Mother’s Day Gift Guide
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
If your mother is anything like mine, all she’ll want on Mother’s Day is a card. (Or a phone call!)
But alas, here I am sharing some material things that have caught my eye these past few months. And while it’s hard to encourage spending for a Hallmark holiday given the state of the world, I hope the ideas listed below, many of which relate to small, family-owned businesses, mostly provide inspiration.
In addition to the items below, here are a few more thoughts:
- Gift certificate to a local restaurant. (Celadon!)
- Donation to a local business you love. (Studio 4 Hot Yoga!)
- Care package assembled by a local shop. If you are local, The Vischer Ferry General Store will assemble a package for you (see below for an example). Call the store to customize. Blue Bird Home Decor, another local shop, will do the same and will ship as well.
As always, my perennial favorites can be found in the shop.
Dates + almond butter is always a winner as is Margaret Roach’s A Way to Garden.
Here are a few more ideas:
1. Pigeon Toe Spoon Rest. My mother sent me this spoon rest a few months ago, and I use it every day — how have I spent so many years cooking without one? It comes in a variety of colors, all of which are beautiful. If you don’t think the mother in your life is in need of a spoon rest, check out Pigeon Toe’s entire shop … it’s all so beautiful. I love this mini creamer.
2. Dot and Army bowl cover + bread bag. This would be such a lovely way to gift a loaf of bread:
3. I discovered Dot and Army via their cloth bowl covers, which are my favorite, but I have since become a fan of all Dot and Army things, namely their selection of less-waste goods. I love these reusable produce bags. Now more than ever it’s as important to arrive to the market not only with your reusable shopping bags but also with your produce bags.
4. House of Shan sweatshirt. My friend, Shannon Buth, designed this sweatshirt (and a whole line of other fun wares), and I’ve been living in it — it’s so soft and cozy. The blue is so pretty. Love the grey, too.
5. A box of tea + a jar of honey or maple syrup. Raise your hand if you’ve been drinking tea all day long! I love this peppermint tea. I actually prefer sweetening it with a teaspoon of maple syrup, but honey is a good match, too.
6. Breadtopia dried sourdough starter. EVERYBODY is baking bread. If you think the mother in your life is curious about dipping her toe into sourdough, a dry sourdough starter, which she can activate when she’s ready, would be such a nice gift. I’ve had great results with both Breadtopia’s dry and live sourdough starters.
7. With sourdough in mind, a beautiful Dot & Army flour sack towel would be a lovely gift. (Note: The below pictured towels are a slightly different (but very similar overall) size than the ones linked to.)
8. A cookie bouquet. My friend Kelly Trimarchi makes the most beautiful (and tasty!) cookies. Right now, too, she’s selling nurse appreciation kits and a whole bunch of other cute sets. (**Local pick-up only!**)
9. Burlap and Barrel Spices. One of you (thanks Hillary!) introduced me to Burlap and Barrel Spices earlier this year. B&B partners directly with smallholder farmers to source spices that have never been available in the US before and, in doing so, helps improve the livelihoods of their partner farmers. I have been using the new harvest turmeric and the royal cinnamon to make turmeric lattes (more on this soon!).
10. Nespresso Aeroccino. To make those turmeric lattes, I’ve been steaming cashew, almond, or oat milk with my Nespresso Aeroccino, and it’s such a treat to curl up to a warm, spiced, frothy milk-filled mug. (Note: You have to use full-fat milks to get a good froth; don’t buy this if you are looking to steam low-fat milks…you’ll be disappointed. I’ve been loving Elmhurst sweetened cashew and almond milks and Oatly oat milk.)
11. A new cookbook. These are two I’ve been loving: Susan Spungen’s Open Kitchen and Lukas Volger’s Start Simple. Find Susan’s recipe for grilled Romaine Caesar Salad (delicious!) here and Lukas’s recipe for roasted mushroom polenta bake (heaven!) here.
12. Or a new cooking memoir. I just ordered this: Phyllis Grant’s Everything is Under Control. Seems timely 😂😂😂
13. A Peasant Bread Kit, Mother’s Day Edition 💕💕💕 This set includes two 1-qt Pyrex bowls, a pink Dot and Army cloth bowl cover, a GIR spatula, a digital scale, a signed copy of Bread Toast Crumbs, and a Julia Child quotation notecard: “I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”
14. Neapolitan Pizza, delivered! How fun? I just ordered the starter pack. My neighbor did, too. A Zoom pizza party is in our future 🍕🍕🍕🍕
15. Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. My friend Jen Angelopoulos recently founded The Furies, an organic extra-virgin olive oil company. The olives are harvested by hand from olive trees in the Achaia region of Greece. The oil is never blended, and The Furies is committed to sustainability at all levels of production. Read more about the olive oil here. It is delicious.
16. Opinel Knives. I don’t own an Opinel knife I don’t love. From the kitchen knives to the classic folding knives to the table knives, each is beautifully crafted. This spreading knife “sparks joy” every time I use it. They also have a line of gardening tools, which I have yet to explore, but which look lovely.
