five unique gift ideas for mother’s day

[ a photo from last year of four generations of women on my mom’s side ]

Around this time of year, there are a ton of Mother’s Day gift guides floating around out there. I’ll be honest, I am not always the best gift-giver. I want to be, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to get my loved ones the ‘perfect’ gifts for every occasion. Then I get overwhelmed with that prospect and give up. Ha! But really, as I get older, I try to think of gift giving in the same way I think of gifts I would like to receive. At this point in life, my husband and I feel like we have everything we need. Of course there are always little things we want here and there, but they are just that: things. Material objects. In recent years, we have started gifting each other experiences and time spent together, in an effort to focus more on what really matters. So instead of giving you another gift guide, here is my short list of some ‘gifts’ I would absolutely be thrilled to receive for Mother’s Day this year. Maybe it will give you some ideas for your mother [or yourself!].

1 // brunch // I have always been a fan of brunch. Egg dishes, mimosas, and coffee? Yes please! Growing up, our family would do brunch about twice a year; on Easter and Mother’s Day. It was something I always looked forward to. Since my husband and I started on this whole parenting adventure ourselves, going out to an enjoyable adult brunch has become basically impossible. Our kids are still too young to appreciate how great going out for brunch is. So, we started doing it at home. My husband and I love cooking together and it is so satisfying to have a beautiful meal that you prepared yourselves with your family. Recently, we have been loving our Sun Basket delivery service, which has the option of switching out two breakfasts for one dinner per week. Hello easy built-in brunch! Speaking of which, a Sun Basket gift voucher would make a pretty amazing gift for mom too. Or you can order it for yourself and use this link unique to get $30 off your first order!

2 // massage // I love a good massage. I mean, don’t we all? And while I love a fancy eucalyptus scented spa as much as the next mama, I also really don’t care about the ambiance as much as I do about the massage itself. No matter where I end up for a massage, because of my ultra-sensitive skin, I have to bring my own oil with me. I just use plain 100% organic jojoba oil. It’s great for your skin no matter what because its free from some of the potentially harmful additives in other massage products!

3 // yoga // Yoga is a spiritual practice for me. I love doing yoga anytime I possibly can, but my favorite class of the whole week is the hot yoga class I take on most Sunday mornings. Some people complain about a crowded class, but I feed off the collective energy of all the other yogis and come out feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of my day and the upcoming week. It’s really just the best! [The above photo is from the Pilates/yoga beach session I did earlier this year with my babe and my friend Mary of M and M Pilates.]

4 // photography // If you have been following along with me for a while, it’s no secret that I love to create. Since leaving the world of garment manufacturing, styling my own little mini muse is my main gig, but I love styling anything I can get my hands on. My mother + child co. project with my friend Stacey of Dream Photography Studio is my own little way of creating art in this world. As a mom, I would love to receive the gift of one of our sessions for Mother’s Day! The photos that I styled and Stacey photographed for our little family after Diego was born are still some of my favorites to date. If you want more details [including pricing] about our premium sessions or our upcoming pop-up sessions, email us at [email protected].

5 // alone time // Being the type A personality that I am, I have already planned out exactly how I want my whole Mother’s Day to go. Naturally, my itinerary includes all of the above, ha! But one thing I always tell my husband that I miss the most since becoming a mom is alone time. Before kids, I used to spend what I would now consider an obscene amount of time doing activities on my own. Oh the luxury of cleaning a house without being interrupted 50,000 times! Target with no one hanging on me or taking up all the space in the cart – whaaat?! I think alone time is important for everyone to some degree, but I am certainly a person who craves solitude, perhaps more than most. So if I have the opportunity to spend some time alone, I will take it! And I plan to do just that for at least an hour [or as long as I can get away with it] this Mother’s Day. That is a beautiful gift indeed.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my beautiful mom friends out there! And most importantly, to my Mama and my Grammy, whose beautiful hands you see in this photo. For without them, I simply would not be. Love you!

A final note: this post does contain some affiliate links to a few things I honestly love and personally use. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own. Thanks for supporting our family by supporting this blog. xo