Best Mother’s Day gifts 2022: Thoughtful ideas for every type of mum

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

If you won’t be with your mum this Mother’s Day but don’t want to resort to flowers again, this genius website is the answer to all your gifting dilemmas.

Don’t Buy Her Flowers will deliver an attractive, gift-wrapped box straight to your mum’s door that you can customise to suit her perfectly. The specific Mother’s Day package – available from early March – includes a drink, a candle, a Spacemask face mask, B.Skincare hand cream, and chocolate, but the exact items can all be chosen so your mum won’t end up with prosecco if she only ever drinks tea, for instance. Other boxes include ones tailored for new parents, teachers, the recently bereaved, kids and teens and even dogs.

If you want even more freedom, you can put together an entirely bespoke box packed with all sorts of loveliness including Neal’s Yard and This Works products, a book or the latest issue of a magazine, reusable coffee cups from Ecoffee, and even a voucher for Cook meal delivery service. Whatever you choose, you can be sure your mum will receive a really thoughtful present she will genuinely enjoy. Result.

Available to buy from the week commencing 7 March

Best: For mums of all ages

Rating: 8/10

If your mum’s still mooching around in a decade-old dressing gown that’s seen much better days, it’s time to give her an upgrade. This smart but luxurious robe is the perfect way to start her day, with pure-cotton velour on the outside and cotton towelling inside. It’s suitably snuggly to throw on if the weather’s chilly but not so thick it will make her sweat before she’s finished her morning cuppa.

We especially loved the oversized hood, pockets and longer length, while the slightly slimmer fit made us feel a little more presentable than in most dressing gowns. Though it’s available in white and “ash rose”, we think the go-with-anything grey shade is the best choice to keep the robe looking pristine.

Best: Clothing

Rating: 9/10

Whatever your mum’s personal style, a cashmere jumper is a no-brainer. It’s smart enough to wear for work or to slouch around in at home, but will always feel like a luxe treat that should stay looking good for years.

This 100 per cent cashmere offering from Boden is semi-fitted and super fine with ribbed stitching detail on the neck, cuffs and hem. It’s blissfully soft and goes with just about everything, making it an easy win for every matriarch. Incredibly it’s also machine washable so you’re not saddling her with a lifetime of unwanted dry-cleaning bills.

Aside from softness, it’s the range of colours that really made us swoon including a zingy green, blush pink and – our favourite – a tranquil blue made for relaxed weekends. If you really can’t decide, plump for a classic black (£115, Boden.co.uk) which we guarantee will become your mum’s new wardrobe staple. We’d like one in every colour please.

Best: Gift she doesn’t know she needs

Rating: 8/10

Shark might be better known for its excellent vacuum cleaners but now the brand has added a premium hairdryer to its range. A rival to the Dyson supersonic hair dryer, it uses similar ionised air technology for fast drying with less heat damage, and automatically adjusts the heat and airflow settings when the included diffuser or concentrator are attached.

Though we had no complaints about our current dryer, we were wowed by how much of an upgrade this one was. It cut our drying time by almost half and left our locks looking noticeably sleeker afterwards. It’s light enough to hold and not too noisy either. It’s a great choice if your mum has been using the same old hairdryer for years without a second thought as she’ll be staggered by the improvement and will save precious minutes each morning. Think of it like buying her time for an extra cuppa every day.

Best: For a celebration

Rating: 8/10

If your mum believes every situation is improved with a glass of bubbly then this trio of elegant bottles will really give her a reason to celebrate. Ridgeview has been making world-class sparkling wine in Sussex for over 25 years, when no one believed English fizz could possibly rival champagne’s better-known bubbles. Nearly three decades later, English wine is booming and Ridgeview is now renowned for its stunning award-winning sparklers.

This gift set comprises its most popular sparkling wines and will guarantee Mother’s Day is one to remember. There are two wonderful whites here to get the party started – the bloomsbury NV with its fresh citrus notes and hit of honey and the traditional blend cavendish NV with red fruit on the nose and gloriously fine bubbles. However, the Fitzrovia rosé is our real favourite, with its raspberry and redcurrant aromas and delicate salmon pink colour making it the perfect way to toast the lady of the day.

