Gifts for older mums on Mother’s Day 2020
This is our Mother’s Day gift list post for 2020. It’s still relevant, but we also have a Mother’s Day 2021 present idea post for you to take a look at too. Hope you find them useful.
I have an early memory of going to church on Mothering Sunday and receiving a small bunch of primroses to give to my mother.
Flowers continue to be a lovely present. And we’ve been looking for other ideas for Mother’s Day presents for our older mums. We were looking for fun or luxurious – plus the odd just really useful item.
Here are a few ideas to ponder. Some we’ve been given the opportunity to review, while others are just suggestions. We’ve made it clear which are which.
Personalised art
Mavern Art has an interesting approach to personal gifts. Send them a photo of family, a favourite pet, or any other subject that means a lot to your mum, and they will commission real artists to turn it into an oil painting.
Whilst the company is US-based, it does have UK customers, and says it offers free shipping within the UK.
Candles and melts
There’s a huge selection of candles for every occasion available today, from the traditional beeswax to the soya version for vegans. (Although it’s my understanding that the huge demand for soya is now damaging the planet too.)
Less well know are melts, These are wax blocks that you drop into a diffuser and warm to unleash the scent, so no wicks. You’ll find melts in shops, online and at craft fairs across the country. My colleague from the Hersham Handmade Craft Fair, Vixens Jewellery, is putting together Mother’s Day hampers that are available by mail order or at our next fair*. Find her on Facebook at Vixens Wax Melts.
Afternoon tea – home and away
My new favourite toy is a tea infuser, which gives me the chance to try out new teas without committing to a full pot. It’s ideal if you’re on your own when it’s time for tea. I’m using it to try out the Tea Discoveries Treasured Blends gift set from one of my favourite companies, Whittards. The set feature six of what the company describes as its best-loved teas, including English Breakfast, Earl Grey, English Rose, Mango and Bergamot, Piccadilly Bend and Jasmine. No fruit “teas” in this one – they’re all based on black, white and green tea.
Anyone else have memories of boiled eggs for tea? Certainly I enjoy an egg for breakfast at the weekend, but I have spent years searching for an egg cup that fits the larger eggs we tend to buy. Red Candy has a fun robin egg cup, priced at £18.50. Or you could opt for a swan, puffin, cat or turkey. (Not really a Mother’s Day gift, but I’m rather taken with the look of the toilet roll holder sheep, as another fun present on this site.)
It may feel like it’s getting a bit late to organise a tea on the day, but just about every clued-up hotel, restaurant and tea shop will be offering a special version of their afternoon teas for Mother’s Day. Quality can vary, so it’s worth checking online reviews on sites like Trip Advisor to make sure you are giving your mum an enjoyable afternoon out in a pleasant location.
Amongst those available this year is afternoon tea at the London Hilton Park Lane, designed by Chef Anthony Marshall and Bake Off: The Professionals winners Emmanuel and Sam. Served from the 9th–22nd March, the menu features sandwiches, pastries and fancies, and Hope and Glory tea. Afternoon tea is £39pp, or £49pp with Pommery Champagne. I did try their afternoon tea a few years ago, and it was a pleasant experience.
Technology
It’s hard to keep pace with technology developments, but there are some that are worth taking a look at for any of us who are getting forgetful, less mobile or hard of hearing.
We’ve started using a Bose external speaker for the television at home, which has brought a whole new quality to our listening. As someone who uses subtitles at all possible times, it’s a joy to find I can again hear and understand the commentary on the rugby internationals!
For a useful addition to radio listening we would recommend the Silver Surfer radio, which we’ve reviewed before. As well as offering good quality sound, the radio has been refined to make the controls simpler – though not perfect. There’s also an option we like to record messages from carers as reminders, and a socket to plug in an audio books. On the other hand, the radio is DAB, which has imperfect reception in my home. I’m getting a better service via Amazon’s Alexa as it works through wifi.
We’ve not seen one in action, but the handy tracker for lost items from Chipolo ONE look like a good idea. It includes features such as out-of-range alerts, reminding owners to take keys or wallets with them, and claims to have the longest battery life and loudest sound on the market. There are different versions for the keys and wallets, and it works with both iPhone and Android. Not cheap though, with prices starting at £64 for four key trackers.
Fashion and jewellery
We’ve mentioned it before in our news pages, but we wanted to bring this great endeavour to your attention again. Jana Rheinhardt has created an orangutan pendant to help raise funds for this endangered species. There are two versions of the pendant in silver and gold, with £20 from the sale going to the Ovaid charity.
If sun protection is important, you could take a look at Wallaroo sun hats, which are billed as having a UPF of 50+. Packable and adjustable, they cost from £35. I haven’t seen one in real life but there is a good range on the website.
A clothing range I haven’t heard of before is Lily Ella, which aims to make fashion for the older woman ‘more fun, brighter and exciting’ in sizes 10-26. The company offers a physical catalogue for those who prefer more traditional browsing as well as a website. Image is of the Grindon dress, priced at £79.95.
Creams and potions
There are some lovely selections of skin products beautifully packaged as gifts available.
I tested the Martha Hill Beauty Naturals herbal skincare Essential Daily Skin Care Collection – rrp £35.40 but selling on the website for £26.55 with free P&P. It’s 75ml tubes of cream cleanser, gel toner, day cream and overnight cream. I’ve tested quite a few skincare products over the years, and I would definitely put these products at the higher end for feel-good skincare without a strong fragrance. Not specifically marketed at mature skins, the range is described as very moisturising – which makes some of the products very free-flowing. One tiny downside is that all the tubes look very similar, and reading glasses may be needed to determine which is which!
Do take a look at our latest Christmas gift list, which includes ideas that would work just as well on Mothers Day.
Reviews by Kathy Lawrence, editor at When They Get Older.
