A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Macaroni ornaments and coupons for free back massages are pretty awesome, but doesn’t the mother in your life deserve a little more?

We asked more than 800 moms what the most coveted items on their holiday wish lists were, and (after the overwhelming top answer of more sleep) we put together the best gift list out there.

Moms, just hand this list over to your partners to make sure they get the gift giving right this year!

Fun Novelty Socks

Just because you may not want to wear real pants anymore doesn’t mean you don’t want to have a little fun with your wardrobe. And when you have no more words, say it with socks! 

 

Bath Bombs

Moms rarely buy things for themselves that seem extravagant, but who doesn’t love to treat themselves? Buy her a set of 12 luxurious bath bombs and offer to watch the kids while she soaks.

 

Fancy Coffee Syrups

Moms love coffee. Period. But taking the kids to Starbucks to grab your favorite Vanilla Latte sometimes just isn’t worth it. These fancy coffee syrups bring the coffee house to her.

 

 

Coffee Mug Warmer

We mentioned moms like their coffee, right? Unfortunately, they rarely get to drink it warm, and when they do heat it up, it remains in the microwave for hours on end—or naptime, whatever comes first. This electric coffee warmer can keep Mom’s favorite mug of coffee, tea or cocoa hot when you want it.

 

Yeti Coffee Cup

Or get a mug that will keep her coffee warm for hours. She’ll thank you for the luxury of hot coffee during all those busy mornings she manages.

Roomba

Sure, a cleaning tool doesn’t sound sexy, but that may be because you’ve never had your floors vacuumed while you get to finish your coffee. No one likes to clean up pet hair and cheerios and cracker crumbs seventeen times a day. Set this robotic vacuum up once and save Mom valuable time and hassle. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

iRobot Bravaa Jet Mop

Everyone likes clean floors, but does anyone like to mop? This little gadget does the job efficiently and has a reusable pad option that’s worth the purchase. 

Family Picnic Basket

Moms love to provide for their families, but trust us on this: a night off from cooking so we can relax with our families is amazing! This deluxe, extra-large picnic basket can hold enough for dinner for four and keep it warm/cold for hours.

 

Noise-Cancelling Headphones 

Sometimes a mom just needs ten minutes of silence to recharge. Instead of making the mom in your life hide in the closet, get her some noise-cancelling headphones instead. Great for a few minutes of listening to tune or an audio book while the kids watch Paw Patrol.

 

Portable Phone Charger/External Battery

How many times do you hand your phone off to your child only for it to be returned at three percent? A portable phone charger can save the day.

 

What I Love About Mom Journal

Great gift from the kids! This little book contains fill-in-the-blank lines to describe why your mother is the best! Just complete each line and voila: you have a uniquely personal gift mom will read again and again.

Fruit Infuser Water Bottle
A busy mom has to stay hydrated, right? The Brimma Water Bottle lets you infuse drinks with mint, lemon, lime, or whatever flavor you enjoy—and comes with a leak-proof lid. And it’s shatterproof in the instance any little hands get a hold of it.

 

Empowering Jewelry
Sometimes Mom needs a little reminder of just how awesome she is. What better reminder than a bracelet with empowering words?

 

Crossbody purse
Sometimes you just don’t want to carry a diaper bag anymore—or a purse big enough to hold everyone else’s junk! RFID protected card slots ensure your privacy. Big enough to fit your lipstick, cards, money and more. Includes a carabiner clip to attach to your belt—more options to go hands-free!

 

 

Personal Security System

Everyone wants to feel safe. The Arc Personal Security System is a a panic button, it’s a GPS tracker, it’s a line to local law enforcement—just in case. *Additional service subscription required

 

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Whitney Fleming

Whitney is a mom of three teen daughters, a freelance writer, and co-partner of the site parentingteensandtweens.com You can find her on Facebook at WhitneyFlemingWrites.

The Hardest Part of Divorce Is Being Away from My Kids

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood
Woman in driver's seat

I’ve written several times about how divorce has allowed me to find myself again, and how that version is even better than the one I was before I was married. All of that is still true. I am happier than I’ve ever been. More confident and sure of myself. I understand my emotions and how to handle myself when things get tough or scary. I am more grounded and calm than I’ve ever been. Truly, I have come out on top. I’ve received comments about how happy I look, how I’m “living my best life with kids only half the...

Keep Reading

My Dad Gave Us Something Money Never Could

In: Living
Family smiling in posed photo

I was talking with my dad the other day about an upcoming Disney trip with our kids. I told him all we planned to do while we were there and how excited the kids were. He sat and listened, taking it all in. And then he said something that put a lump in my throat. “I’m so glad you’re able to give your kids the life that I couldn’t.” He went on to say he still carries some guilt–that he wishes he could have done more, taken us on trips, given us experiences he couldn’t. Hearing that broke my heart....

