
Moms Appreciate Thoughtful Gifts
Moms, aunts, in-laws, and the special women in your life will be delighted to be remembered on Mother’s Day.
To help you find the perfect present, we’ve rounded up dozens of thoughtful Mother's Day gift ideas that she’s sure to love.
This in-depth list of the best gifts covers 12 different categories and more than 50 specific gift ideas – including activities, thoughtful keepsakes, comfort, senior-friendly technology, music, and household aids.
Need a quick and unique Mother's Day gift? Turn Mom's memories into a keepsake book. No writing required. Check out the easiest way to preserve Mom's stories.
12 Categories of the Best Mother's Day Gifts
1. Customized gift baskets
You know your loved one best, so why not create a custom gift basket filled with things they love?
All you need is a decorative basket (this one looks great and is easily reusable) and some great items to fill it with.
Suggestions:
- Favorite music albums and some delicious tea to sip while listening
- A cozy throw blanket and a pair of comfy slippers
- Cheese, fruit, crackers, and sparkling cider for an instant picnic
- A few favorite movies, popcorn, or hot chocolate mix
- Lotions, soaps, and other pampering items in her favorite scent
2. Gifts that promote relaxation
Gifts that help Mom relax and feel pampered are sure to be a hit.
- A massage tailored for older adults
- Plush heated electric throw blanket
- A soothing weighted blanket or lap pad is especially helpful for those with dementia. Here are a few we especially like:
- ZZZhen Weighted Blanket – 15 lbs, 48 x 72 inches
- Weighted Idea Cooling Weighted Blanket – 15 lbs, 48 x 78 inches
- Hug Bud Weighted Blanket – 12 lbs, 48 x 72 inches
- Cozy wheelchair blanket that attaches with velcro
- A small, electric bucket-style towel warmer makes bathtime extra luxurious
- This manual back and neck massager helps her soothe hard-to-reach aches
3. Send a heartfelt card or letter
Sending a card or letter with a lovely message is always a thoughtful way to show how much you care and that Mom is on your mind.
4. Send flowers
Support local flower shops by calling to learn about their Mother’s Day delivery options.
Or, use a nationwide flower delivery service:
For a fuss-free, low maintenance gift, send some beautiful faux flowers like these.
5. Technology gifts that keep her connected
These senior-friendly tech tools help Mom stay connected with family and friends and will keep her entertained.
- RAZ Memory Cell Phone – an innovative mobile phone designed with features especially for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia
- Nixplay Smart Digital Picture Frame – 10.1 inch screen, share photos instantly via email or app
- ViewClix Smart Frame – smart digital picture frames with video calling
- Amazon Echo Show 5 – Alexa voice assistant with 5.5” screen for video calls
- Amazon Echo Show 8 – Alexa voice assistant with 8″ HD screen and stereo sound for video calls
- Lively Flip2 and Jitterbug Smart4 mobile phones – easy-to-use mobile phones with special features designed for older adults
- GrandPad tablet – an easy-to-use tablet device with special features designed for seniors
6. Family memories
A wonderful gift is a service that helps them record their personal stories for generations to come.
- Remento – Preserve mom's stories the easy way. Remento turns her spoken words into a personalized keepsake book of her stories, featuring her voice.
- Lifekive – create a beautiful, customized, full-color hard-cover book with photos. To get 15% off a Lifekive subscription, use code dailycaring at checkout.
Chances are, Mom has cooked or baked something that’s a longstanding family favorite recipe. Preserving their handwritten recipe on a plate would make a lovely gift and a useful memento, too.
7. Create a custom photo album, calendar, blanket, or puzzle
With a custom photo album, you can showcase memorable photos or events so your loved one can reminisce anytime.
For someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you could even create a custom book they’ll love to read by adding simple text to photos or images they enjoy.
Make a custom photo calendar to help your loved one keep track of days, months, and appointments while seeing smiling family faces.
A custom photo blanket will keep your loved one warm and cozy with familiar faces. These photo blankets are especially nice for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
A custom photo puzzle uses a family photo or picture with special meaning to create a fun puzzle your loved one can put together again and again.
- Shutterfly – 50-piece large-size puzzle available, variety of photo layouts
- Portrait Puzzles – a variety of sizes and numbers of pieces available
8. Beautiful jigsaw puzzles
These lovely puzzles aren’t childish, and the different number of puzzle pieces means you’ll find one perfect for their ability level.
- GoodDay Puzzles has a wide selection of jigsaw puzzles of varying difficulty
- Puppy Party – a group of adorable puppies, 60 pieces
- Eiffel Magic Springbok Alzheimer’s & Dementia Jigsaw Puzzle – 36 large pieces, quaint Paris streets and a view of the Eiffel Tower
- Wild Coast Relish Dementia Jigsaw Puzzle – 63 large pieces, beautiful ocean coast scenery
- Pet Parade – 100 pieces, a group of animal friends
- Dolphins – 100 large-size pieces, lively dolphins in a relaxing tropical ocean scene
- Songbird Menagerie – 300 large piece puzzle, a variety of colorful songbirds
- Island Time – 300 large piece puzzle, tropical scene with palm trees against the sky and beach chairs and umbrellas along the sand
- Brunch in Paris – 300 large pieces, a lovely breakfast overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris
9. Artistic coloring books
These beautiful coloring books have illustrations that are nice enough to frame. They’re not childish at all and provide hours of relaxing fun.
- Flower Gardens – 23 gorgeous floral portraits
- Beautiful Birds – 31 realistic illustrations of songbirds, game birds, waterfowl, and many other birds in their natural habitats
- Tropical Paradise Scenes – 23 relaxing scenes including hibiscus blossoms, birds of paradise, flamingoes, sea turtles, and dolphins
- Backyard Nature – 42 beautiful illustrations like whitetail deer in a vegetable patch, a box turtle in a strawberry patch, and chickadees in a white pine tree
10. An easy-to-use CD player and their favorite music
An easy-to-use, simple CD player will let her play her favorite tunes anytime. This one even plays cassette tapes.
Make it easier to use by adding colored dots on essential buttons like play and stop.
Album suggestions:
- Perfect Nostalgia: Best Music of the 1920s 30s & 40s
- Judy Garland at 100: 26 Classics in Stereo!
- Greatest Songs Of The 1940's
- The Very Best of Nat King Cole
- No. 1 Hits of the 50's
- Frank Sinatra: Collected
- Simply the Best 60s Album
- The Beatles 1
- The Best of Simon & Garfunkel
- Ella Fitzgerald Platinum Collection
- Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue
11. Helpful home aids
Increase independence with some helpful aids that make everyday tasks easier.
12. Auto aids to make driving easier
Simple auto aids make driving or riding in cars easier on stiff joints and arthritic hands.
Recommended for you:
- 50+ Best Gifts for Seniors: Things You’ve Never Thought Of
- 34 Wonderful Gifts for Senior Women
- 48 Amazing Gifts for Seniors with Alzheimer’s or Dementia
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About the Author

Connie Chow
Connie was a hands-on caregiver for her grandmother for 20 years. (Grandma made it to 101 years old!) She knows how challenging, overwhelming, and all-consuming caring for an older adult can be. She also knows how important support is — especially in the form of practical solutions, valuable resources, and self-care tips.
Flowers would be great.
Flowers are a wonderful gift to give or receive!
What to give the mother that tells family the only thing she wants at anytime during the year is money.
Maybe your mother would enjoy a gift card to one of her favorite stores?