Best Mother's Day gifts for moms who aren't into tech
When a new iPad just won't do.
By
Kaitlyn McInnis and Leah Stodart
on
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Credit: mashable photo composite
If your parents are hip and tech-savvy, shopping for them is a piece of cake. The newest version of anything Apple is an automatic win.
But some parents just aren't psyched on the whole "being connected 24/7" thing. This could be because of their age or simply due to the fact that they like the old way of doing things, damn it.
Either way, the internet's non-tech gift suggestions for Mother's Day basically dwindle down to two things: flowers or a personalized item from Etsy. While those are thoughtful gifts if they're things you know your mom likes, it'd be nice to have some options that don't feel totally cliché — or that can still simplify her life without getting an app involved. You know, like having wine delivered to her door.
But hear us out: There's also a smart way that you can gift tech to a mom who's not into tech. If she's down to ease out of the dark ages, there are some devices that can teach her the ropes without being overwhelming. For example, a Fitbit is a simpler Apple Watch alternative that's still smart and sleek, and a class from Masterclass can get her used to online streaming while also teaching her that skill she's always wanted to learn.
Here are the best Mother's Day gifts for moms who aren't into tech:
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The Fitbit Charge 4
Best For Moms Getting Fit
An Apple Watch puts iMessages, social media, and payment options right on your wrist. For some, that's overkill. Steps, heart rate, daily exercise progress, and more are displayed on Fitbit Charge 4's touchscreen without maneuvering a million apps. Spotify and GPS are built in, so she won't have to bother syncing her phone.
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Credit: HOMESICK CANDLES
A Homesick andle
Best For Nostalgic Moms
Some moms find the nostalgia in everything. Homesick Candles capture traces of a place your mom wishes she was — perhaps with you if you're far away, or with her mom if she's far away. Choose a state (Washington smells like tea, rain, and maple) or a specific area like Long Island.
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The Hyperice Hypervolt
Best For Moms Who Need A Massage
A massage appointment is a great gift. But if mom's sore shoulders or feet need more frequent attention, a percussive massager that she can use whenever will be a lifesaver. These devices beat deep into muscles to repair fibers and enhance blood flow, both of which are crucial in pain relief and workout recovery. The Hyperice Hypervolt is one of the best out there, offering three speeds and a quiet, soothing experience.
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A swiveling cheese board
Best For Appetizer Enthusiasts
If your mom's cocktail hour always involves an Instagram-worthy charcuterie spread, she'll be itching to break out this swiveling cheese board. This multi-tiered wheel houses different layers that swing outward for cheese, meat, and other finger foods to get their own spot, plus a storage drawer for knives. When happy hour is over, the trays push back into a compact triangle for easy storage.
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A wine delivery subscription
Best For Daily Wine Drinkers
Yes, wine tasting counts as a hobby. A Winc Wine subscription brings a winery tour to mom, sending her a monthly box of three or four bottles starting at $13 per vino. Winc customizes flavors based on answers from the taste quiz, which your mom can take before her first delivery. If a blend is too dry (or not dry enough), Winc will use the info to make a better suggestion the next month.
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A weighted blanket
Best For Moms Who Love To Cuddle
When Mom is alone or having trouble sleeping, a weighted blanket offers deep pressure stimulation (the comforting feeling you get from a hug) and maybe some increased serotonin, too. Layla's 15 to 25-pound blankets can provide a peaceful pause when she's feeling restless and feel more velvety than other weighted blankets that are basically glorified comforters.
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A robot mop
Best For Moms Who Clean Religiously
A robot mop is pretty tech-y, but when that means one less chore on her to-do list, we think she'll let it slide. Like Roomba, the iRobot Braava 380t uses smart sensors to navigate and can tackle multiple rooms on one charge. Choose from wet mode for tile, hardwood, or laminate or dry mode to sweep up dust, dirt, and hair. Unlike the Braava Jet m6, the 380t doesn't connect to a mobile app to schedule cleanings.
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A wall-mounted hair tool holder
Best For Moms With A Lot Of Hair Tools
Hair tools on the counter can take a bathroom from organized to chaotic real fast. This wall-mounted holder is a genius storage solution for tools that are too hard to wrap up and shove in a drawer. It can keep blow dryers, curling irons, and straighteners within reach, and even doubles as wall art.