17. A NYTimes Cooking subscription. I recently made Samantha Seneviratne’s double chocolate cookies, and oh my goodness, wow. You need a NYTimes Cooking subscription to access the recipe. For $40/year, you gain access to all of the recipes. (It might be worth it for the cookie recipe alone 🍪🍪🍪)
18. Chickpeas or other dried beans. Doesn’t the Nuts.com packaging just make you smile? When I could not find dried chickpeas in any of my stores last month, I checked nuts.com and sure enough, they were in stock. I ordered some cranberry beans and lupini beans while I was at it.
19. A Gift from me to you. You made it this far. Thank you, as always, for reading. Here are a selection of my favorite things. My friend Louise McManus, owner of the beautiful Vischer Ferry General Store, selected a number of goodies: V&A Garden Tool Set, Corkcicle Tumbler, Beekman 1802 Body Wash and Lotion, and a spring candle. And I’ve added a House of Shan sweatshirt (you pick size/color) and The Break Active rings (you pick size/color).
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment. Tell me this: what has been bringing you peace and happiness during these trying times? Or what are you missing most? Sending you all love 💗
Update: The giveaway is closed. The winner is Mary. I have emailed you.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
145 Comments on “Mother’s Day Gift Guide”
Making dinner every night has become an anchor for each day. I cooked before this for sure, but it was so easy to let the habit go a few days each week (or make plans to eat out). Now I’m cooking what I call “a real dinner” 5-6 nights per week and being much more thoughtful about which restaurants we’re supporting the other nights.
I love this. We’re trying to support a few of our favorite restaurants as well. I just cannot imagine what restaurant owners are feeling right now.
What a lovely gift roundup! What has bringing me peace and happiness these days is my every-steady-cool-headed husband, walks outside and twice weekly takeout treats. Missing most…quick/impulse trips to the grocery store, casual conversations with coworkers and date nights out at restaurants.
My yoga teacher has arranged Zoom yoga classes and it has really been a blessing. Not only do I get the benefit of the yoga, but I also get to glimpse my fellow classmates. We’ve been doing yoga together for years and for the most part we do not socialize outside of class. But we gather together three times a week and we’ve missed each other. So, being able to gather virtually has been a gift.
Being mindful of making sure that I leave the house each day is extraordinarily important. My mood changes dramatically with that, and also with exercise. I never realized how much the ability to freely enter a grocery store improved my daily existence, but I sure get it now! Thanks for this gift guide; there are a bunch of great suggestions.
Question: I have re-usable produce bags, but I rarely use them because the veggies lose moisture too quickly and get all dried out. How do you deal with this? Do you wrap them in moist paper towels?
I hear you re exercise! It’s so important for my mental health.
Re produce bags, how finely woven is the mesh or the material of your produce bags? The ones I featured here are pretty new, but I haven’t experienced drying out. The mesh is pretty finely woven/knit.
My kitchen remodel (which basically started the day before the world went to hell) is almost done – that’s bringing me peace! And wine.
Totally 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Baking and having tea parties with my two year old Judy and snuggling with my newborn Poppy (she was born March 15!). Missing my parents who we expected to have with us right after Poppy was born.
Thanks for this round up! So many fun and local options! I found several ideas for my Mom!
Oh Andrea, congrats!! Such wonderful news. Poppy shares the same birthday as my youngest, Tig, who just turned 5. Hope you are staying healthy and happy! It sounds as though you are 💕💕💕
I’m really enjoying having time to work out every day and not having to rush to make dinner. Enjoying the “process” of cooking. I even made your homemade tortillas!
Amazing 🎉🎉🎉🎉 So nice to hear all of this.
I’ve been loving spending so much time with my family but I’m definitely missing travel and going out to eat.
Baking has been bringing me so much pleasure during this time! Your blog is actually what got me into baking bread to begin with a number of years ago, and while I always enjoyed it, I rarely made the time to bake outside of special occasions.
We also have two dogs–one who is a newer addition and a mere one-year-old–that have been reminding us to live in the moment and to be grateful for the simple things, like bathing in sunshine, going for a walk, eating a delicious morsel, and snuggling at the end of a long day.
Hope you and yours are safe and well!
Oh how nice to hear this 😍 Dogs are so comforting. We are dying to get one.
Spending time outside has given me the most peace and when I grow tired of Netflix, reading e-books from the library has been the best! Also taking care of a feral cat community and teaching them how to play with toys has been fulfilling. I honestly don’t know if I miss anything.
I love this 😍
What a lovely round-up, thank you!
Cooking, and food websites such as yours, has been bringing me so much joy. I love trying new things and now seems like the perfect time!
I’ve been taking a long walk everyday and ending the day with a hot shower and book/cookie/funny movie each night. That’s been very peaceful and comforting during uncertain moments. <3
Small joys – seeing a cardinal land on a tree branch, walks with the pup, and pour over coffee every morning.