Best: Personalised gift

Rating: 9/10

This was by far the favourite present of our junior testers, who said they would be thrilled to surprise us with this on Mother’s Day. The 18in silver chain comes with three interlinked sterling silver rings that are cut, shaped and hammered by hand then stamped with any combination of names, words or dates, offering up to 18 characters each per ring. Our young testers loved the idea they could have their own names engraved for us to wear even when we weren’t with them.

This isn’t a novelty item to be worn once and hidden at the back of the jewellery box after Mother’s Day, however. The necklace is lovely quality and would look good with almost any outfit while the engraving is subtle yet meaningful. Best of all, it arrives in an attractive box with a handwritten thank you card from the craftsperson who created it, making it an all-round gorgeous gift.

Best: Beauty gift

Rating: 9/10

A big box of surprise goodies always feels decadent, no matter what’s inside. This curated Mother’s Day collection from Lookfantastic is especially inviting, arriving in a large blush pink and rose gold hat box which we couldn’t wait to dig into.

Luckily, it’s also packed with fabulous treats that any mum would enjoy using. The eleven products include a divine-smelling Neom travel candle worth £16, a full-size Perricone no:rinse pore minimising toner worth £35 and a Delilah intense buildable mascara worth £24, plus other items from Kate Somerville, Erborian, Glamglow, Philip Kingsley, Pai, Laboratory Perfumes and Floral Street.

Every box also includes either a Liz Earle hydrating cream mask or a Liz Earle instant brightening eye cream. Individually, the products would be worth a whopping £210 so you can rest assured you’re getting an outright bargain and making your mum’s day too.

Best: For the mum who has everything

Rating: 8/10

Even if we had a drawer full (we don’t), the thrill of cashmere socks never gets old. If your mum’s impartial to flowers or just plain difficult to buy for, cashmere socks are a failsafe winner. They’re perfect for slipping on at the end of a long day, wearing in bed or even when travelling for a touch of everyday luxe.

These ribbed socks from Espa are made from 100 per cent cashmere produced in Scotland. Even better, they are so baby soft, we didn’t ever want to take them off. Honestly, your mum will be delighted with these. If you’re feeling even more generous, why not give her the perfect night in by adding either the hand-poured Espa soothing candle (£55, Espaskincare.com) or the Espa connection bath and body oil (£36, Espaskincare.com), both of which will leave her feeling wonderfully relaxed.

Best: For stationery obsessives

Rating: 8/10

If you’re shopping for a stationary lover, you can’t go wrong with this set. Available from early March, the beautiful gift box from London-based stationers Martha Brook will really make her heart sing this Mother’s Day.

All wrapped up in tissue paper with a pink satin bow and personalised gift tag, it contains a personalised vegan leather refillable notepad in either dusky pink or soft teal, a pink and gold speckled trinket dish, gold hexagonal pen, Bare Bones chocolate bar and a range of gold-embossed Mother’s Day cards to choose from.

If you’d rather stick to stationery, choose the personalised vegan leather stationery gift box instead, which comes with the same refillable notepad, a notebook and pencil case – all handmade in the UK with wonderfully soft vegan leather that really does look like the real thing. Every item can also be personalised with up to four initials of your choice so your mum can seriously up her stationery game.

Available to buy from early March

Best: For glamorous mums

Rating: 9/10

Perfect, chip-free nails always look great but not every mum has the time (or money) for regular salon visits. This ingenious kit will allow her to achieve professional-quality nails at home whenever she fancies, without spending another penny.

There’s everything she’ll need to get started in this kit including a pack of lint-free wipes, a prep and wipe solution, a gel remover, a top and base coat and four classic polish shades – a nude pink, a mauve, a reddish-pink and a dark red. A sleek black LED curing lamp is also included to cure thin layers of gel polish in just 15 seconds, with a pre-programmed timer and a magnetic removable tray for pedicures.

Mylee says that the lamp has a stonking 50,000-hour lifespan so your mum won’t need to stress about replacing the bulbs any time soon either. The instructions are easy to follow and we were really impressed with our smooth, glossy nails which stayed immaculate for a solid two weeks, making this kit a bona-fide grooming game-changer. The real bonus? You can treat your mum to even more polish colours for her birthday. It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving…

Best: Candle

Rating: 8/10

Nothing is quite as unashamedly indulgent as a high-end candle. If your mum is the type to never treat herself to something so – eye roll – frivolous, this is just the thing to really spoil her this Mother’s Day.

