10 things to buy mum for Mother's Day

Mother's Day in the UK falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is why it moves every year and why half the country panics on the Saturday.

Flowers and chocolates are fine. These ten are the ones that get mentioned again in June.

10 Mother's Day gifts for mum

1. Breakfast or lunch cooked by you, at hers, with the washing up done afterwards. The washing up is the part that makes it a present rather than a visit.
2. A plant rather than cut flowers - it's still there in August. Pick something hard to kill and she'll mention it every time she waters it.
3. A print for the kitchen or hallway, the two rooms people decorate last. Those walls get seen by everyone who comes round, including her, every single day.
4. A canvas tote she'll use for the weekly shop instead of buying another bag for life. It's cheap, it's used weekly, and it saves her buying yet another one at the till.
5. A book by an author she already loves, not one you think she should read. Sticking to a writer she trusts is a far safer bet than a prize-winner she hasn't asked for.
6. A day out with a date already booked, so it isn't left to her to organise. Doing the arranging is the gift; the day out is what she gets to enjoy.
7. Something for the garden: seeds, bulbs, a decent pair of gloves. Garden gifts get used every spring rather than once in March.
8. A photo printed and framed, rather than sent to her phone. A print stays on the wall for years; a message thread is gone by the weekend.
9. An afternoon of the jobs she keeps putting off - the shelf, the loft, the online form. Turn up with the drill and the patience and it beats anything wrapped.
10. Our pick: the 'Ride Your Own Way' canvas tote bag, designed in house and printed in the UK. Linked below.

If you've left it late

• Order by the Wednesday to be safe - Mother's Day post is the busiest weekend of the spring.
• A card that arrives on the Monday with a genuine message beats a rushed gift on the Sunday.
• Cooking a meal costs the price of the shop and takes no delivery slot at all.
• Ring her. Every survey on this says the phone call is what she actually wanted.

For different situations

• A new mum - anything that buys her an hour alone, including you taking the baby out.
• A mum who lives far away - post the card early and book a video call with a time on it.
• A grandmother - a printed photo of the grandchildren, framed, every single time.
• A first Mother's Day without her - see our guides on grief and death anniversaries; do something small in her memory.

Don't forget the perfect card

• The gift gets opened in a minute. The card is the bit she keeps in the kitchen drawer for years.
• Write something specific - one thing she did this year that you were grateful for.
• Sign it properly. 'Love from all of us' is what a group chat says, not a daughter or son.
• Every card we make is designed in house and printed in the UK, and it posts in the same parcel as the gift.

Shop Mother's Day cards

How to write it so it lands

• Book the date, don't leave the organising to her.
• A plant beats cut flowers on every measure except the first ten minutes.
• Post the card by Wednesday - Mother's Day weekend is the busiest post of the spring.

Where to shop next

• Our pick: 'Ride Your Own Way' canvas tote bag
• Shop Mother's Day cards
• Shop all cards
• Posters and prints
• 10 things to buy mum for her birthday
• 10 things to buy mum for Christmas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What can I buy my mum for Mother's Day that isn't flowers?

A plant that lasts, a print for the kitchen, a tote she'll use weekly, a printed and framed photo, or a day out already booked. All of them are still around long after cut flowers have gone in the bin.

When is Mother's Day in the UK?

The fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter Sunday, so it moves each year and usually falls in March. It is not the same date as US Mother's Day in May.

What's a good last-minute Mother's Day gift?

Cook her a meal, print and frame a photo, or book something with a date on it. A card posted early with a proper message in it beats a panic-bought gift on the Sunday morning.