Keep Reading

Dear Daddy, I Wish You Could See Yourself As We Do

In: Living, Marriage
father with two young children

The side of my husband who is hardest on himself usually shows up late at night. The house is quiet, the kids are finally asleep, and the day has done what it always does—taken everything it could from both of us. That’s usually when it comes out. The voice in his head that tells him he’s not doing enough as a father. Not present enough. Not patient enough. Not good enough. He doesn’t say it lightly. He says it like someone confessing a truth he wishes wasn’t true. Like he’s already measured himself against some invisible standard of fatherhood and...

Keep Reading

Mothers and Stepmothers: Who’s on First?

In: Living
Little girl looking through fingers

The roles. The expectations. The unspoken, undefined rules. The hurt feelings no one wants to talk about. It could be a scene from an old Abbott and Costello routine: “Who’s on first?” Motherhood is rarely clear-cut. And if you’ve ever tried to navigate life alongside a stepmother—or as one—you know how quickly things can become complicated. Add a stepmother to the mix, and suddenly it’s a relay race where no one’s quite sure who’s holding the baton, or if anyone wants it. This isn’t a story about winners and losers or choosing sides. It isn’t about who is right or...

Keep Reading

Do We Really Want a ’90s Summer?

In: Living
Girl holding popsicle

The year is 2026: we’re inviting thousands of strangers to get ready with us, threatening our own deaths on a lot of different hills and, if you’re a millennial mom, determined to have a ’90s summer. Some top to-dos on the ’90s mom summer checklist? Lots of outside play, limited screens, less hustle, more simplicity. Overall, evoking the “carefree” summers of the 1990s. But did anyone ever ask the real ‘90s moms if summers back then were all we’re cracking them up to be? If my own memory serves me right, my parents talked a whole lot about summers in...

Keep Reading

To the Woman Who Was Betrayed

In: Living, Marriage
Woman looking off to the fog

He promised you a lifetime, a family, safety, and security. You carried life and brought it into this world for him. Even still, in the trenches of postpartum, he betrayed you. It was never your fault. This is something I’ve fought to tell myself every single day since the day I discovered my marriage was never meant to last. Because the truth is, betrayal is never about you; it’s about them, and the character flaws deep within they’d rather bury than face. He watched as you fought for your life after delivery while your tiny, premature newborn spent the first...

Keep Reading

5 Things I’m Learning about 50

In: Living
birthday balloons

When my dad turned 80, he—and we, by default—celebrated all year. My sister made a fantastic, larger-than-life sign of him posing in front of his friend’s antique car, with beautiful calligraphy that trumpeted, “Cheers to you, celebrating 80 years of life!” The sign welcomed his closest friends and family into a private room at a steakhouse, where we toasted his 80 years—and the grandkids toasted his steady presence in their lives. The sign moved from the swanky steakhouse to the second-floor banister in my parents’ house. When you walked in, it greeted you—a feel-good conversation starter and a reminder to...

Keep Reading

I’m Constantly Waiting for the Metaphorical Axe To Fall

In: Living
Woman worried with head in lap

I knew people died. I just didn’t think it applied to us. Mortality met me in grade two with a punch to the gut when my teacher confirmed casually that, yes, everybody dies. What do you mean, everybody dies? I frantically thought, but kept my question to myself. Up until that moment, I had quietly believed my family was exempt from that fate. I thought death was a monster that only took other people and left my family alone. They say all panic has an origin story, and mine began shortly after that realization, fueled by a disconnected phone cord...

Keep Reading

The Apology You Deserve May Never Come

In: Living
Woman standing in field wearing hat

“You have to accept that you will likely never get the apology you deserve.” When my therapist said those words, I felt everything at once-anger, resentment, heartbreak. It was as if the air had been pulled straight from my lungs. Because accepting that truth meant letting go of something I had been holding onto for a long time: the hope that one day, it would all be acknowledged. My family was deeply wronged. Not in a way that can be brushed off or easily forgotten, but in a way that cut to the core. There were lies wrapped in deception,...

Keep Reading

To the Little Girl With Pink Flowers on Her Shoes and Courage in Her Heart

In: Living
Little girl in t-ball outfit

To the little girl with pink flowers on her white shoes and lacy fold-down socks, down and ready, tee ball glove in hand, teeth marks worn into the top. The Pittsburgh Pirates hat from Uncle Dave, a sign of camaraderie. A part of something bigger than herself. A too-long, locally sponsored t-shirt, tied up with a ponytail. Jean shorts and a belt. The type of ordinary only childhood can be. When ordinary is more than enough. No one can tell in this picture that you were scared. That you didn’t feel ready. That behind that tiny-toothed grin you were holding...

Keep Reading