Your posts, Ali, have been such a comfort. Keep them coming! Cooking and baking have been the most pleasurable activities these past few weeks, and your overnight focaccia, oven roasted polenta and mushrooms, and Tartine currant scones have been winners. I even ordered a baking steel yesterday! Thank you.
Oh Peg, so nice to hear this. And yay re Baking Steel!! Sending you love 💕
I go for daily walks with my husband or a neighbor. Baking Alexandra’s delicious bread has become a regular part of my week. Beautiful tulips and daffodils are blooming in containers throughout my garden. Gathering with others from my church for zoom services and Bible studies is sustaining my faith.
So nice to hear this, Pam 💕💕💕
What is bringing me peace.. oh this is my favorite time of the year.. starting seeds and starts for my kitchen garden.. gardening.. and what am I missing most.. family and friends.. virtual hugs are just not the same…
Cooking, Being Together as a Family, the Sun and Warmth, the Birds Chirping–Missing seeing extended family and the experiences the children have missed from school. Thank you–I have followed you for years. I really love your recipes! You need another cookbook!
Awww, thanks Amita 💕💕💕 This means a lot.
Cooking for me is not nearly as much fun as cooking for others
Your gift posts are always so wonderful! I love reading through to get fantastic ideas. LOVE the Peasant Bread Kit!! Thank you! Keep up the wonderful, heartwarming work!
Thank you, Brianna 😍😍😍😍
Forgot to add what I’m doing to keep the peace. Getting creative again through crocheting and sewing family members masks! Its has brought that spark back in me that Had been missing.
Cooking and baking. My husband and I wake up each day wondering what we will try to create. We’ve made Carla Lalli-Music’s “grandma pie”, spanakopita, lasagna, a roast turkey breast dinner, chicken Marsala, lots and lots of stir fry, and I’ve made more loaves of bread than ever in my life! YOUR brioche is in the oven right now! We’ve made chocolate chip melting cookie bowls, pumpkin coffee cake, lemon bars and the piece de resistance….pavlova! (And I’ve never before made meringue in my life!). We’ve made recipes from a British cookbook we bought at a cafe in the winter at the Fountains Abbey, outside of York, England. We make a fancy brunch each Sunday….vegetable fritters, baked oatmeal with pears, blueberry pancakes….I think because we never had children, we didn’t “have” to cook nightly meals, and ignored the fun it could be. I hope that when this is over, we continue to bake and cook as much. Well, the brioche is cooling and it looks and smells just wonderful! Thanks for all of your recipes and encouragement!!
Baking bread brings me so much joy, especially now that there is a bit more time to adjust recipes and process and research a bit while I do it. I learned to bake bread from your book, and now I’m confident trying all kinds of different flours and methods, so thank you!
What has been bringing me peace and happiness during these trying times?
I have been baking like a crazy woman because I am inspired by your emails, which I subscribed to. I have used so many of your tips and found them to be instrumental in building my confidence in baking and trying different things. My peace comes through my Christian belief that God is Sovereign and He knows the time and place for everything.
What am I missing most? I miss seeing my family because of the shelter-in mandate that my state (Alaska) has implemented due to the virus. I miss seeing my friends and meeting them for coffee or lunch.
Additionally, I love getting your emails. I love your recommendations.
I love you gift ideas, always!
Something that is bringing me peace and happiness during this time is including my 2 year old in all the baking and gardening I’m doing. I witnessed her talking to and hugging the sedum that is sprouting in our yard this morning.
What a lovely gift round up! The anchor of peace in these turbulent times has been sharing a family dinner from locally sourced fresh foods. A drive through farmer’s market, a fresh fish CSA, a neighborhood baker that now delivers her bread and flour.
We upped our daily dog walks to two which has been good to help us recenter. Definitely missing our people!
Walking daily has been so important for me.
Getting to know our neighbors are again. With many of them out walking, even with distancing, we’re able to slow down and connect. Weathers too cold to be out in the garden, but next week is lookin good! I hope to be able to spend Mother’s Day with family as two days later is our 50th wedding anniversary. Would be nice to enjoy the company. Enjoy your recipes, helping us to change our lifetime habits.
Oh Judy, so nice to hear this. Wishing you a Happy 50th wedding anniversary 🎉🎉🎉 Amazing.
Great gift guide, you have such great taste!! I’ve actually found peace in the quietness of quarantine! I like the less busy life. But I’m also pregnant and very sick so I miss cooking every day. I can’t wait to get back to making food for my family.
Oh Mary, hang in there … pregnancy sickness is the worst. Glad you are finding peace! 💕💕
I’ve been enjoying catching up on reading, and I’ve been enjoying the great recipes that seem to be coming out of the woodwork online right now – including the ones from your site, of course.
I miss getting together with family/friends who live elsewhere. Easter seemed odd with just my husband and I eating the holiday meal, but this, too, shall pass.
Cooking and baking bread! Spending time with my family and the beautiful spring sunshine!
Ah, so fun! I love Nuts.com. My sister in law gifted me a bunch of stuff from there when my first was born. They’re great and so nice! I’m digging that spoon rest! Happy Mothers Day Ali!