Gift guide · 12 ideas
Gifts for Mum
Mums are experts at buying for everyone else. These are the small luxuries she’d walk past for herself.
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The best gifts for mums are usually things she’d consider an indulgence: a slightly nicer version of something ordinary, or something that gives her time and comfort. She’ll buy the practical stuff herself, so this is your chance to spoil her.
We’ve mixed cosy things, pampering and a thoughtful idea that keeps the family connected.
A mulberry silk pillowcase
Silk on her own pillow is the kind of upgrade she keeps putting off, and she’ll notice it every night.
ZIMASILK 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcase
£20–£30
- Silk on both sides
- Dyes made to hold colour
- 180-day quality guarantee
Both sides are 19 momme, grade 6A mulberry silk, so it doesn’t matter which way up it goes on, and a hidden zip keeps the pillow from sliding out. It comes in over 35 colours, and ZIMASILK guarantees it for 180 days against quality problems.
What owners say: Owners praise the quality and say their hair wakes up smoother and less frizzy. It washes easily and dries quickly.
A closer look: Momme is the silk’s weight, and ZIMASILK says its 19 momme is as thick as cases other brands sell as 21 or 22 momme, so don’t rule it out on the number alone. Its dyes are made to hold their colour through washing, which matters most with the darker shades.
A heated throw
Once everyone’s fed and she finally sits down, she can wrap up warm on the sofa for the rest of the evening.
Mia&Coco Heated Throw (120 × 160cm)
£20–£30
- Warms up in 3 minutes
- Ten heat settings
- Long 263cm cord
Dual heating wires warm it in about three minutes and hold it at any of ten levels from about 25°C to 53°C, on a 263cm cord.
What owners say: Owners say it warms in five to ten minutes and stays warm for hours, and like that it’s soft, fleecy and big enough to wrap round you or share.
A closer look: The controller shows the heat level in red and the timer in green, with larger digits, so both can be read at a glance in a dim room. Its buttons sit slightly recessed, which stops a knee or elbow changing the setting while you’re wrapped up.
Cosy knit slippers
She’d wear her old slippers until they fell apart, so a cosy knit pair she can wear out to the bins is a nice swap.
Skechers BOBS Keepsakes Ice Angel
£40 RRP
- Shock-absorbing midsole
- Comes in half sizes
- Sole made for outdoors too
A cosy sweater-knit clog with a faux-fur trim, Skechers Memory Foam underfoot and a flexible rubber sole made for indoors and out. It’s from Skechers’ BOBS range, and every BOBS purchase helps fund animals in need.
What owners say: Owners find them comfortable and good value, and like the knitted upper with its fur trim and the cushioned sole, though a few find them less steady underfoot than they’d like.
A closer look: The slip-on clog shape is easy to step into from the bed, and the three-quarter-inch heel lifts feet a little off cold floors. Skechers doesn’t list it as machine washable, so a gentle spot-clean is the safer way to deal with marks on the knit. Between sizes, try the smaller one.
A bath soak set
An excuse to take an hour for herself. Bath salts and scrubs get used up, so there’s no clutter.
Nurture by Nature Pamper Gift Set
£20–£30
Six full-size bath and body treats in a gift box: bath salts, a bath bomb bar, a soy wax candle, body scrub, soap and hand cream. All of it is vegan, with a bright, zesty scent of citrus, lemongrass and ginger.
What owners say: Owners find it lovely quality with divine scents, like the variety and natural ingredients, and think it good value.
A closer look: Light the candle and run the bath, use the scrub before soaking in the salts, then finish with the hand cream. The soap and hand cream stay useful by the sink long after bath night, and everything is cruelty-free and made without parabens, with shea butter among the ingredients.
- Six full-size bath treats
- Citrus, lemongrass and ginger scent
- Vegan and cruelty-free
A Wi-Fi digital photo frame
Now the children have flown the nest, their photos land on her sideboard as they’re taken, rather than waiting for the next visit.
BIGASUO Frameo 10.1-inch Wi-Fi Photo Frame
£50–£75
- 32GB storage plus microSD slot
Children and grandchildren send photos and short clips from the free Frameo app, each with a caption to tell the story behind it, and they appear on the 10.1-inch touchscreen moments later. A day out can be on the sideboard before everyone’s even home.
What owners say: Easy to set up, with a crisp screen, and family like sending photos straight to it from their phones. Reliability is mixed, with some saying it stopped working.
A closer look: Each phone joins with a one-off code that the frame shows on screen, and the code can be texted to relatives who live further away. Videos play with sound, so turn the volume down in the settings if it sits in a quiet room.
A new cookbook
For the mum who cooks for everyone, a new book of ideas freshens up the weekly round of the same few dinners.
Ottolenghi SIMPLE TOO
£30 RRP
Yotam Ottolenghi’s follow-up to SIMPLE, with 135 new recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Every dish can be made in under 30 minutes, cooked in one pot or prepared ahead, so his big flavours fit an ordinary weeknight.