In a chic, simple container that would look gorgeous in any living room, it comes from British fragrance house Miller Harris and is made in the UK from a natural blend of soy and rapeseed for the perfect burn. The formula features natural rose petals from Turkey which are picked at the optimum time each year to create the candle’s heavenly scent: a clean rose with a musky undertone.

Plus, it burns for 50 hours which almost makes it a bargain. If you’re looking to go all out, add the delicate rose silence perfume (from £85, Millerharris.com) alongside the candle for the ultimate gift. Its romantic mix of mandarin, rose and sandalwood is so gorgeous, we were asked by two different people what perfume we were wearing when we had it on.

Best: Food gift

Rating: 7.5/10

It doesn’t get much better than breakfast in bed. If your poor mum had to suffer one too many trays of burnt toast and cold coffee when you were a child, it’s time to make amends.

Ibérica is already known for its range of cook at home meals, deli products and wines, which all showcase the finest Spanish ingredients. The brand’s breakfast in bed wicker hamper is stuffed full of tasty treats to make the perfect Mother’s Day morning feast – and have plenty left over too.

There’s a jamon iberico from Beher, a decent-sized chunk of semi-soft manchego cheese, soft Andalusian bread rolls known as mollettes, a jar of tomato and olive oil cream, orange blossom honey and a box of delicious Gloucester Cackleberry Farm eggs that taste a world apart from anything you’ll find in a supermarket. Of course, there’s also the option to add an all-important bottle of Cava to wash it all down too. It is Mother’s Day after all…

Best: For busy mums

Rating: 8/10

It can’t just be us who dreads the tedious chore of deciding what to cook for the family each week, then trudging round the supermarket for the right ingredients. It may not be your average Mother’s Day present but trust us, this gift is a game-changer.

You can sign up for a flexible weekly subscription so your recipient can skip weeks or cancel whenever they like with no obligation. You could even buy one box then cancel if preferred. There are nearly always offers available for new customers to slash the cost further too. Simply choose how many people each box will feed and how many recipes it will include. Each delivery includes clear, easy-to-follow recipe cards and quality, pre-portioned ingredients.

Our generous and delicious recipes included a Thai-style beef bowl, a creamy chicken and pepper pasta bake and – our favourite – a chorizo crusted baked rigatoni with garlicky tenderstem broccoli. Most importantly, your recipient will be over the moon with not having to worry about what’s for dinner.

Best: Gift to last a lifetime

Rating: 9/10

Really stumped about what to buy but got a bit of cash to splash? A classic suits-all bag is never a bad choice and this one from Radley is a beauty. Available in grey, a deep moss, vintage blue, brown or a dark ink blue, it’s made from grained leather with a panelled design on the front, a zip-top fastening and a useful internal zip pocket. It has Radley’s distinctive Scottie dog emblem on a detachable key fob and an adjustable crossbody strap so it can be easily thrown on to keep hands free.

We particularly loved its roomy size – much bigger than most cross-body bags – so we could carry all the essentials including a bottle of water when out shopping. If your mum is the more practical type, commutes for work or always packs everything but the kitchen sink, choose the wood street 2.0 medium zip-top backpack (£229, Radley.co.uk) instead. A serious upgrade that will last a lifetime, this smart leather backpack has an internal laptop sleeve, padded shoulder straps and a zipped front pocket. She’ll wonder how she ever lived without it.

Best: Gadget

Rating: 7/10

Only you can know if this is your mum’s dream present or if she’ll think you’ve lost the plot upon opening. Beauty obsessives and gadget lovers will be over the moon to get their hands on their very own LED mask, loved by A-listers for their skin-improving wizardry.

Already used in pricey skincare clinics, LED therapy is a painless treatment that uses light energy at different wavelengths to trigger the skin’s natural healing abilities. Different coloured lights are said to have different benefits, which is what makes this particular at-home mask so clever. Unlike many other (much more expensive) versions, this mask offers three different facials in one so you can choose the treatment your skin most needs.

