Whether you’re shopping for your wife, your mom, or helping your kiddos pick out their own Mother’s Day gifts, keep in mind just how busy mom is every day.
She’s juggling a lot, and she may not always feel seen while she’s doing it.
That’s why a gift that makes life easier for her can be so special. It’s a way to show her you recognize all the different hats she wears. The item you picked out can help make her day run a little more smoothly.
And … might we suggest also adding a gift that is purely for her enjoyment. Mom deserves some self-care and luxury, too. With the combination of a practical gift and a fun gift, you can’t go wrong.
Here are 8 practical gifts for mom, plus 3 gifts that are purely for her enjoyment and self-care.
8 practical gifts that make mom’s life easier
Here are a few gifts to help make mom’s everyday life easier and more beautiful.
Hot tip: Try to pick an item you think she’ll actually enjoy using — not just something she’ll use to do things purely for other people.
Best for schedule organization
Mom’s life is busy and she probably carries the mental load of keeping everybody else’s schedule organized, too.
Show her you notice all that work, and help her stay on top of things, with a planner that not only keeps everything important in one place, but also is beautiful to look at.
We love this planner because it goes beyond just a calendar; it also includes pages for budgeting, meal planning, habit tracking, setting goals, and more.
You can order The Ultimate Mom Organizer on Amazon.
Best for a new mom
If you’re shopping for the mom of a baby or toddler, then she’ll be so grateful to receive a comfortable and beautiful baby carrier, if she doesn’t already have one.
It will allow her to easily keep baby close while being hands-free to do other things and comfortably go for walks.
We like this LÍLLÉbaby carrier because you can switch up the buckles to hold baby in several different ways. It holds children from 7–45 pounds, meaning she won’t need to upgrade as her baby grows. And it comes in so many different colors, so you can choose the perfect one for mom.
You can order the LÍLLÉbaby baby carrier on Amazon.
Best for travel
If the mom you’re shopping for loves to travel with her family, a beautiful, soft, lightweight, warm blanket might just be the perfect gift.
It has a surprising range of uses — during flights, on beach days, sun coverage in the stroller, naps on-the-go, impromptu picnics. If she’s like us, she’ll keep grabbing for it.
An oversized Turkish beach towel is perfect for travel because it’s thin enough to pack easily, dries quickly, and look beautiful. This one is 100% natural dyed Turkish cotton and comes with a travel bag for compact carrying.
You can buy our Turkish beach towel pick on Amazon.
Best for on-the-go
No matter the age of her kids, mom always has a lot to carry: snacks, water, toys, books, wipes, Bandaids — the list goes on. And that’s not including her own purse essentials and everything extra she needs if her little one is still in diapers.
If you’re looking to make mom’s life easier with a Mother’s Day gift, then a minimalist design diaper bag that fits it all is a great option.
We love this Skip Hop bag because it has a huge compartment for all the bulky stuff, with a few little pockets that make it easy to grab essentials quickly.
This bag in particular is a favorite because it’s a comfortable backpack, it doubles as a carry-on for travel, and its flat bottom helps it stand upright easily.
You can order the Skip Hop diaper backpack on Amazon.
Best for in the kitchen
Whether she likes it or not, mom probably spends a lot of time in the kitchen, making sure the whole family gets fed.
To make her life easier, you could give her a gift that helps to keep the kitchen organized. Bins, sorters, and organizers for the drawers and cupboards are great, but maybe a little boring as a gift.
We suggest a countertop organizer that she can style herself. It creates a functional, pretty corner of the kitchen where she can store all her go-tos within easy reach.
We like this countertop organizer from Amazon.
Best place for keys
We love a good catchall — an attractive tray where you can stash your tchotchkes for easy access. It’s a beautiful piece of home décor that doubles as an organizer.
Mom can use it on the kitchen counter, bedside table, coffee table, or an entryway table. It’s great for staging keys, lip balm, jewelry, and other small items.
We like this one in brown Calcutta marble from Montana Labelle.
Best for laundry
Show mom that laundry is going to be a shared chore in your household by gifting a laundry sorter that will help to keep things organized.
Separate bins for different colors cuts one step out of the laundry process for her, and also makes it easier for anybody else to take over and dump a load into the machine.
Chances are, she’ll appreciate a way to keep mess hidden away and make chores more efficient. Just make sure to measure the intended location ahead of time to buy one that will fit.
Here’s a heavy duty, highly rated laundry sorter you can buy on Amazon.
Best for improving sleep
If she’s like most mothers, mom may not get enough sleep. If she’s not up with babies and kiddos throughout the night, she may be burning the candle at both ends to make sure everything gets done to keep the house ticking.
She may seriously appreciate a gift that helps her get quality sleep when she does finally hit the hay.
A good sleep mask can really help. This one applies gentle pressure for extra comfort and is described as “a hug for your head.”
You can buy the Nodpod sleep mask from Amazon.
3 fun gifts that make mom’s life more fabulous
Up till now we’ve talked about gifts to help make mom’s everyday life and work a little easier. But we think it needs to be said: Mom doesn’t only want practical gifts! She’d probably enjoy something purely indulgent, too.
Best for self care
A gift that encourages her to slow down, rest, and take care of herself can mean a lot.
If you’re her partner or another family member, give her the gift of time plus a few beautiful bath and body products she can indulge in.
Take over her duties for a few hours so she can enjoy a slow Sunday morning or relaxing weekday evening relaxing in her own personal spa.
We love this lavender spa set from Amazon.
Best for a sweet tooth
We don’t know a single mom who would turn down a box of chocolates. It might seem like a cliché gift, but if your mom has a sweet tooth, she’ll be so pleased you went to the trouble to pick out a special box for her.
Take it up a notch with a beautiful tin she can reuse to store jewelry, notes and cards, or any other treasures. We recommend these Godiva gourmet chocolate truffles in a floral tin.
You can purchase Godiva chocolates for mom on Amazon.
Best from the kids
Truthfully, jewelry as a gift can be hit-or-miss. Mom probably has her own style and you might not always pick out the right thing. (Don’t worry — it’s not personal.)
That’s why, if you go for jewelry as a Mother’s Day gift, we recommend opting for something simple and meaningful.
One of our favorite gifts for mom is a necklace that holds all the birthstones of her kids. Involving the kids in the customization of the necklace will make it something to treasure.
Here’s one option in gold-plated sterling silver that you can buy on Amazon.
One of our favorite jewelry brands, Mejuri, also offers birthstone pendants in solid 14k gold, which you can layer together on a chain.
You can buy Mejuri birthstone pendants here.
The final word
Mother’s Day is all about showing mom how much you appreciate her. Some quality time, cuddles, and a little pampering can go a long way.
Gifts are an opportunity to let her know you were thinking about her and that you want to make her life easier and more fabulous.