23 Perfect Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Parenthood is a state of waking up exhausted. My nearly 3-year-old is on a tear of not sleeping through the night again (fun!), and I've never been a morning person, which is a tough pill to swallow with babies and kids in general. But the gadget that makes waking up so much easier is a great sunrise alarm clock.

The trendy option is the Hatch Restore 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which is great for falling asleep. For actually waking up, I much prefer Lumie's Bodyclock sunrise lamps. They're much brighter and actually make me wake up versus my rolling over and ignoring the smaller Hatch. The Lumie Luxe is gorgeous, with a fabric base and high-end buttons, and it has radio capabilities.

If the mom in your life loves keeping her makeup organized everywhere she goes, she will love the Parallelle Traveller cosmetic bag (9/10 WIRED Recommends). It took career bag designer Annie Fan 60 iterations to realize her idea of a perfect makeup and toiletry bag, and it shows. The Traveller's thoughtful design and details are sure to impress anyone who has ever had to do their makeup in a car, gym, or hotel bathroom. Zip it open and the sides peel down like a banana to reveal a makeup caddy with up to 20 pockets in varying sizes. Zip it back up and it’s a sleek bag sturdy enough to toss into a tote or carry-on. The only difficult decision you’ll have to make is choosing from among the available four sizes and nine colors. —Kat Merck

Aura's been around for a while, but its newest digital frame, the Aura Aspen (9/10, WIRED Recommends), just launched a few weeks ago and is perfect for the iPhone photography mom. If her camera roll is bursting with photos she loves and there are too many to fit into a photo book, she (and anyone else in the family!) can send an unlimited number of them to the Aspen or any other Aura frame. The new Aspen is a little larger than the popular Carver, and can sit either landscape or portrait, depending on her photography preference. The mat frame makes it look almost like a real analog picture frame—until the picture switches, of course. —Nena Farrell

My Mother's Day gift this year is a massage, but a great alternative is a massager she could use all the time. Therabody's line of popular Theraguns has tons of options (which we've tested in our Theragun guide!), but the best for your buck is the Theragun Relief. It's the last of the 2023 devices, so it's a bit older than the rest of the Theragun line, and you'll miss out on some premium features like Bluetooth connectivity and an LCD screen. But with three head attachments and three speeds, it's still equipped with plenty of massage power for the average person.

If you can spend a little more, the Theragun Sense ($209) is the quietest Theragun we've tried, plus it comes with four attachments and has the LCD screen and breathwork features you'll find on more expensive models. —Nena Farrell

“All I want for Mother's Day is tinned fish,” my friend told me as we walked around the grocery store together, her baby in tow. It wasn't completely out of the blue; we had both just sampled Fishwife's tinned albacore and sardines, and I caved, purchasing a tin to take home. But she said she'd already told her husband that tinned fish, or really good cheeses, were absolutely top of her Mother's Day list.

Fishwife's packaging is especially adorable if you're looking for some fun fish to gift your favorite savory-snacking mom. It's delicious, too. I couldn't resist taking the Albacore in Spicy Olive Oil ($32 for three) home (spicy is relative, as it's just paprika), but you can find several started sets from Fishwife both on the company's site and on Amazon. They've got a Mother's Day Gift Box ($85) as well, though that comes with more accessories than it does fish. Personally, I'm here for the fish.

We've tried a bunch of weighted blankets and eye masks, but the Baloo Weighted Silk Sleep Stone Mask is our favorite. This mulberry silk mask does a great job blocking out light so Mom can get a good night's sleep, and felt lighter than its 9-ounce weight but is still hefty enough to get the weighted benefit. Silk already feels cool to the touch, but Mom can stick this eye mask in the freezer to get an extra cooling feel for her eyes. Pair it with a silk pillowcase—my favorite is Quince's Mulberry Silk Pillowcase ($45)—to give her the silkiest sleep of her life. —Nena Farrell

Do you know how many pairs of pants don't have good pockets? As a woman, the answer is too many. So often I'm at the park or some other activity with my son, and find myself running after him for some reason or wandering away from the stroller. Which is no big deal, but leaving my phone and keys behind feels too dangerous to do regularly.