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Self-chilling margarita glasses
Best For Mixologist Moms
After an April full of unpredictable weather (and snow, in some areas), Mother's Day often feels like the real first day of spring. Every weekend can be a beach weekend with these self-chilling margarita glasses. The freezable inserts keep drinks cold for about 30 minutes, with an insulted ring around the outside to prevent cold hands. There are also self-cooling pint, whiskey, and wine glasses available.
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A class from MasterClass
Best For Moms Who Need A New Hobby
Everyone has that one skill that they've always wanted to learn but never got around to it. Whatever mom's dream job (or hobby) is, there's probably a MasterClass for that. Each class is 20 sessions, lessons are only 10 minutes long, and the only tech required is a laptop. Show her how to get set up, and she'll be ever-so-grateful.
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A KitchenAid blender
Best For Moms Who Love Their Kitchen
Mixers aren't the only beautiful countertop appliances that KitchenAid makes. The vintage-inspired K400 blender creates a vortex to blend ingredients from nuts to kale, and has presets for crushing ice, making drinks, and smoothies. Most importantly, it comes in pastel blue and KitchenAid's iconic bright red.
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An essential oil diffuser
Best To Help Mom Chill Out
Aromatherapy utilizes the natural essence of plants and fruits to create a relaxing space. (For instance, lavender is typically used for sleep.) If nothing else, essential oils just make the room smell good. This matte stone diffuser by Vitruvi leaves the traditional rainbow LED design behind and takes on the look of a chic vase. Instead of the Bluetooth route, the Vitruvi simply uses a timer switch.
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A pretty record player
Best For Moms Who Hate The Radio
Now this is some technology that she's sure to be familiar with. Instead of bitching about the radio's Top 100 hits, mom can put her dusty Fleetwood Mac and Aretha Franklin records to use with this cute portable record player. It comes with two needles and can connect to Bluetooth if she's in the mood for Spotify jams.
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A digital picture frame
For Curating Her Own Gallery
A digital picture frame is a great way to share regular updates without relying on her to check her messages on a regular basis — especially if you have little ones in the mix. All you’ll need to do is remember to upload a new curation of photos every couple of weeks and she’ll have something to admire and show off to her friends.
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A Fire TV Stick
Best For Moms Who Watch Reruns
Even if your mom has no interest in a new 4K TV, she'd probably still appreciate access to more than cable. A Fire TV Stick can bring Netflix and other streaming services without buying a smart TV. Setup is painless: One end plugs into an HDMI on her current TV and the other end plugs into an outlet. Once the WiFi password is in, she's free to ask Alexa to play whatever she wants.
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An automatic wine opener
Best For Moms With Bottles On Deck
Parents can complain about technology all they want, but no one is going to mind never fighting with a rusty corkscrew again. Cuisinart's stainless steel wine opener just requires a downward push of the button to trigger the corkscrew. Once the cork has been pulled out, pressing the button upward pops the cork off the end. Oh, and the charging base doubles as a foil cutter.
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A custom sand bracelet
Best For Moms Who Miss Vacation
For the days that she'd give anything to have her toes in the water and a book in her hand, this one-of-a-kind beach-themed bracelet can remind her of her happy place. The sand in the charm can be customized to her favorite beach, too. Choose from over 1,000 sand banks, or send in your own sand from her favorite place. If she's not into beaded jewelry, the designer makes cuffs as well.
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A cell phone lock box
Best For Anti-cell Phone Moms
If you had a dollar for every time you heard "Get off that damn phone," you'd probably be rich. This Cell Phone Jail was designed to literally lock up a few smartphones and comes complete with a working key. It might be a gag gift at first, but you know mom will take advantage of it when people are on their phones during family time.
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An AncestryDNA kit
Best For Moms With A Big Family
Filling in that big family tree is something that's on a lot of people's bucket lists. If your mom has mentioned wanting to learn about her family's origins or long lost relatives, AncestryDNA could be a home run gift.
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A boxed wine dispenser
For The Wine-loving Mom
Wine-loving moms won’t be able to resist this surprisingly practical boxed wine dispenser. It doesn’t take up too much space on her counter, but it will make serving boxed wine a whole lot easier — and a little more sophisticated, too.
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A subscription to Craftsy
Best For Moms Who Love Arts And Crafts
Craftsy is essentially a Masterclass for people who spend their free time scouring Pinterest DIY tabs. Over 1,300 video classes teach everything from embroidery, to macaron baking, to floral arrangements for beginners. Yards of fabric, knitting kits, and more are available for purchase like an online craft store.
