Treat mum with these out-of-the-box gifts
Our mums are some of the most deserving people in our lives, but since they spend so much time worrying about everyone else, they rarely know what they'd like when it comes to birthdays, Christmas and Mother's Day.
Your mum probably deserves a private island for the time and effort she puts into her family, but since that's way out of most budgets, we've found some of the most out-of-the-box gifts we could think of. There's something on our list for every type of mum, whether she loves to cook, drinks copious amounts of coffee, spends too much time reading, or just wants a bit more time spent hanging out with her kids.
It's time to ditch the age-old bouquet of flowers and a box of average chocolates – usually purchased on the way to Mother's Day lunch – and lift your gifting game for mum this year.
NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.
INIKA Organic Radiant Glow Veil
INIKA's popular serum combines skincare and makeup, working as a moisturiser, primer, or all-over highlighter once all your makeup has been applied. It can also be mixed in with a foundation for a glowing base. Made of hydrating and nourishing products, your mum will love this boost to her skin.
Coco & Eve Glow Getter Set
If your mum loves skincare, this new set from skincare brand Coco & Eve will be a lovely surprise. With two cleansers and a hydrating toner, she'll be able to finish off the day by washing off all her makeup, without stripping her skin in the process. Usually $126, you can get the set for $101 now.
Maison Balzac J'Ai Soif Carafe Set in Teal
Encourage your mum to keep hydrated in style with this carafe and glass set from decorative glassware brand Maison Balzac. This teal set will definitely be featured whenever your mum has guests over, or used to sit decoratively on her shelves.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze
Help mum tame her brows of a morning with this cult beauty product, beloved by many a beauty writer. With an extra-strong hold for a lasting feathery look, you'll help her elevate her daily makeup look.
Alpha-H Hyaluronic 8 Super Serum – Travel Size
Hyaluronic acid is an essential part of any skincare routine. Alpha-H's Hyaluronic 8 Super Serum will provide instant hydration, and over time will plump and revitalise her skin. Another perfect option for a mum who loves to travel, this is an ideal product for increasing hydration after a long flight or car trip.
The Bright Set by The Ordinary
If your mum likes skincare, or the idea of it, but needs a bit of help getting started, The Bright Set from skincare brand The Ordinary is a great starter set. Curated to help cleanse the skin, target dark circles, and bring a fresh, radiant glow to the face, you can't go wrong with this set. Best of all, it's only $64.20 for a four-product set, which is great value given the hefty cost of skincare.
Mushroom Table Lamp
Improve her bedside table style with this sleek lamp. With its gold exterior and mushroom-style shape, it serves more as a work of art than just a simple light.
M.A.C Cosmetics Prep + Prime Fix+ Mini
Prep + Prime Fix+ from M.A.C Cosmetics is a highly-recommended setting spray, which will keep makeup in place all day long. This mini version is ideal for mums on the go, who want to maintain their makeup either through the workday or over long days on the weekend.
Alessi Kettle
If your mum loves a cuppa, she might appreciate an aesthetically pleasing kettle like this one. With a design straight from the '80s that features a sweet little bird on the spout, the kettle whistles when the water is boiled, creating a lovely, homey feeling. It also has a wider base for faster boiling, ensuring her tea can be made quickly, even if it is coming from the stove.
Weaved Wicker Cord Picnic Basket
If you're celebrating Mother's Day with a picnic, there's no cuter basket on the market. This woven wicker basket has all the features of a regular picnic basket, with a modern pink strap that brings the 'vibes'.
Pasta Night: 60+ Recipes
With over 60 pasta recipes for a number of occasions, this is a delicious book for any mum who likes to cook. From Italian classics to New World fusions, she can enjoy recipes that are perfect for a number of events, including gatherings with friends, lazy nights in, or family dinners.
Giorgio Armani My Way Eau de Parfum
Giorgio Armani makes delicious-smelling perfumes, so if your mum is on the hunt for a new fragrance, My Way might make the perfect gift. This floral perfume is a delight.
Kindle Scribe
If your mum is an obsessive reader, with a heap of thoughts to share on each and every book she reads, this gift is absolutely ideal. Featuring the world's first 10.2" 300 ppi glare-free Paperwhite display and a Premium Pen, you can write on the Kindle as easily as you would a piece of paper. She can scrawl notes throughout her favourite reads, or even make it into a notebook or journal.