WIRED reviewer Brenda Stolyar has me sold on a solution: a phone lanyard. She isn't usually a fan, but she recommends the Bandolier Bodie as a phone case and crossbody strap combo, allowing her to hold her phone, wallet (using the attached cardholder), keys, and even lip balm and earbuds with her at all times with the help of the added Mini Pouch. It's even Taylor Swift–approved, if you want to make your Swiftie mom’s day with that news. —Nena Farrell

The Shark FlexStyle (9/10, WIRED recommends) is a big favorite around here. It competes with the Dyson Airwrap (8/10, WIRED Recommends) with a similar suite of attachments and similar results, but a much better price. We rave about a version of in our blow-dry brushes guide, where it could successfully blow out our editor’s thick hair. If mom is looking for better hair tools, score her this set—she won’t need anything else. Plus, in the name of spring, it comes in a special limited-edition Blossom Bliss color right now if she's a fan of pink. —Nena Farrell

Chocolate is a guilty indulgence, while coffee is a necessary vice. But combine the two into a curated pairing and it’s a sophisticated pleasure perfect for Mom. At least, it’s perfect for my mom. So much so that while testing and tasting this coffee and chocolate Mother’s Day gift set from Atlas Coffee Club, I felt guilty for not sharing it with her. The handsomely wrapped little gift set contains six 51-gram sample bags of Atlas’ highest-selling single-origin roasts, each one paired with two luxuriant and complex little bonbons from luxe Beverly Hills chocolatier AndSons, already among WIRED’s favorite chocolate makers.

Do the light notes of cardamom in your single-origin Kenya coffee beans play nicely with the coconut and almond praline in your paired bonbon? Does the lemon pâte de fruit in a macadamia meringue find similar notes in a dark roast from Nicaragua? The pairings are generally quite apt, making both chocolate and coffee taste exponentially better together. Besides, playing sommelier is a little game that allows Mom to feel OK about eating marzipan in the morning. Just make sure your mom has a coffee setup that lets to easily switch out small quantities of beans. Or just skip the chocolate and buy her one of our favorite coffee subscriptions. —Matthew Korfhage

If she's the type of mom who wanted one of those adorable Trader Joe's mini totes, score her the real best mini tote. WIRED reviewer Boutayna Chokrane has tried tons of totes, but the Lululemon Boxy Mini Tote Bag is her favorite miniature option. It's a great size for carrying a handful of things, like your phone, lip balm, wallet, keys, and maybe a small book (or Kindle), and she says it stands up nicely so she's not digging around searching for these items. It only comes in black, but Lululemon's Two-Tone Canvas Mini Tote Bag 4.5L ($98) does have multiple rotating color options if that's more Mom's speed. Right now it's available in spiced chai/bone and mojave tan/light ivory. —Nena Farrell

There are a lot of reasons why Mom might not be drinking. Maybe she’s a mom-to-be or with kiddo number two on the way, maybe she’s sober, or maybe she’s an embarrassing lightweight like I am and doesn’t want a hangover in two hours (brunch cocktails exist to ruin my day). No matter the reason, Thompson & Scott Noughty’s nonalcoholic wines are some of the best to gift her for worry-free bubbles. It’s a dealcoholized wine, meaning it's made from grapes like your usual wines and then the alcohol is removed afterward. Noughty’s wines are still fantastic without adding a ton of sugar, which many dealcoholized wines do to replace the alcohol. I fell in love with the sparkling rosé and chardonnay while pregnant, and I’m still always excited to have a bottle even though I’ve long since given birth. Don't just take my word for it—a bartender even agrees with me. —Nena Farrell

I love a paper planner, but I too often find that I also need a second notebook to keep the rest of my thoughts and to-do lists somewhere. That changed once I tried the Roterunner Purpose Planner. The wide B5 design has space for multiple lists, and even organizes them for you in advance: each week spread has a checklist for work, home, projects, and friends, plus a little buy and not-buy section, and even habit and gratitude trackers. Extra bonus? There's a blank two pages after every week for writing out more random ideas, specific to-do lists for a certain day (each day has a checklist of five on the main spread, but sometimes that's not enough for me), or brainstorms for future projects. It's finally one planner that can do it all. It's an undated six-month planner, so you can start it whenever you like and skip a week if you need to, or even an entire month, without needing to deal with tons of blank pages.

If she's already got a planner she loves, then gift her these beautiful highlighters from Passion Planner. I use colors from both the Essentials Set ($15) and the Vintage Set ($15) in my personal highlighting system so that I can see what's for me, what's for my kiddo, and when I'm supposed to work out at a quick glance. The colors are beautiful and vibrant from both sets, and have both a wide highlighter end and a pen end if she's more of a doodler. —Nena Farrell

I love instant cameras and I have bought several for my family to use at different events (like Mother's Day). But truthfully, it's just easier to take pictures with my phone and print them out later on a smartphone camera printer much more often. I personally own the HP Sprocket ($80), but Gilbertson recommends the Instax Mini Evo in our guide to the Best Instax Cameras. The images on the Link Wide are slightly bigger than the Sprocket. You can also do fun things in the app like add multiple images in a collage, add hearts or glitter, or even add a QR code so that someone with a phone can check out your social media. There are also 1,600 in-app stickers that you can paste on top of your images, which both moms and kids will love. —Adrienne So

Roald Dahl once wrote that every parent has a secret or two that would make their child gasp if they knew it. WIRED reviewer Adrienne So says unfortunately, her children know all of hers, like that she roller skates after dark. Some hobbies are fun surprises like that, while others you can notice in the day-to-day. Is she always journaling? Does she use her yoga mat every day? There are plenty of sweet accessories you can find for just about any hobby. For me, as a journaling addict, I'm always grabbing these gorgeous packs of highlighters from Passion Planner that any other planner or journaling fan will love. There's both an Essentials ($15) pack with your classic rainbow and a Vintage ($15) pack with more muted tones and neutrals. I have favorites from both, and they're cheap enough that you could buy two and still have budget for washi tape or fun stickers. For the skater moms like Adrienne, she recommends these light-up skate wheels ($43).

