Reading: 10 Best Mother’s Day Gifts for 2022 (That She Doesn’t Already Have)

Mother’s Day, May 8, is right around the corner. Instead of going for the same-old same-old gifts like a locket necklace or flowering plant, give mom something she can appreciate all year long. We’ve tracked down everything from the best wireless speaker to a delish coffee subscription. You can always forward this list to your children or husband. Or just leave the tab open on their laptop (you know, for insurance). Oh, and some of these companies are offering great discounts for Mother’s Day!

PHOTOS FOREVER

Digital photo frames have come a long way since the 1990s, when digital cameras started to take off. CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour really enjoys her Nixplay frame. Unlike other brands, Nixplay comes with an app and can connect to your social media accounts in addition to email. Prices start at $149 for their basic eight-inch model and go up to $299 for a 13-inch model. I, however, like the simplicity of Skylight Frame, which gets photos by email only. This is perfect for non-tech-savvy mothers, and grandmothers, who want an easy way to get photos to their frame. 

Nixplay, $149-$299.
Skylight Frame, $159

DANCING QUEEN

My kids introduced me to the Wonderboom range of wireless bluetooth speakers from Ultimate Ears a few years ago. Earlier this year, I bought my own Wonderboom 2, the company’s smallest speaker, for myself to enjoy on a vacation to Mexico, my first girls’ trip since my adult children were born. I love the strawberry red color, and the design — like a little apple — is super cute. The sound emanating from this little gadget is remarkable, notably with a rich and resonant bass, and it can be paired with another Wonderboom for mom’s Sensurround dance parties. This speaker, like some of the others in the range, is waterproof and can float. Think pool party! And seeing how my son uses his, they are virtually indestructible. 

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2, $99.

SOPHISTICATED STONEWARE

I discovered Terrafirma Ceramics a few summers ago on a visit to the Field Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard. I love the intricate patterns and colorways that artist and ceramicist Ellen Evans achieves on her stoneware by “painting through textiles and lace with liquid porcelain,” as explained on Terrafirma’s website. The small stacking tray, which can be used elegantly on a cocktail table for little hors d’oeuvres, or on top of a dresser to place jewelry, is a great, versatile piece. Whatever you choose, don’t get mom a mug; there are already 27 crowding her cupboard. Terrafirma is sold through retailers such as Elgin, Illinois–based Nicole-Rhea, which specializes in handmade home goods from independent makers and designers. 

Terrafirma Ceramics Small Stacking Tray, $99.

FABULOUS FLATS

San Francisco–based Birdies started off in 2015 as a company making cute, strikingly comfortable flats to wear at home while entertaining. The idea was to make the shoes as comfortable as slippers. The result was flats boasting a seven-layer cushioned insole and chic enough for dressing up. Recently, Birdies branched out into sneakers, with three styles featuring no-slip rubber soles. And the company has rolled out more fabrics and materials for shoe uppers, including raffia, corduroy, and a high-stretch polyester and thermal nylon knit for the machine washable shoes. Birdies also has slides in everything from casual suede to spruced-up satin. I would not normally suggest buying someone shoes as a gift because fit, a real problem for me, can be an issue. Birdies, however, honestly seems to suit all kinds of women’s feet.

Birdies, $98-$165

 

COME SAIL AWAY

You don’t have to be a sailor to appreciate the color blocking and graphics on this Sea Bags beach bag, hand-stitched from old sails. It has three deep inner-pockets perfect for storing sunblock or a hairbrush, and there’s a back pocket for holding wet items. Sea Bags has been recycling old sails and fashioning them into accessories on the Portland, ME, waterfront since 1999. The company has been sustainable long before the term became trendy, and it estimates that it has saved some 700 tons of material from going into landfills. 

Sea Bags Vintage Beach Tote, $270.

PUZZLING PLANTS

 

Your mom probably loves having family around the table. Doing a puzzle is a great, quiet way to do that, instead of a meal or game, activities which, in my home, can be riddled with debate or useless competition. Ahem. This puzzle, with its reproduction hand-painted botanical illustrations of now-trendy succulents from the archives at Cavallini & Co., will keep everyone busy for hours. 

Cavallini & Co. Succulent Puzzle, $24.95

COFFEE, TEA OR ME?

My kids have long-known not to talk to me before my morning coffee. Maybe some other moms are the same way about their morning tea? But even morning — or afternoon — routines need to be shaken up, and there’s no better way to do that than with a coffee or tea subscription. There are tons out there to choose from. At Covey, we liked Art of Tea, a Los Angeles–based importer and wholesaler that hand-blends its organic and botanical teas, and the Austin, TX–based Atlas Coffee Club with it’s single-origin coffee, because the ingredients are delish… and the packaging is really pretty! Art of Tea also has a loose leaf tea gift set.

Art of Tea: 3-, 6-, and 12-month subscriptions starting at $74. Gift set, $84
Atlas Coffee Club: 3-, 6-, and 12-month subscriptions starting at $60

WINE COOLER AND GLASS JUST FOR MOM

Your mom can keep her white wine or rosé cool and elegant in this insulated “mom”-inscribed wine chiller and glass set from VinGlacé. What I love about the glasses in particular is that they are metal lined with glass, keeping the wine’s taste intact, compared with other portable wine glasses that are simply double-walled metal. And in honoring your mom with this gift, you are helping to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This nonprofit, important to cofounder Alyson Haas who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35 and is now cancer free, receives a portion of proceeds for every VinGlacé product sold. 

VinGlacé Wine Chiller and Glass set, $114.95

KITCHEN LIBRARY 

Chances are your mom has a bunch of cookbooks. But chances also are that she might not have books with easy-peasy or one-pan recipes that she can whip up fast and without much toil herself, or, even better hand off to a familial sous-chef. It seems that during the toughest months of Covid, where many of us were cooking at home more than before, a plethora of such quick and simple recipes blew up online. There are great cookbooks also offering similarly easy recipes. A few years ago, my foodie daughter gave my reluctant son the Simplissime cookbook by Jean-François Mallet. I’ve used it the most! Lesley Jane Seymor loves Yotam Ottolenghi’s Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook , and last year he came out with Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer. Some reviews of the book on Amazon found that his pantry ingredients were a bit obscure compared with their own, but Ottolenghi fans seem to be smitten. You could also give your mother a gift certificate for forthcoming cookbooks, including Melissa Clark’s Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals (Sept. 2022) and Ina Garten’s Go-To Dinners (Oct. 2022), which she wrote in an effort to uncomplicate meal-prep after stressing out over daily cooking during the pandemic.

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer, $19.33
Melissa Clark’s Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One Pan Meals, $26.99
Ina Garten’s Go-To Dinners, $27.99

(Prices from Amazon)

PRETTY WOMAN

Why I saved self-care for last, I don’t know. This should be up at the top of the page. Lesley Jane Seymour adores the skin care, makeup, and fragrance from Beauty Pie, created by entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore, notably the Super Healthy Skin Gentle Foamy Facial Wash and Soul Providers™ Re-Energizing Dry Oil Sugar Scrub for the body. Beauty Pie claims to work with the same cosmetic factories used by the world’s leading brands. Beauty Pie then buys the products in large quantities and avoids the retail middlemen by selling them directly to Beauty Pie’s club-like members. You can give mom the $59 annual membership package which gives access to all of Beauty Pie’s range (the company offers a $10 “day pass” which limits users to $300 worth of goods). Why not also throw in the Dry & Dehydrated Skincare Routine kit which includes four moisturizing and skin-nourishing products.

Beauty Pie annual membership, $59
Dry & Dehydrated Skincare Routine Kit, $63 (valued at $220 for similar branded items)