Mother’s Day 2025 is coming up on May 11, 2025! If you’re looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas she actually wants, look no further. I’ve curated a list of gifts for mom that she will actually like! We’ve been tricked by retail stores into thinking that moms need more robes. Year after year, gift guide after gift guide, I see robes at the top of the list for mom. Listen to me right now – she doesn’t need or want another robe. This is a no-robe zone.

As a mom myself, I give my stamp of approval on all of these ideas. Even the free ones. Please don’t buy me a robe.

1. Family Florals – Family Birth Flower Painting

First on the list – a custom watercolor birth flower painting for mom. I paint family birth flower art with watercolor paint. Each piece comes in an 11″x14″ mat ready to frame. Since there are 2 birth flowers for each month, you can choose the flowers you would like in the painting, or you can just give me the months each of your family members were born and I will choose the flowers in the arrangement. You can also give me a color scheme to work within so you know it will match her other decor.

I paint these on a commission basis and there are only a few openings each season, so get yours while commissions are open! These can take between 2-4 weeks to complete, so please allow ample time.

2. Give Her Some Alone Time

Friend, this is literally free. I’m talking to all the husbands, spouses, and partners out there. Take the kids somewhere for the day and let your partner relax in her own home. Don’t ask her for anything. If you left something for the kids at home, buy a new one. Give your partner a break from the mental load of being a mom – planning meals, cleaning, making sure everyone has snacks, planning doctor visits and school projects, and so on. If she wants to go out, great! If she wants to stay home and watch Drag Race while eating nothing but Cheetos and Diet Coke, great! Don’t ask questions, just let her vibe.

3. Half Price Books Shopping Spree

This one is for the bookish moms. There are a couple of ways you can do it, depending on your budget, mom’s love for gamifying things, and her general anxiety level.

• Give her an anount of time, like 5 minutes, to fill her basket with all the books she can, and then buy them all for her when the time is up. Plan accordingly, because the more time you allow, the more expensive it can get.
• Give her a set budget she can spend, go pick up some coffee from a local coffee shop, and meander around the store until she uses her budget up.

I personally would prefer to have a set budget and unlimited time to browse the store with a latte, even though it would likely result in fewer books. It’s about the time spent and the experience of it (spoiler alert for gift idea #9). But that’s just me.

P.S. You could gift this to her with her birth flower bookmark to add a special, meaningful touch.

4. Let Her Sleep In

This is another free one! I know you and the kids mean well when you want to make mom breakfast in bed. It’s very sweet and I’m sure she does love the gesture, but what she would love more is sleeping in. You, as her partner, get up and take care of the kids and let her sleep for as long as she wants to. When she wakes up, then make her breakfast. And coffee, don’t forget the coffee.

P.S. If you make her breakfast, remember clean up the kitchen afterwards. I guarantee she would rather not eat breakfast at all than to have to clean up yet another mess that she didn’t create. This isn’t meant as a mean comment, I’m really trying to help you.

5. Self Care Giftcard

Self care isn’t limited to spa days, although it could be if that’s what she enjoys! Think about something she loves to do for herself but doesn’t get to do often enough. I personally love to get a facial, but I hardly ever find the time to actually go do it.

Does she like to get her nails done, go to an exercise class, or play video games? Get her a giftcard that aligns with something she likes to do for herself, then take care of the kids while she goes to the appointment, class, or whatever it is.

6. Homemade Cards from the Kids

Another free one! She will cherish homemade cards from the kids forever. When they are grown, she will look back at her box of keepsakes the kids made when they were little and love every single one of them.

Not to sound like a broken record, but make sure that if you do make cards for her that she isn’t left with a mess to clean up.

7. Nintendo Switch

If mom likes to play video games, consider getting her her own console. This gift can be pricey, but the cool thing about the Nintendo Switch is that it can be played on a tv or it can be a portable console. Maybe your kids already have one of these, but what if mom had her own Switch separate from the kids that she could play at her leisure? She could also play with the kids in their games, creating a unique bonding experience.

A bonus with the Switch is that she can take it wherever she wants – sitting on the patio, cozy on the couch, or even in the bath for a bubble bath. Just don’t drop it in the water, ha.

Some cozy games mom may like are:

• Animal Crossing
• Stardew Valley
• It Takes Two (2-player only)
• Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Minecraft
• Super Mario Odyssey – this one isn’t cozy per se, but it is a great Mario game

8. Something from her Wish List

This one takes some planning, but it will pay off in the long run! Ask her to make a wish list on My Wishlist, Amazon, or even a shared iPhone note that she can add to as she sees things she wants. Bookmark the link to the wishlist, and get her something from it.

This works best if she regularly adds things to the list, and you bookmark it so you don’t have to ask her for the link over and over. Use this list to get her a gift for Mother’s Day, Christmas, a random Tuesday, to celebrate a promotion, or whenever!

9. Gift an Experience

As we get older, we need and want less stuff. Consider gifting her an experience, like concert tickets, an escape room, a weekend trip, or a kayaking lesson. It could be anything! What does she like to do? Does she like live music or improv? Would she like to do a pottery class or spend the afternoon fishing? You know what she likes to do, so find an experience that she would enjoy, and take lots of pictures!

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