As Mother’s Day approaches and so does my Birthday, I thought I’d write a self-indulgent blog on my gift or wish-list, obviously I am just grateful to be alive, have family around me and be mentally OKish at the moment. BUT I think my unusual gift guide gives you a good insight to me and an alternative gift guide for mums like me who don’t want flowers (a plant or cactus maybe, but not flowers)…
All this said, I honestly feel so lucky to have my mum and children still here with me and no gift is as good as just being with them (tantrums and all!). My thoughts and prayers to those missing a loved one at this time of year.
My Mother’s Day gift list:
- Mother’s Day gift for those who like giving – Toilet Twinning: I love a good bog, but a lot of people around the world don’t have access to a toilet… In fact 2.3 billion people don’t have somewhere safe to go to the toilet.
So by donating £60 you can “twin your toilet”, which helps to fund a project in a poor community that will enable families to build a basic toilet, have access to clean water and learn about hygiene – a vital combination that saves lives.
Your bathroom then becomes the proud owner of a certificate, complete with a colour photo of its twin and GPS coordinates so you can look up your twin’s location on Google Maps. You can buy a range of Mother’s Day gifts to help other women around the world, here.`
2. Mother’s Day Gift to make memories – Experiences: I love experiences over presents, so I am looking forward to our gifted mother-daughter session at Rock Up Indoor Climbing experience at Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield (and they have locations across the country.)
Then we’ll be heading for some brunch (again another fave of mine) and maybe even some cocktails for my mum (and mocktails for me) as Caribbean restaurant and bar, Turtle Bay, have created a specialist rum cocktail designed to treat Mums this Mother’s Day – and they’re also giving all diners the chance to win rum-based goodies too.
3. Mother’s Day Gift for Tea and Coffee Lovers – A Kettle… Let’s have a cuppa and a chat! This my favourite kitchen appliance as I am a coffee fiend, a tea lover and a caffeine addict. So much so I have broken my kettle… So I’ve found these ones to add a bit of bling to my kitchen:
4. Mother’s Day Gift for busy mums – Slow Cooker: I used to have a slow cooker which was perfect for a lazy cook like me. I could just slam in all the ingredients for a stew and let it simmer away. Until my chef husband broke it (I think it was intentional as slow cookers do take up a lot of room, but I love them!).
5. Mother’s Day Gift for foodies – Hampers: Not only do I love making hampers (out of random items in my present cupboard) but I love receiving them, especially useful hampers with food and drink in.
So as a huge hint and also to flog some hampers myself for our family-run cafe, I made up these “The Hepworth Cafe” (based at The Hepworth Wakefield) hampers…
6. Mother’s Day Gift for active mums – A rucksack or backpack: I am all or nothing so it’s either a handbag or a huge rucksack to save my back for me. I have picked these two from Amazon. I’d like both!
7. Practical Mother’s Day Gifts for mums who like tech – Laptop stand and Logitech streaming webcam: Ok, so not every mum is like me and works from home, runs businesses and live vlogs on Youtube. BUT have a think of practical ideas for tech-lovers. What are they missing? Or what would they like to replace?
8. A Mother’s Day Gifts for mums with pets – Posh pet gifts: So far the only pets we have adopted are gerbils, whom I love! We adopted them with their cage and everything but not me and them would like an upgrade (seriously, pets have been so good for my mental health and keeping me company).
9 . Feel good gifts for reading and writing lovers – From “A Little Pick Me Up” to Happiness and Focus Journals:
My friend and fellow blogger Katie Portman (who is published by The Writing Hall, as will be my debut book) has written A Little Pick Me Up.
An inspirational book that will help you realise your worth and rediscover your voice. Katie shares her story, and also the tools and tricks she uses to overcome the dark emotions women tend to feel. Jealousy, regret, guilt, powerlessness – and more – Katie shows you how to cut through the negativity and hurtful self-talk us women often apply to ourselves.
My mum bought me this book to get me writing on a morning…
This also looks good…
And I got given this Happiness Journal in a goody bag (see vlog below)…
10. Mother’s Day gifts for Plant lovers – Cactus plants and succulents: I didn’t used to get the hype over indoor plants… until we took over a cafe and decided to have the insta-famous plant guru geo-fleur’s plant shop inside The Hepworth Cafe. And seeing her beautiful botanical styling and range of succulents… I was hooked! Not only that plants help to reduce echo which means they are a perfect excuse to buy for vlogging and filming at home. And they look lush!
11. Don’t buy me flowers, Alternative Mother’s Day gift ideas – DIY: I get plants, yes, but flowers… I don’t know I am still not convinced as I always manage to kill them or knock the vase over. So instead, I’d love the kids to use the flower press they were sent from My Living World to make me a card or a picture that I can frame and keep.
12. Mother’s Day gifts for Nature lovers – from walks in the countryside and at National Trust properties to bird feeders.
Growing up I was never an outdoorsy person. But as I am getting older I really do appreciate the impact that nature has on my mental and physical health.
I love visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park near me and National Trust Properties.
Bird watching always reminds me of my nan. So I was chuffed when my daughters were sent this bird feeder, to feed the birds in our urban garden.
What’s your ideal gift? If you’re on a budget check my money-saving gift list here:
https://mamamei.co.uk/mothers-day-gift-list-how-to-spoil-mum-without-breaking-the-bank/
DISCLAIMER ** There are Amazon affiliate links in this blog post. This means I earn commission if you buy something but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. **