If Mom loves birds in her yard, this adorable smart bird feeder will let her get an up-close view of the birds that fly in. Our favorite bird feeder is the Birdfy from security company Netvue. The plastic edition has a colorful design, and there's a bamboo option if that's more Mom's style. The built-in camera will send notifications to its app when birds are feeding, and it has AI recognition that can somewhat identify birds correctly. It doesn't do a perfect job, but it works more often than other bird feeder identification AI that we've tested. Splurge an extra $20 to get Mom a lifetime unlimited AI subscription to get that identification, or you'll leave her with a $5-a-month bill. —Nena Farrell

Even though the Oura ring has been out since 2015, it's been viral now more than ever, especially with the newest Oura Ring 4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) that's become our favorite smart ring. I attribute this to the fact that in comparison to the premium plans that other fitness trackers have, a $6 per month membership no longer seems absurd. You can also pick the finish and it leaves your wrist free for another timepiece of your choice.

The Oura covers all the bases, including your daily activity goal with calorie burn goals, daytime stress, sleep, and a daily readiness score that takes into account your resting heart rate, HRV balance, and body temperature. A recent (small) study in Sleep Health also found that across six fitness trackers, it was the most accurate at tracking sleep. You'll just have to first get your mom's ring size sneakily (ask your dad, or send her the sizing kit). —Adrienne So

Summer is coming up, and nothing hits better in the hot heat than a tall, icy glass of homemade cold brew coffee. This is one of our favorite cold brew coffee makers because it's easy to use and looks elegant and understated in the fridge. It also makes the perfect amount of coffee for one person (600 ml). Hario is a Japanese manufacturer known for its affordable, quality glassware, and that history really shows with this carafe. —Adrienne So

Here at WIRED, we have a certain fondness for tiny cups. Water bottles aside, no one needs to chug 32 ounces of whiskey or hot chocolate. Yeti's tiny stacking mugs come in a minute 4-ounce size, or a 6-ounce size with a handle. It's perfect for sipping a tiny cortado in the morning, rinsing out, and finishing off with a little splash of whiskey at night. They come in a wide array of colors and have a ceramic lining so that the taste of whatever you're drinking isn't affected, and they're dishwasher-safe. And if your mom is also a lightweight who can't finish a 6-ounce pour in one go, the 6-ounce size is also compatible with the small MagSlider lid ($10). —Adrienne So

If Mom already has a iPad, but isn't using it as much as she could be—I myself am a mom who is guilty of that, as her iPad lays out of battery in a drawer to her left—this handy device can solve that. Twelve South's newest Duo has both a clamp and a stand, so she can clamp an iPad to her nightstand to catch up on her favorite show or read a book on her Libby app. This same stand can easily move to be in the kitchen, letting her follow a recipe or maybe still watch a show as she moves around. You can use either the clamp or the stand, depending on your setup. There's even an included hex key to tighten it up if the hinges start feeling loose. For more, check out our Best iPad Accessories guide. —Nena Farrell

Every Christmas, my mother-in-law made the family sit down for a game of Trivial Pursuit. I didn't like this at the time (she did not feel the need to update her game from the 1976 version, which is before I was born), but now I appreciate the tradition. I also like having an activity besides sitting around bickering. The Isle of Cats is beautifully designed and ideal for cat-loving moms. You have to rescue cats by luring them onto your boat with fish and fitting them on, Tetris-style. Although WIRED reviewer Simon Hill notes that the rules are a little complicated at first, it starts to make sense after a few rounds and it's intended for ages 8 and up. For more suggestions, check out Hill's roundup of the Best Family Board Games. —Adrienne So

Nothing says Mother's Day like chocolate does. Instead of just grabbing some grocery store chocolates or waiting in a long line, get a gorgeous chocolate box sure to impress delivered to the front door. WIRED reviewer Matthew Korfhage has tried all kinds of chocolate delivery boxes, and Dandelion's Single-Origin Truffle Collection is his top recommendation. He says each chocolate in the box tastes vividly different, since the flavors are influenced by the different regions they're sourced from. The truffle box was a big favorite from his testing panel, but the single-origin praline box is a good choice if the mom in your life loves things like pistachio and peanut butter with her chocolate. No matter which box you choose, it'll be delicious. —Nena Farrell