My personal favorites –and the gifts that many busy moms I know say they value most— have more to do with personal/family time, family memories, and personalized reminders of how much our moms means to us.
Here are some of my picks of intriguing tech and non-tech products, apps and services for this Mother’s Day.
Traditional gifts:
If you want to do flowers for Mom, by all means go ahead! But how about adding a twist this year? You can order an eco-friendly bouquet from The Bouqs Flowers, which ships directly from eco-friendly farms (certified by third-party agencies such as The Rainforest Alliance) to anywhere in the U.S.
Make a spa day experience for Mom everyday. What to give the busy Moms – those who are working, managing families, networking, volunteering, doing it all? Ease the stress on her back with a massage seat cushion from HoMedics. This is a great idea for moms who must be at their desk all day, either at the office or while working from home. Products range from $99 to $199.
Gifts of Time:
For new moms – even Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge welcoming Charlotte Elizabeth Diana–Baby Tracker journals make a perfect gift to reduce stress, and help parents and child care providers stay on top of baby’s ever-changing world. Baby Tracker is available online at timetoo.com and through Amazon. The TimeToo website also offers parents additional resources, free checklists and printable templates to help organize family travel, school communication and baby records and a parenting blog.
A robot vacuum is one of my favorite ideas to give busy moms more family time and “me” time. This one is especially good for moms of/with pets! Neato Robotics, the maker of the popular Neato robot vacuums, recently surveyed American mothers to find out first hand whether any vacuum, specifically a robot vacuum, is ever a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift. Prices vary, from approximately $200 to $500.
Keeping Memories
Memory books have long been a popular gift for Mother’s Day. They have also been a labor of love to collect and assemble. Now the digital equivalents such as the ScrapPad app for iPad makes organizing these a breeze. ScrapPad is an easy photo journal creator that offers pre-set designs and customized options. And of course, you can print hard copies of the scrapbooks. (Available on the iOS platform only. $4.99)
Give-Back Gift Ideas
Mother’s Day can also be a great day to give back to moms who are struggling. Here are a few ideas:
Moms Helping Moms Foundation offers a network of partnerships with local service organizations that distribute donated baby supplies and essentials to local families in need of assistance. You can donate money, items, or, find out how you can volunteer in your local area.
Another organization, Helping Hands for Single Moms, is a community-based nonprofit assists impoverished single mom families while the moms are pursuing a college education and financial independence. This year, they’ve come up with a unique way to celebrate your mom and donate to their program, called MomApplause. Create a 30 – 60 second video of your Mother’s Day tribute, post it on social media using #MOMMApplause, and ask your friends to like and share your tribute. In the video, announce that you are donating $5 at MOMMApplause.com (about the price of buying a card and mailing it). And if you have a business, Helping Hands says you are free to add your company name to the end of the #. You can find our more here.
Bonus idea:
Finally, moms obviously care about the security of their family. Increasingly, this extends to the digital world.
Give your mom the gift of AVG’s Zen on her devices. It can help mom keep her laptop running virus-free, and protect the whole family from viruses and malware…and this includes mobile devices. With AVG Zen, you can add unlimited PC, Mac and Android devices—in any combination—and easily keep tabs on them all from a single screen. Learn more about AVG Zen here.
I hope these provide some original, fun and inspiring ideas to help you celebrate the special mom in your life.