SALT BY HENDRIX Grapefruit + Vanilla Body Polish
A perfect product for pampering, this delicious salt scrub smells delightful and will help exfoliate your whole body. While we're so focussed on our facial skincare routines, it's important to give the rest of our skin a bit of love too, and this scrub will make it nice, easy, and enjoyable for your mum to do so.
Dining In: Alison Roman
Alison Roman is a very beloved and well-known cook, so if your mum is a bit of a foodie, you can trust she'll love this cookbook. Filled with recipes to level up her home cooking, the recipes are described as 'vegetable-forward', but also include a mean steak and a love and appreciation for fresh fish.
Philips Air Fryer Premium
For the mum who is late to the air fryer trend, it's time to get her on board. Currently, 20 per cent off on Amazon, this air fryer from Philips comes highly recommended. With Twin TurboStar technology that removes fat from foods, four preset cooking programs, and a 'keep warm' function, she'll speed up her nightly dinners and find herself with more time to unwind.
Gold Hoop Earrings
You can never go wrong with a pair of statement earrings, and this pair will fast become a staple in Mum's jewellery rotation. Made of gold-plated brass, they're also hypoallergenic, without any nickel or lead. She'll get plenty of use out of these in the years to come.
Poor Tom's Strawberry Gin
For the mum who loves a cocktail, or drinks with the girls, this strawberry gin from Poor Tom's is not only completely delicious, it makes for a great cocktail ingredient. She can make her G&Ts a little fruitier, or get adventurous with a few extra ingredients to create a new favourite drink.
Maison Balzac Grand Galet Opaque in White
Looking like a smooth, opaque cloud, this glass galet will add a bit of decoration to your mum's candle set. Made of Maison Balzac's handblown glass, these will bring luxury she won't have known she needed.
Parlux 3800 Ceramic & Ionic Hair Dryer
This luxe hairdryer will amaze Mum when she opens it on Mother's Day. This professional-grade dryer is marketed to hairdressers and comes highly rated by the professionals so you know it's a powerful product. Both lightweight and perfectly balanced for the most ergonomic design, she'll feel nice and comfortable styling her hair with this dryer.
Galful Mobile Phone Chain
If your mum is always losing her phone, she can use this adorable case to sling it over her shoulder, or even wear it as a cross-body accessory. Designed to fit iPhone 14s, and coming in a range of colours, she'll be able to keep her phone easily on hand.
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
Beloved by beauty editors, Mario Badescu has gained a cult following for products that are effective on troubled skin. Their drying lotion works best overnight when applied to blemishes right before bed, so if your mum wants to level up her skincare game, this is the perfect product to start her with.
ComSaf Double Walled Glass Coffee Mugs
Ideal for the mum who loves coffee and needs a hand making her morning pod a little fancier, these four glass mugs will be the pride of her kitchen. Their double-walled structure means they keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, so she can consume her coffee at the temperature she likes best.
Larder & Vine Enameled Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven
This Dutch oven from Larder and Vine will delight any mum who loves to spend time in the kitchen. Made of cast iron, with a colourful enamel coating and smooth enamel interior that makes it easy to clean, it will bring a touch of brightness and joy to her cooking collection. While we adore this bright lemon shade, it also comes in sea green, deep red, light green and stone.
Mermade Hair Mini Shampoo/Conditioner Kit
For the mum who likes to travel, a small-size shampoo and conditioner will make a world of difference to her luggage. This cute set from Australian-founded brand Mermade is designed to help manage oily, broken, dull, and dehydrated hair by infusing moisture and nourishment.
Ceramic Ribbed Decorative Vases
For the mum who is keen on interior decorating, these vases add intrigue and style to any space. She can sit them on a table or a bookshelf to elevate the space and use them to hold the likes of dried flowers, or other decorative florals for the home.
Large Cosmetic Bag
If your mum is always losing her favourite lipstick, this large-capacity cosmetic bag is a great gift and a great solution. She'll be able to pack all her Trinny London products inside it, as well as the balms and moisturisers she uses day to day. With a functional handle, she'll also be able to take it on her travels – whether it's just to work for the day or on a longer holiday.
