Mother’s Day Gift Guide
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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”
books! Everyone is home and reading so I’m getting to the top of the waitlist for e-book loans at my library so fast!
My newborn & 2.5 year old are bringing me the most peace and happiness. And also sometimes the opposite. Hm, maybe I should just say ‘brownies’…
Starting seedlings and looking forward to veggie and flower gardening.
I miss freedom.
Amidst the difficulty and uncertainty, it has been such a gift for my husband and I to have extra time at home together with our six-month-old baby girl. We have gotten to watch her grow and learn new things every day in a way we wouldn’t have been able to while working outside the home during the week.
Having the time to cook dinner daily and being grateful that I really enjoy the company of my husband and two kids. We aren’t sick of each other yet! Many of the recipes we’ve been making have been yours, and we have been eating quite well! Thank you!!
Family dinner! Now that my husband is working from home, we are able to eat dinner together so much more often, and it has been such a joy. And luckily our two year old is a foodie who loves to eat!
I look out my backyard window and the Japanese Maple is in full bloom. The hummingbirds are busy drinking from the lemon blossoms and the lizards are scaling the fence. I hear children and babies laughing, and crying, in equal measure. The roses are perfuming the breeze that floats through my open window. Hope and beauty keep me going. Hope for the future. And appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us- even in the darkest of times.
We have been cooking SO much to bring some joy into our house. New recipes are the only “new” thing going on around here! We made the Chez Panisse almond torte recipe last week and ate it with coffee for a few days. Heaven! Finding happiness in the simple things and limiting news has been a game changer.
The time to eat as a family, which we couldn’t do before due to everyone’s different schedules.
Focusing on my young kids and this special uninterrupted time I have with them that will likely never happen again!
breaths of fresh air and spring blossoms – what a joy!
I miss the library and casual, thoughtless but ever-so-needed hugs. My daughter’s steadiness gives me peace – but she’s too young to have to worry about it, unfortunately. So that breaks my heart.
All the little things: poetry, cake, sunshine, texts from friends. Definitely miss the feeling of normalcy the most. Love your recipes, I’ve never had one fail me yet!
Actually sitting down and having my coffee hot with my children before I leave for work. Waking up to birds chirping.
hugging my daughter brings me peace and happiness!
my son, although he’d rather be finishing up his first year at Univ Alabama on campus. And I miss restaurants!!!! Every Friday was date night and we’d try different places near us.
Daily walks and having my husband home to help with the baby have been blessings. Missing eating out!
definitely baking, reading, and family together time! it’s been really tough, but i feel lucky to be in a position that has a silver lining
Cooking always brings me joy, and I’ve been doing a lot of it! I love your recipes.
I just found your website today and have been reading it ALL DAY. Having the time to discover gems like this definitely has been a blessing during these difficult times. Cooking and baking (and the consequent eating!) has brought much needed peace and joy to our home. Thank you for your lovely recipes and writings. It is very much appreciated.
My highlight is finding confidence in myself as a baker. I never thought I would be making fluffy chewy sourdough bread with a crunchy crust on a weekly basis. I love the look of delight in my little girl’s face when she bites into some new bread. I am really loving your blog and learning how to use my starter in different ways!
Hi Alexandra! For me the joy of this season comes from viewing the slower paced days as an opportunity to make sure I’m thankful for the small things in life that can never be put on pause or shut down! Things like paying closer attention to the blooms in springtime, watching our world act with more than usual compassion toward each other, and smiles of the people we love….even if we only see them on FaceTime! 🙂
Walks and runs in the woods is keeping me happy.
Keeping my kindle loaded with books (Rules of Civility and Lucky Boy are two recent favorites) and baking way more than I generally have time for!
Cooking/baking always brings me peace. My fiance and I are building an outdoor kitchen (when I say we, I mean him (; ). and watching it transform is making me super happy. I also got The Defined Dish cookbook and I am absolutely loving everything I have made so far! I started a breadtopia sourdough starter and have made 3 nice loaves! Of course I have been baking all different sorts of peasant bread. I think I am going to try my hand at your bagels next!
Baking balanced with lots of walking is bringing me peace.
Cooking in the kitchen together with my husband and keeping in touch with my children and grandchildren with our new echoes are bringing me peace and much happiness! Also, Thank you for this post, I visited Dot and Army and found a great birthday present to send to my daughter. Hugs, Meme
Talking to my mom on the phone. She was supposed to visit for Easter and I miss her terriblly
I’ve been sewing up a storm . . . going through my fabric scraps and sewing tons of zipper pouches to give to family and friends. Books, books, and more books. Also, I think I’ve just loved taking a forced break from the rat race of life. Sigh.
finding comfort in spending time with my family – more time for walks, family dinners, etc since we are all home. sending peace and love to all