Flowers. Chocolate. A gift card for a massage. A card with children’s handprints on the front to create a bouquet. A noodle necklace.
Typical Mother’s Days gifts are beautiful and timeless, and I know that I would be delighted to receive any of them. But if you are looking for ideas that might be a bit more out of the box, or serve to remind a mother that she is a special person beyond a Sunday in May, I have some ideas for you. The problem with our culture’s approach to motherhood is that we don’t treat a mother like she is; she is defined by the terms of her engagements. She’s a wife. She’s a mom. She’s a business owner. She’s an employee. She’s a homemaker. She’s the organizer.
But really, at the fundamental basis of a mother, she’s a soul.
I think it’s easy (especially for us moms!) to recognize the elements that souls need to thrive when it comes to our kids. We know how much they need time in nature, good books, rest, and working with their hands. Yet when it comes to our view of moms, we offer them second-rate amusements and accolades and ignore the deep ways that their souls need to be nourished.
So what are some gifts that can promote this kind of deep delight, that says, “You’re a great mom and we celebrate that by also seeing that you’re a person and a soul and a brain that can do and think and feel beautiful things?”
I’m so glad you asked.
Literature-
Good books are a mom’s best friend, a respite for an hour, or even just five minutes. They can inform, educate, inspire, or simply allow her to lose herself in her own “castles in the sky” for a few moments. Some of my personal recommendations are:
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson
For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (arguably better than Little Women, which she is best known for)
Phantastes by George MacDonald (a fairytale, but for adults)
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (an imaginative take on spiritual warfare, playing the part of devil’s advocate…literally!)
Lastly, a beautiful gift could be to purchase a nice notebook and set of pens or highlighters (or both!) to use as a commonplace book. A commonplace book is just a place to collect book passages, quotes, or lyrics that impress, inspire, or delight you. It doesn’t have to be neat and orderly, and it doesn’t have to fit any specific parameters; it can include whatever the author desires. I have absolutely loved adding to mine.
(my favorite pens are Sakura Micron pens, and for highlighters, I’ve been very pleased with Zebra Midliners)
Nature-
Being outside is good for the soul, and the more you pay attention to the wonders beyond your door…the way a chickadee sings, the pattern of a snail shell, the petal symmetry of wildflowers…the more you want to be surrounded by them. Some gifts that can encourage an exploration of the outdoors are:
A nature journal with drawing tools- you can buy a small sketchbook and set of colored pencils, or a watercolor journal and small watercolor set. Any little book that can be a place where nature observances…foliage, insect, bird, animal…can be sketched and documented. You don’t have to be a fantastic artist to keep a nature journal. You don’t even have to really know how to draw. A mom keeps it just for herself. It is so fun to look back on and remember past days in nature, and it’s neat to see your sketches improving with time.
A flower press
Birding binoculars
Books on birds, creatures, or plants in the area
Art-
One of the things that most pains me, as an artist, is when people approach me at a vendor event and admire my work….and say that they could never do it. Please admire my work! But don’t say that you can’t make beautiful things, too. I fully and staunchly believe that every person has the innate ability to create. The medium may differ; some work with ingredients and create recipes, some with watercolor and create paintings, some with mixed materials and create home decor. It’s not necessary to use a brush to make art, and if there is no desire for that type of work, that’s totally fine. I’m here to encourage the mom who does want to paint and just feels inadequate and intimidated by her perceived lack of ability, and I hope you’re here to rectify that, too. If you know such a mom, some good ideas are:
A sketch book (appropriate for the medium she prefers, watercolor, acrylic, or pencil)
Watercolors, acrylics, or pencils
How-do guides or books
A frame to display her work
A sketching journal with daily prompts
Thrift Gifts-
I think most moms love the idea that something made you think of them, and there is no better place to find a hidden gem than a thrift store. Not that you want to buy junk, but if you head in with an idea of your special mom’s favorite color, animal, place, or design style, sometimes you will find something absolutely perfect that can create a one-of-a-kind gift. Collect a few items, pair with some tea (I like Traditional Medicinals), a snack, and a card in a basket, and you have a beautiful and thoughtful gift. Some things you may look for are:
Pretty candlesticks or candle holders
A mug or teacup with a unique or beautiful design
Baskets that are in good condition
Pieces of art you know she’d love
Small decorations or dishes if she is a trinkety person
I hope that you can take some of these ideas and put together a sweet little present for a mom in your life, or that the lists inspire you to find other items or ways to appreciate her. These holidays can be so overtaken with commercialism and consumerism, and the expectation for gift-giving can, honestly, remove a lot of the joy from the practice. But I also fear, because I’ve done it myself, that the resistance to “empty holidays” has created an attitude of cynicism that is equally harmful. I want to live a life where celebration abounds. I want to seek out and find every opportunity to appreciate and share gifts and joy and love. But I want to do it in meaningful ways. Maybe that’s a handwritten card. Maybe it’s breakfast in bed. Maybe it’s the Norman Rockwell-esque flowers and chocolate. Maybe it’s something a bit different, like a little bag with fresh, new art supplies. Whatever it is, may you and the mom(s) special to you enjoy a day of celebration that moves beyond empty platitudes and rejoices in the soul.