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A facial steamer
Best For Moms Who Need Easy Skincare
Is a weekly facial at the spa realistic? Maybe not. Does that mean the only alternative is a sheet mask? Hell no. This home facial steamer by Dr. Dennis Gross feels professional, but is super easy to use. Plus, any mom will appreciate a 10-minute dose of personal time amid a hectic schedule.
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A silk pillowcase
Best For Making Mom Feel Like Royalty
Your mom is a queen and deserves to feel pampered even while she's sleeping. The iconic Slip pillowcases are 100% pure silk, which is often recommended by dermatologists and hairdressers for its breathability and softness on skin and hair.
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A wireless charging dock
For Making Sure She’s All Charged Up
Sure, she has a smartphone, but if your mom doesn’t care to be constantly connected to her tech, chances are she’s always sitting at about 10 percent charge, right? The Native Union dock wireless charger makes it easy for her to remember to put her phone on charge come evening time and actually looks quite attractive sitting on her counter.
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A pretty bottle of rosé
For Sunday Brunch
What’s tech got to do with it? If you’re planning a Sunday brunch — whether virtually or together in person — a great bottle of rosé will always be well-received. This pretty little bottle by Gérard Bertrand looks like a chiseled glass rose and happens to taste delicious as well.
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A fancy Nespresso coffee maker
For The Coffee Obsessed
There’s nothing wrong with a French press or Moka Pot but if she guzzles a lot of coffee throughout the day, she’ll warm up to a Nespresso coffee maker in a hurry. The Nespresso Vertuo Next coffee and espresso maker is a very attractive option.
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A cute set of mugs
For Catching Up Over Coffee
If she’s always warming up another cup of coffee or tea, chances are good that she’ll love these gorgeous handcrafted mugs from Fable Home. Handmade in Portugal, each mug is totally unique and organic in shape — plus, they’re microwave-friendly.
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A personal karaoke microphone
For Getting Her Karaoke On
Does Mom love to belt out her favorite tunes after a couple glasses of wine? Consider getting her a personal karaoke microphone. This little device will allow her to sing along to all the top karaoke hits and will certainly make for some unforgettable nights at home.
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A pair of touchscreen gloves
For Keeping Her Toasty
Sure, she might not be glued to her phone, but if she needs to pick up a call in a hurry, she’ll be grateful for these clever touchscreen gloves. You’d never know these were crafted to work with smartphones — they’re super stylish and will keep her hands toasty through the colder months.
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Fujifilm Instax Square
For Capturing Mother’s Day Memories
It doesn’t matter whether she’s still using her old school camera or she’s upgraded to a smartphone, a Fujifilm Instax Square is sure to be a hit come Mother’s Day. The retro camera will allow her to capture memories in a new and creative way — and she’s probably already familiar with how to insert film.
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Kindle ereader
For The Book Worm
Sure, she might not be into tech, but if she’s always got her nose in a book, a Kindle will revolutionize the way she goes about reading. Bonus points if you get her a subscription to Kindle Unlimited, which will quite literally give her access to an entire library’s worth of books from her pocket.
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SodaStream Fizzi
For The One Who Opts For Sparkling Over Still
If she’s regularly popping bottles of Perrier or San Pellegrino, a SodaStream Fizzi will certainly be well received. This popular sparkling water maker is well-loved for a reason — it makes bubbles at a fraction of the cost of the name brand bottles.
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A waterproof shower speaker
For Upgrading Her Shower Game
Singing in the shower really is one of life’s greatest joys — and a Bluetooth shower speaker makes the experience all the more fun. This waterproof speaker will allow her to sing along to all her favorite tunes without having to worry about setting up her smartphone on the counter.
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LifeBEAM Smart Hat
For The Active Mom
Has she expressed interest in a fitness tracker but not quite sure she wants to deal with the hassle of always strapping on a smart watch? Consider this activity tracking smart hat. She can throw it on when she’s going for her morning walk, playing tennis, or doing outdoor yoga and instantly have access to her vitals and calories burned.
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A handy bag light
For The Mom Who’s Always Losing Her Phone
While most of us have our phone glued to our hand at all times, Mom might throw it into the depths of her purse without much thought. This automatic handbag illuminator will make it a whole lot easier to find her phone when it’s ringing. All she has to do is give her bag a little shake and the light will turn on.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers and tests essential home tech like vacuums and TVs, plus eco-friendly hacks. Her ever-evolving experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
