Mother's Day Gifts that This Mother Actually Wants

Fun fact: some mothers don't wear jewelry or perfume.

Some mothers don't get their hair and nails done, and the idea of a stranger massaging them makes them want to crawl out of their skin.

Some mothers hate the idea of presents altogether, and want only the gift of family time.

I am none of those mothers. I like stuff! But, like, particular stuff. Not jewelry and perfume and makeup stuff. And please don't massage me.

In case you, too, know a mother who likes stuff, but maybe not jewelry and perfume and makeup stuff, and they don't want strangers to touch them, it might be tricky figuring out what stuff will appeal to them, in the lead-up to Mother's Day when all the stuff that's being marketed to mothers (as it is in all the other days, sigh) is jewelry and perfume and makeup.

So here's the kind of stuff that I like, and if you know someone who's also into books and music and being comfy and has interesting hobbies and weird obsessions, then they might like this stuff, too!

DELICIOUS DRINKS THAT WON'T GET COLD

Matt bought this for me for my birthday last year, and it has changed my life for the better. It keeps your coffee or tea HOT FOREVER. Seriously, one time I was unpacking my backpack after a previous day's adventure, noticed that there was still a little coffee leftover in this mug, and on a whim took a sip. It was still hot!

I'm not even ashamed to tell you that I happily sat down and drank the rest of that day-old coffee right then and there. Nobody should turn down a second cup of still-hot coffee!

I'm the only person in the family who drinks coffee (currently, at least--I mean, I DO have two teenagers in the house now!), so I'd never splurge on anything more bulky or expensive than the French press that I currently own. But if someone just GAVE me a fancy coffee maker with a timer and lots of features and it makes a bunch of different kinds of coffee...

Well, you can't exactly turn down a present, now can you?

BAGS THAT HOLD ALL THE THINGS

Because I'm surely not the only person still using the same backpack that I carried in college, right? And hauling my picnic supplies in whatever reusable shopping bags that I got free from random stores?

I LONG for a backpack that doesn't have a Jansport label!

If you prefer messenger bags to backpacks, there are grown-up options for you, too! I adore my pink messenger back with a dinosaur screen-printed on it, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have a messenger back that I can carry when I'm wearing dress pants...

HOBBY SUPPLIES

I'm also surely not the only person who never buys anything that's just for me unless it's actually for someone else? Like, sewing supplies so I can make a kid some clothes, or scrapbook supplies to make the family photo album look cute?

Photography is one of those hobbies that I enjoy, but feel like I don't spend enough time learning about or practicing to really improve my skills. Whatever, though--it's still fun, and piddling away with new tools makes it even more fun, especially because new and better equipment makes it look like it's MY skills that have improved!

WARM SOCKS, CUTE SOCKS AND FUZZY SLIPPERS

Socks and slippers are DEEPLY important to me, as they should be to you, too! My feet are always cold in the winter, and unless my toes are tucked two layers deep into wool socks, or nestling inside my fuzzy dinosaur slippers, I legit worry that they're going to get frostbite and gangrene and have to be amputated.

I bought these dinosaur slippers for myself for Christmas Eve, at the same time that I bought wolf slippers for Will and monster slippers for Syd and Matt. And I LOVE them! They're soft and floofy and I swear, my toes can be absolutely numb because I'm walking around the cold house barefoot like a fool, but I put them on and within minutes they begin tingling as the circulation starts to return.

DELIGHTFUL SHEETS

I bought the sheets above technically for Matt, and technically for Valentine's Day, but really because all three of our sheet sets are old and horrible and I wanted new ones. I bought one set of flannel and one set of jersey cotton, and then when I decided that I loved them I bought a second set of each, and I am quite comfy and happy with them!

Also, in my mind the perfect Mother's Day gift would be new sheets, a bottle of wine, the promise of homemade brownies, and a brand-new book.

BOOKS AND MUSIC

I get all my media from the library, which is awesome and I'll never not use the library, but Dude, how I wish for my very own box set of the Master and Commander series, with that Navy ship scene across the spines!

For a Mother's Day years ago, Matt bought me this Harry Potter set with a scene of Hogwarts castle across the spines, and it's so beloved that I keep it here on my desk so I can look at it constantly.

Colored pencils don't exactly match my love of music, because you can't really link to the vinyl versions of current Broadway original cast recordings (go to your local indie record store and tell them that you want the OBCR of Hadestown and Six on vinyl, please!), but check out how they've given all the colors Broadway names! There are several little places that do this--I sent a care package to my best friend once that included crayons with Golden Girl-themed wrappers, and they were so baller I can't even tell you.

Whether you're in the market for Mother's Day stuff or not, I'd be so curious to know what YOUR favorite stuff is! What are your most delicious beverages? What do you most like to carry your belongings around in? What are YOUR favorite books and albums? What do you wish you had for your fun hobbies?

P.S. Check out my Craft Knife Facebook page, where I promise that I do NOT spend all my time expressing my longing for the Master and Commander box set with the Naval ship scene across the spines.

I mean, I don't NOT spend all my time expressing my longing for it...