The Mother’s Day Gift Guide

New and updated: our 2022 Mother’s Day Gift guide

All Mom really wants for Mother’s Day is to spend time with you. Without your phone. And possibly with a grandchild.

Those things are free (diapers and college educations notwithstanding).

But bringing a gift to the festivities never hurts.

So we asked a real, live lady (Diane Vadino, Bay Area correspondent) to help us pick out some gifts that real, live ladies might like to receive on May 10th.

Something for mom. Something for your wife. And hell, maybe even something for your wife’s mom.

Tis the season.

Be the good son.

You know she’s beautiful. So while there’s no need for “color cosmetics” (and no need to guess her favorite lipstick color), she’ll find plenty to like in this collection of pampering, fancy-spa-grade treatments, balms and oils.

Rodin Olio Lusso body oil

The silky Cadillac of body oils, this mixes 11 essential oils, with jasmine at the fore (fact: it’s every mom’s favorite scent). Bonus: the bottle is as pretty as a top-notch perfume decanter.

L:A Bruket Bath Salts

Made by Swedes — people who should know something about the restorative power of the bath — L:A Bruket salts smell amazing and look great next to her tub. Just be sure she uses them and doesn’t let them get buried at the back of her vanity tray.

Chanel Resynchronizing Skincare

This super-indulgent skincare suite from Chanel is so luxe it has a different formulation for morning, night and weekend. Le Jour exfoliates and minimizes pores, La Nuit moisturizes and Le Weekend mixes rose water and glycolic acid complex for extra-soothing care. Which is all probably French to you, but trust that Ma will nod her head vigorously when you recite it to her.

La Diptyqe Les Lilas candle

La Diptyque is the candle she wanted on her trip to Paris but didn’t get because it cost too much. Get her the best of the best with the Les Lilas fragrance — white lilac, heliotrope, choisya and spearmint, a mix inspired by a garden in Normandy; it’s one of the brand’s signature scents.

Garden-loving moms are generally happy with the tools they’ve had for years — but she certainly won’t complain about a thoughtful, well-designed update on some standards. Give her one of these and a hand with the planting, and you’re set. 

Paul Loebach x3 watering can

Even moms who’ve had a favorite watering can for years should see the appeal of this Paul Loebach piece, which is made from a single piece of metal and offers two hand-hold positions: one on top for transport, one in the back for pouring. 

Sophie Conran hand trowel

This lighter, smaller hand trowel was designed by English gardener Sophie Conran specifically to fit a woman’s hand without losing any of its power. This is just one in a range of gardening tools, so add a potting scoop or hand fork — then get the whole set monogrammed. 

Leather rose gloves

“Always find the right tool for the job.” If the job is tending roses, these thick leather gloves specially made by Manhattan florist Emily Thompson are they.

The Year of Plants

Flowers are great. Flowers every month for a year are even better. Even better than that: live plants, not bouquets, so she’ll be able to replant them, inside or out, as climate and her whims dictate. 

She knows what she likes to wear and probably owns it already. So if you want to go the fashion route, think of a timeless classic she won’t spring for herself. 

Tiffany charm bracelet

Tiffany charms are just the right mix of streamlined luxury and sweet nostalgia — start with the rose-gold diamond heart, and you’re good. 

Carine Gilson silk-satin robe

Moms (especially the mom of your kids, if that’s a thing you have) may not uniformly love anything except their offspring. But we’d wager a sizable portion will be happy with this upgrade: a silk-satin floor-length wowzer from Carine Gilson. 

Givenchy Obsedia bag

It’s just quirkly enough to impress her friends. A removable shoulder strap means she can choose between that and the double-top handles (many women will return a bag with only the latter), while the timeless shape and top-end materials make this a classic she’ll rely on for years. 

Hermès scarf

Hermès has a scarf — and a color palette — for everybody, so just find her favorite, and you’re set. The square silk scarf is the classic choice, but mind that it comes in a variety of sizes — from 28 inches square to 55. Size appropriately to her body and use case. If you think she’ll want to tie it around her new Givenchy bag, go smaller than if she’s looking for a wrap she can wear on a plane. 

Not all moms love to cook, but the ones who do make an art of it. Here, some pro tools of the trade — as well as a few things designed to help her diversify her culinary portfolio. 

Bellocq Ultimate Year of Tea

The Bellocq team scours the world for the best undiscovered tea — this yearlong subscription includes the cream of the pot, which ranges from Majorelle Mint (a green tea with Moroccan mint) to the White Duke (an organic white tea with Sicilian bergamot).

Small chef’s knife

Show her who’s in charge with this down-sized chef’s knife made for smaller hands. Choose from a range of handle materials, including buffalo horn and olive wood. From the Italian maker Saladini, known worldwide for the quality of their tools. 

Yearlong fruit subscription

It’s just easier making fruit a staple of your diet when it shows up at your doorstep every month — which is why a fruit gift is both slightly ridiculous (it’s the Mother’s Day version of a fruitcake) but also awesome. This one includes Pink Lady apples, sugar-red grapefruit, Rainier cherries, nectarines and more — all organic.

Lee Bros. “Ultimate Southern Pantry” Southern Food of the Month club

Fried chicken, seen above, not included, but this monthly treat from The Lee Bros. will have everything else your mom needs to enjoy a gourmet(-ish) Southern food spread: artichoke relish, picked okra, peach preserves, Moon Pies and more. 

Remember all those sweets and savories that mom made you as a kid? Time to repay the favor. But merciful friends that we are, we don’t actually want you to don aprons and man the spatulas. Instead, direct your attention to the indie-food purveyors at Mouth, who have kindly curated a selection of mom-friendly food baskets — some one-offs, some recurring deliveries — ahead of the holiday.

Pickles and Chocolate

Sweet and salty: the two fundamentally pleasurable notes of food. Mouth will send Mom two jars of pickles and two sweets on the monthly for durations of three, six or nine months.

World’s Greatest Mom

A mélange of treats that includes cookie bites, pâté de fruit, caramels, crisps and blueberry jam. Ya know, mom food.

Indie-Gredients

For the culinary mom, this package includes all the ingredients she needs to lend her favorite dishes some delectable updates. Recent examples include: fennel-black pepper bacon jam, red pepper jelly and organic date syrup. You choose the length of the subscription.

Wine Every Month

A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away. That’s how that goes, right? This package will send your favorite matriarch two bottles (one red and one white) every month, primarily from small-scale, creative vinters.