The red lights are anti-ageing and tackle fine lines and inflammation, the blue lights attack acne and blemishes and the yellow lights fight pigmentation and redness. Though it looks a bit odd – like a full-face visor – it’s wireless and a doddle to use in 10-minute stints, three to four times a week. It takes up to 12 weeks to deliver real results but we saw a noticeable improvement in our skin’s glow within two.

Best: Last minute gift

Rating: 7/10

Admit it, you’ve left it too late to get your mum anything haven’t you? No judgement here. She’ll be none the wiser if you load up one of these life-saving digital gift cards from Prezzee, which can be personalised with a photo, a funny video or even a voice note or a song. You can schedule it to arrive in her inbox at a certain time or print it to include in her card if you prefer.

Choose the amount to add, between £5 and £2,000 and your mum’s set for a serious shopping spree. Better still, she can choose from over 120 outlets to splash her cash including Asos, Virgin Experience Days, Pizza Express, John Lewis, Cineworld, Spotify and Uber. She can even blow the whole lot on Deliveroo if she fancies (just us?) There’s no need to spend all the money with one retailer either, making this the ideal gift for any mum who’s impossible to buy for.

Best: For stylish mums

Rating: 8/10

A box-fresh pair of white trainers never go out of style and will be happily received by any style-conscious mum, whether she lives in jeans or is never out of midi dresses.

These tennis-inspired Stan Smiths have been a fashion staple for five decades and still look as good as ever, with 30 million pairs sold worldwide since they launched.

We love this crisp all-white pair which are made of at least 50 per cent recycled materials. With plush padded tongues and metallic silver details, these shoes truly go with anything and are smart enough for almost any occasion.

If you’re feeling a little braver, there’s an impressive 38 variations to choose from so you can select the pair your mum will really love. You can even personalise some pairs with a name or number on each foot to make them truly unique.

Best: Flower delivery

Rating: 8/10

If you love treating your mum to a big bouquet, then make it a special one. Swerve the supermarket chrysanthemums and order a show-stopper from Floward for a display your mum will love to show off. The florist’s bouquets are vast and packed full of exquisite flowers without a drooping stem in sight. In fact, ours was so lavish, we could easily have split it between two vases.

This brightly coloured hand-tied happiness bouquet features spray roses, luscious cherry brandy roses, salai foliage and deep red hypericum, but there’s plenty to choose from including colourful bouquets of tulips, orchid plants or a letterbox bouquet for easy posting. On check out, you can add all sorts of extras too including chocolates, candles or even perfume to give your mum an extra surprise.

Best: For wine buffs

Rating: 8/10

Mums who love a decent glass of wine will adore this bespoke box, created especially with them in mind. The female-founded wine shop and community was borne of frustration from the fact that although 80 per cent of wine purchases are made by women, the wine list is still often handed to the man at a restaurant and they are then often asked to taste it first.

Instead, Outpour wants to focus on women’s enjoyment of wine, offering women-only tasting evenings, highlighting female wine producers and offering bespoke personal shopping for wine without pressure. You tell the team what your mum likes by phone, WhatsApp or DM and they’ll find the perfect wine for her, whether you want to send her a bottle or a box of six.

The choices are thoughtful and original and come with no-nonsense tasting notes and useful food combos. Our suggestions included an outstanding Australian sauvignon blanc to pair with fish and chips, an affordable pinot noir from Burgundy to serve with pizza and an intriguing fizzy semi-sweet that Outpour describes as “champagne’s hipster sister”.

Best: For music fans

Rating: 7/10

Hardened vinyl fans will balk but this exceptionally well-priced turntable is a great gift for music-loving mums keen to experiment with records. It’s also a thoughtful present for anyone with a box of much-loved vinyl stashed in their loft that they haven’t played since they were a teenager.

All packaged in a dinky turquoise suitcase that looks great out on display, the belt-driven turntable couldn’t be easier to operate. There’s no need to fiddle about with extra speakers or worry about fitting a cartridge as everything’s ready to go. Simply pop on a 33, 45 or 78rpm record and play. There’s even a headphone jack so your mum can plug in her smartphone and play music from that too. Of course, the sound is a little weedy compared to more expensive models, but for this price, we think it’s a really unique present.