Nike Women's Wearallday Running Shoe
For the super-fit mums out there, there's no better gift than a new pair of running shoes that she'll wear most days of the week. She can put these on for her high-intensity gym class or her morning jog, and be reminded of how much you love her, and just how well you know her.
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If your mum likes to keep her finger on the pulse of pop culture, she needs to read Daisy Jones and The Six. Taylor Jenkins Reid's 2019 novel took the world by storm, telling the fictional story of the world's biggest rock band as they hit it big in the 1970s.
ZIMASILK 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcase
Silk pillowcases are always a fail-safe gift: they feel nice and luxurious and are much softer on mum's skin and hair than a basic cotton one. Why not make the switch for her? Made of mulberry silk, it'll elevate her nighttime routine almost instantly. And if silver doesn't match her colour scheme, you can also grab it in taupe, ivory, and black.
Scullys Lavender Sleep Balm Aid
If your mum has complained of any trouble sleeping, she might need a super-simple aid to help her drift off at night. This lavender balm can be used to dab on her pulse points, sending her off into a deep, sweet-smelling slumber. You can even pair this one with the silk pillowcase for a night of extra comfortable sleep.
Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
If Mum prefers non-fiction and frequents the self-help and growth genres, this beautiful book from researcher Brené Brown is a great gift. Known for her work on shame and vulnerability, Brown has given multiple lectures, written many books, and even created a podcast about all the things she has learned across her years of work. In Atlas of the Heart, she takes us through 87 emotions that define what it means to be human, and help the reader with emotional fluency and connection in their lives.
Boards, Platters, Plates: Recipes for Entertaining, Sharing, and Snacking
For the mum who likes to entertain, and loves a charcuterie board, this recipe book will fill her head with ideas for her next gathering. With a number of possibilities that take it past a cheese platter, she can learn to create a Lebanese Lunch board with hummus and muhammara, or a Scandinavian board with smoked salmon and rösti, among many others.
Codenames Word Game
For the mum who just wants more time with the family, why not gift her something you can all play together? This word game is quick and simple, but also challenging enough to engage the whole family.
Primula Stovetop Espresso and Coffee Maker
If your mum is fussy about her morning brew, this stovetop espresso and coffee maker will give her a rich-tasting caffeine hit in mere moments. Crafted from cast aluminium for durability, it also creates even heat distribution for enhanced flavour and a delicious coffee aroma. Help give her mornings extra pep.
OPI Nail Lacquer in shade Rice Rice Baby
Update your mum's gloopy pink nail polish stash by gifting her an OPI classic. Rice Rice Baby is a subtle, neutral shade that she'll find herself using over and over again.
WORLD-BIO Cold Gel Ice Face Mask with Wrap
If your mum loves her skincare routine, you can help her expand it further with this cold gel mask to help reduce puffiness, swelling, and dark circles. It's also a wonderful help if she suffers from chronic headaches or migraines, offering relief. Simply keep it in the fridge for cold therapy, or pop it in boiling water for a warm treatment.
innisfree Jeju Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask
Korean beauty brand innisfree is beloved by many for its use of gentle ingredients that are soft on the skin. This Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask will allow your mum to treat herself to an at-home spa day. Designed to clean out the pores and leave the skin feeling soft, she'll feel nice and refreshed after indulging in this product.
Bottega Veneta Sunglasses
If your mum loves the finer things in life, she'll adore these designer sunglasses. From Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, they feature large lenses for greater eye protection and gorgeous tortoiseshell frames.
Renpho Neck and Back Massager
For the mum who needs to relax, you'll be the favourite child when you hand over this neck and back massager from Renpho. Designed to sit around her neck, with two pockets for her hands as well, the massager has eight rotating rollers to get deep into the knots in her neck, as well as a soothing heat function for extra relaxation. Just make sure she lets you have a turn, too.
New Balance Women's Ml574 Low-Top Sneakers
If your mum's level of style is a point of envy, she'll probably love these low-top sneakers from New Balance. With a 4.8 star rating on Amazon, they're both stylish and comfortable and will bring a casual element to her favourite outfits.
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