gift I’ve ever received was an otoscope from my husband. That’s right, an otoscope. My husband was actually my boyfriend at the time (this was about 10 years ago…holy shit, 10 years??) and for some strange reason I was really into medical things and looking in people’s ears (the more I type, the more ridiculous I feel). My husband, Ian, knew I was desperate to get a good look at an ear canal, and found an otoscope on a medical website and had it shipped to me for my 23rd birthday. Right then and there I knew he was the one…
Ps: I just bought those dusting slippers off amazon….my mother would love em.
Following on Pinterest, posted a couple of the pictures from this pose
My daughter gave me my favourite mother’s day gift- On her first mother’s day, she said her first word: MUM! It was awesome. 🙂
The best gift I ever received was my grandmother’s mahogany jewelry box. She had written her name and bday on the bottom when she was a teenager and I got it when I was about 16. I’ll always cherish it!
Subscribed, posted, pinned, tweeted, followed,… all that good stuff.
I pinned to Pinterest & followed you on Pinterest!
I already subscribe to your blog and like on Facebook 🙂
Subscribed!
Best gift I ever received was diamond earrings….I had been asking for some for years, when my husband surprised me with some for Christmas.
Subscribed awhile back….that counts, right?
Pinned on pinterest. No bonus points for following on instagram?
Best gift? That’s a tough one… A few that stick out in my mind are the truly thoughtful (and sometimes handmade!) ones from people who really KNOW me – my best friend sending me homemade fudge when I am going through a rough patch, the handmade blanket from friends at my wedding, the cards my mom sends me periodically just because!
Liked your post on FB!
Best gift given to me was a morning to sleep in. My husband took early bird baby to breakfast, and I got to have a luxurious lie in.
The best gift I ever received was my great grandmother’s iron bed frame…which my grandmother and mom had also used!
Since I am a new mommy I havnt gotten many gifts. But when my daughter turned 4 months old and I basically havnt slept since before she was born because at 39 weeks pregnant I caught the flu and pneumonia, my husband surprised me with a new hair cut and color at the salon as well as a bottle of wine to enjoy while being pampered 🙂
My husband took me out for a nice meal and a night away from the kids in a hotel with cable…best gift ever.
Subscribed
Pinned it.
And I tweeted. So glad your site is back up I was having withdrawal symptoms.
The best gift I ever received was a necklace from my husband with charms listing my 3 kids names and birthdates as well as charms for the 3 miscarriages I had. I had wanted something for a long time and he picked out the perfect one!
pinned the post and followed you on pinterest!
Subscribed to mommy shorts!
Subscribed, follow on twitter and face book and now on Pinterest! pinned!
Tthe best gift I ever got was my son in 2010!
Best gift was an evening at a spa and a hotel room overnight – when the sleep deprivation was at its worst. It was amazing!
subscribed!
and pinned!
My husband and babies!
The best gift I’ve ever received was my wedding dress from my mother!
I reprinted the Lily Jade Caroline bag. I love red; purses are always awesome; and I need a bigger purse.
Besides my baby girl, the best gift I’ve ever received was three years ago when my now husband surprised me with a puppy on my birthday… Then a few minutes after the shock wore off that we had a puppy, he surprised me with an engagement ring! Now our daughter and dog are the best of friends and it’s so fun watching them play together!
Best gift ever: from my hubs for our 3rd anniversary. We said no gifts, he got something anyway. I was 10 weeks pregnant and super emotional when he presented me with a 30-page 8×10″ photo album. It documented our entire adventure in Italy, including what we ate, places we went, and the funny memories we shared. He wrote a whole narrative about each day we spent there. The kicker: he typed everything up on his tiny, little i-pod touch each night before bed without me evere knowing!
I subscribed to your blog via email!
I pinned the contest graphic…and I loved seeing what all you had pinned on your boards!
I finally subscribed!!
I follow you on Twitter and retweeted the contest tweet!
Started following you on Pinterest (already subscribe to your blog!) and re-pinned your image. Looking forward to your and Mazzy’s pins!
Liked and shared. The best gift is a handmade dresser by hubby.
I am a subscriber
Follow on pinterest.http://www.pinterest.com/pin/177329304052594567/
Subscribed! Liked, and pinned on Pintrest! My favorite gift was a porch swing for my first Mother’s day from ny husband! It is my favorite gift ever!
Pinned!
The best gift I’ve ever received (other than my two children, natch) was from my aunt. She bought my cousins, me, and our families annual passes to Disneyland the year my uncle died from cancer. We met up several times at the parks throughout that awful year. The Happiest Place on Earth actually did work magic for our grieving family. There were other significant losses that year as well, so having a nearby escape helped greatly.
The best gift I ever received was a birthday weekend with a day at the spa and some heavy doses of liquor that evening!
Pinned on pinterest!
Subscribed to your newsletter!
Shared on Facebook!
I was already subscribed to Mommy Shorts, but I also pinned this on Pinterest, shared it in my FB status, and answered the question. Thanks for inspiring me and sharing all of your humorous and touching motherhood moments with us. Mazzy and Harlow are lucky girls!
I received a gift card to a wonderful day spa from my husband & 2 boys…it was GLORIOUS!!! 😉
Subscribed & Shared 🙂
The best gift I have ever received is my husband returning home safe from his Afghanistan deployment a few years ago.
Subscribed!