Anyway, I think this actually may work out for the better since the post I had planned for Tuesday was a Mother’s Day Gift Guide and sharing it a little earlier is hopefully a little more helpful for those of you who still have some brainstorming to do!
Ever since the early days of the blog, I’ve loved sharing gift guides with you guys and really hope you enjoy this roundup of ideas. Hopefully something special jumps out at you for you to give to your mom or a wonderful mother-figure in your life this Sunday!
Mother’s Day Gift Guide
Maybe it’s the sentimental sap in me, but I just LOVE the idea of a customized painted family portrait. I think a small personalized family portrait (pets included!) would be such a special gift that many moms out there might love to hang up in the bathroom at home or frame to display at the office.
Another idea: My dad gave my mom a painting of the homes they’ve lived in together in their almost 40-years of marriage which I thought was such a sweet gift!
Favorites: Custom Illustrated Portrait // Custom Family Portrait // Custom House Portrait
- GAP Pure Body Joggers Pajama Pants
If you’re on the fence with what to buy your mom or a mother-figure in your life this year, I cannot recommend GAP’s Pure Body Joggers enough. I bought myself a pair of red and white striped joggers on a whim on Black Friday and they are, without a doubt, the most comfortable pair of pajama pants I own. The fabric is ridiculously soft and feels like comfort wrapped around your legs. The whole Pure Body line of pajamas is made with the same lightweight, silky-smooth fabric and they also have Pure Body shorts and tees/tanks and t-shirt/cami nightdresses if that style is preferred. (I actually bought my mom the Pure Body shorts + t-shirt combination for Christmas and she loved them!)
I got this idea from Chase (aka Ryan who gave me this gift for my birthday “from Chase”)! I love the Best Mom Ever spoon Ryan ordered for me off Etsy and it makes me smile whenever I use it. Etsy is the best resource for personalized gifts and there are tons of unique spoons so you can easily find one that suits your mom’s personality or create your own! I love the spoons that say things like “Mom’s Ice Cream Spoon” or “Mom’s Peanut Butter Spoon” so they feel both sweet and kind of funny, too!
Favorites: Best Mom Ever // Love You Mom // Mom’s Peanut Butter Spoon // Mom’s Ice Cream Spoon
- Breezy and Comfy Cover Up
I’d venture a guess and say that shopping for a swimsuit for mom would be pretty challenging and/or awkward (I mean shopping for a bathing suit for myself is hard enough!) but cover ups are another story! With warmer temperatures here for the next few months, I think many moms out there would love a beautiful cover up to wear to and from trips to the pool or beach! I know I still often default to grabbing an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear over my bikini when we go out on the boat but there’s no denying how much cuter a breezy and comfy cover up looks over a bathing suit.
Favorites: Sarong Cover Up // Cold Shoulder Cover Up (The cover up I wore all weekend in the Outer Banks!) // Tropical Brilliant Blue Cover Up // O’Neill Lulu Maxi Cover Up (I have this $38 cover up in white and LOVE it!)
- Plan an Experience Together
Experience gifts are always my favorite to give and receive because they’re often the most memorable and allow you to truly enjoy spending time with the person you’re celebrating. In the past, my sister and I have teamed up to take my mom to an afternoon tea on Mother’s Day and treated her to a day at a local winery. More ideas for experience-based gifts: Concert tickets or tickets to a local show/musical, tickets to a sporting event for a big-time sports fan, a relaxing spa day, reservations for a special dinner or brunch at a place you know they love or would love to try, cooking class (Sur la Table has a bunch!), pottery painting or one of those fun canvas painting classes, etc.
- On-the-Go Backpack
If you happen to be giving a gift to a mom who is always on the go with her kids these days, I think a backpack would make a wonderful gift! When Chase was a baby, I swore by my Ju-Ju-Be Legacy Diaper Bag Backpack (that thing is the JAM!) but now that Chase is a bit older, I don’t feel like I need quite as much stuff with me at all times. I now find myself reaching for a smaller-sized backpack for play dates, errands and activities.
Favorites: Marc Jacobs Mini Nylon Backpack (I received this as a gift and it’s the best! It’s small and lightweight but still big enough to hold diapers and wipes, my wallet, lip balm, snacks, etc.) // Faux Leather Mini Backpack // Kate Spade Watson Lane Backpack (Gorgeous stripes!) // State Bags Lorimer Backpack (So many colors! I love the olive green.)
- Cute or Funny Mom Mug
I’m not afraid to admit that I have a bit of a mug addiction. I already have plenty of mugs and yet I cannot seem to stop browsing for more when I find myself at Home Goods! There are so many fun (and funny!) motherhood (and grandmotherhood) related mugs out there and Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to pick out an extra cute one!
I love the mugs that feel a little personal (like the heart between two states mug for those who don’t live near their moms) or funny (love the Mommin’ Ain’t Easy mug).
Favorites: Heart Between Two States Mug // Mommin’ Ain’t Easy Mug // Mama Bear Mug // Y’all Gonna Make Me Lose My Mind (Up In Here, Up In Here) Mug (<— Shout out to late ‘90s jams!)
Additional Ideas
- Candle + Massage Gift Certificate (Still obsessed with Voluspa’s Goji Tarocco Orange candle!)
- Ice Cream Delivery (Okay, am I the only one who thinks this would be an amazing gift? I got the idea when I saw that Leopold’s in Savannah offers delivery!)
- Book + Unique Bookmark
- Children’s Names Rings
- Birchbox (Love this collection of beauty products. It’s a monthly delivery that’s pretty affordable from a subscription box standpoint! $10/month!)