What owners say: Owners say it’s their favourite Ottolenghi book, with easy-to-follow recipes that turn out tasty, and think it good value.
A closer look: Fans of Ottolenghi’s food who find his longer ingredient lists daunting will get the most from it, and it sits happily beside the original SIMPLE on the shelf. The make-ahead dishes are worth a look for anyone who cooks for guests, since most of the work is done before they arrive.
- 135 new recipes
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert
- Quick, one-pot or make-ahead
A soft pashmina scarf
Her winter scarf is probably years old, and a soft pashmina wrap feels like a treat she’d never pick out for herself.
ehsbuy Pashmina and Wool Scarf
£10–£20
A large reversible scarf in a pashmina and wool blend, 200 by 70cm with tasselled ends and a different colour on each side. Folded, it’s a warm winter scarf; opened out, it’s a shawl for a wedding or a cool evening.
What owners say: Owners love the colours and how well they go together, find it soft, cosy and long enough to wear as a wrap, though several doubt it’s really cashmere.
A closer look: Wash it by hand in cold water, squeeze rather than wring, and dry it flat in the shade. Choose a colour pairing that picks up a shade in a favourite winter coat, so either side goes with it. At about 300g it’s light enough to keep in a bag for chilly, air-conditioned restaurants.
- 200 × 70cm with tassels
- Pashmina and wool blend
- Two colours, reversible
A large jar candle
A bigger, longer-burning version of the candle she’d buy herself, so one jar sees the living room through the winter.
Yankee Candle Lemon Lavender Large Jar Candle
£29.99 RRP
- Burns for 110 to 150 hours
Between 110 and 150 hours of burning from 623g of wax, so one jar lasts for weeks of evenings. Lemon and lavender lead a bright, clean scent, with orange and eucalyptus behind them and vanilla underneath. Yankee began in 1969, when 16-year-old Mike Kittredge melted crayons to make his mother a Christmas candle.
What owners say: Owners say it lasts for ages, fills a medium-sized room quickly and has a relaxing, spa-like scent.
A closer look: Trim the wick to a quarter of an inch (about 6mm) before each lighting and keep the wax pool free of bits, as Yankee advises. When it’s finished, the thick glass jar makes a good pot for make-up brushes or pens.
A jewellery dish
Her rings usually end up in a saucer by the sink, and a pretty dish of her own is one of those things she’d never think to buy.
Binoster Ceramic Leaf Jewellery Dish
Under £10
A white ceramic dish shaped like a leaf, about 11cm across, with a smooth glaze and a detailed leaf design. It gives rings, earrings, a necklace or keys a safe place to land, and looks smart on a dressing table.
What owners say: Owners find it beautifully made and say it looks lovely on a bedside table, though some find it much smaller than they expected.
A closer look: The glaze wipes clean, so a quick rinse sorts out dust or smudges of hand cream. It’s for the things taken off at bedtime rather than a whole collection.
- About 11cm across
- Glazed white ceramic
- Washable
A garden kneeler seat
Mum’s happiest out in the garden on a free afternoon, and this saves her kneeling on an old cushion on the path.
Crystals 2-in-1 Garden Kneeler and Seat
£10–£20
- Three-pouch tool bag
- Handles to push up on
- Turns over into a seat
Flip it one way to kneel on the padded EVA foam and the other to sit on it, with handles to lean on as you get up. A three-pouch tool bag fits on in either position.
What owners say: Sturdy and comfortable, owners say, folding neatly for storage, giving the knees good support and helping with jobs round the garden.
A closer look: As a seat it stands 49cm tall, close to the height of a dining chair, so you can deadhead or weed along a border without bending double. A wipe with a dry cloth, as Crystals suggests, sorts the frame and foam out after a muddy session.
An Audible membership
Audiobooks for walks, housework and drives, for mums who love books but never get time to sit and read.
See options on AmazonAn indoor herb garden
Fresh herbs on the windowsill, a few steps from where she cooks every night, and the fun of saying she grew them herself.
Love Rustic Indoor Herb Garden (set of 3 jars)
£10–£20
A grow-your-own kit with basil, mint and coriander seeds and three rustic jars, packed in a gift box with everything needed to plant them. If a herb doesn’t come up, the maker will send more seeds to try again.
What owners say: Owners like the presentation and clear instructions, but results vary: some herbs grow well, others never come up, several kits arrived with seeds missing, and the jars are small.
A closer look: A bright, warm windowsill away from draughts gives the seeds the best start, and basil in particular dislikes the cold. Keep the soil damp rather than soggy, and pinch out the tops once the plants are a few inches tall so they bush out instead of getting leggy. Once the herbs are growing well, move them to bigger pots.
- Basil, mint and coriander
- Three jars, gift boxed
- Replacement seeds if none grow
Choosing for Mum
- Think about what she’d consider “too much” to buy for herself. That’s the sweet spot.
- Anything that gives her time or comfort tends to beat another ornament.
- If siblings are clubbing together, a heated throw or digital photo frame makes a lovely joint gift.
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