- New Nail Polish + Gift Card for a Mani/Pedi
- TomTom Spark 3 Fitness Watch
Shop This Gift Guide
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Disclaimer: None of the items featured in this gift guide are sponsored and companies did not pay to have a certain product included. The items featured are simply items I think would make fabulous gifts. Some affiliate links are included and, as always, I truly appreciate your support.
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I LOVE that Etsy customized portrait, such a great idea. I think I may get my husband one for Fathers Day, thanks for sharing!
My favorite gifts are customized. I love the mug idea because everyone knows coffee is life when you’re a mom- ha!
My favorite gifts are the customized ones! Or still anything that says mom, haha. It hasn’t gotten old yet!
I’m all about the experiences over gifts..but that customized painted family portrait is amazing. Going to bookmark this for every foreseeable future holiday! I also think a homemade gift card to this etsy shop for a wedding gift or the like would be extra sweet…hmm ideas!
isn’t it gorgeous!? i love that one!
Great gift guide! I love those spoons. My mom lives about 7 hours away so we try to do something special together when her or I visit.
Those family portraits are so adorable! Although I’m eyeing those backpacks too, for practical purposes!
Hi Julie! This is great. I have an un-related question, and I was hoping you could point me in the right direction. If I am remembering correctly, I believe you shared a post way back when about how you’ve gone about getting donations/sponsorship for Girls on the Run, etc. I remember you were able to put together really nice goody bags through donations. Can you point me to this post or offer any recommendations, on how I could do the same. I recently took over as Race Director for a women’s 5k in my community, where the proceeds benefit local women’s charities, etc. Next year will be my first time organizing this race so I wanted to get started early, this years sponsorship was really low and only about half of the runner’s who ran last year participated this year. I was hoping to really boost things up when I host it next year. Any advice or posts you could direct me to would really be appreciated. Thank you!!
hi katie!! this is so awesome! congrats on the position. i love that you’re involved with GOTR! definitely reach out to local places to see if they have something they’d like to contribute/would like to sponsor! when i reached out to bigger companies, i would search for press releases on their websites and/or a PR/media contact to email directly. i either didn’t hear back or heard back pretty quickly from some really receptive companies which was wonderful! when it comes to local places, physically stopping by seemed to help for some quality face-to-face time! 🙂
These are great ideas! My favorite kind of gift to give my mom is for sure an experience – I am planning on getting my mom partner pilates sessions for the two of us to do together over the next few months.
My mom said she wants to go to Rocky Point… ha ha but mirght order the mugs for my MIL !
I love the family portrait and mug idea!
https://jonandaudadventure.wordpress.com/
You should add for that State backpack that the company gives one backpack filled with school supplies to underprivileged youth in America for every back pack sold!
that’s amazing!!
Good list! My husband got me for Mother’s Day 2 years ago a wine of the month subscription for 6 months. They shipped two bottles of wine a month to you to try different ones. It was one of my favorite gifts he’s ever given me!
I’m not too much of a “stuff” person so the wine subscription was right up my alley!
I love your gift guides! Always such wonderful ideas 🙂
thanks, michelle!! <3
I love the spoon idea- how adorable!
Julie! I’m wearing the Gap Body joggers right now. And I bought them when I first became pregnant and literally cannot take them off. I highly recommend them! Happy Monday! 🙂
aren’t they amazing!?!? seriously the most comfy pants EVER!
We have a custom watercolor painting of our house, and I will always cherish it. I’ve been wanting to get a custom family portrait from etsy, but I’m waiting until we’re done having littles 🙂
These are GREAT ideas! And I wish we had ice cream delivery!!!!
Great gift guide! I always love a great pair of jammie’s! I actually received an ice cream delivery from a client for Christmas last year, and thought it was a great idea! Also, my mother-in-law has the state-to-state mugs and they are super cute!
I love the white backpack! When I clicked the link for it, it took me to the Ju-Ju diaper bag — is there another link that was supposed to go there? Would love to find it 🙂
I second this request! Would love to know where to find this bag!!
Nordstrom! I’m sorry the link was mixed up! Just updated the post. Here it is as well: http://bit.ly/2q0CFTH
Oops! I’m so sorry about that! Just updated the post with the correct link. It’s from Nordstrom! Here it is: http://bit.ly/2q0CFTH
I am a big fan of customized presents for any and all occasions! I LOVE that family portrait! That is totally something I would get for my mom! I’m a total sap too when it comes to that stuff! My mom would totally be into those Joggers, she loves anything comfy! I always go for the experiences we can do together 🙂 hope you are having a great week! Xoxo
I’m a new-ish mom (8 months!) and love these ideas! I’ve been following for a few years and wondering if you could do a couple hair tutorial posts. I’m back at work and I find it hard to style my hair (like i used to) with limited time and limited hands 😉 How do you do it!? Thanks!
haha, I just recently started blogging and found myself thinking that way too. When my work scheduled changed last minute for the week (literally today) I was like oh shoot, maybe I can swap this day for this day?! Also, I love the mug idea. I feel like I HAD to inherit my mug/overall dishes obsession from my mother! So why not get her another?! I love the mugs in hallmark now that have the picture of your home state and they say “home”. Simple, but they’re so cute!
I’m a sucker for any of those personalized gifts! I also love experience gifts. Last year I bought my mom tickets to a show and dinner and we had a blast!
Love the backpack and mug ideas!
I love Gap’s Pure Body joggers. They’re my favorite pajama pant I own. I want to purchase them in every pattern and color!