8 (Really) Alternative Gift Ideas For Mother’s Day

Do you want some Mother’s Day gift ideas that are a whole lot more original than a bunch of flowers?

Well, strap in because we’ve got eight gift ideas that we can guarantee your mum will not be expecting. Whether that’s a good thing depends on your point of view, your mum’s sense of humour, and whether you did actually get flowers as well…

1. Photoshop your face onto a scene from your mum’s favourite TV program, print it out and frame it for her!

Combining two things that your mum loves is almost certainly going to go down well. Hopefully your photoshop skills are slightly more accomplished than mine…

2. Make your mum ‘Russian Roulette’ chocolates.

You’ve probably seen boxes of chocolates for sale where there are 12 identical chocolates, but one has a really hot chilli pepper in the middle. The thrill is hoping the chocolate you choose is not the chilli one (and enjoying the sense of relief when you watch someone else grimace at the taste of their contaminated treat).

Why not make your own version? Mum’s always appreciate it when you take the time to make something, rather than just buy a ready-made box off the internet. This has the added bonus that you can really tailor it to your mum.

Does she hate marzipan, or licorice, or mouse droppings? Make 11 delicious chocolates, and one matching one, containing her dreaded ingredient for the thrill of the risk. Well, maybe steer clear of the mouse droppings…

3. Hollow out a book to make a secret compartment.

We’ve all got something we want to keep hidden from others. Just buy a thick hardback book from a charity shop, cut out a central area like in the photo below, and give it to your mum for her own secret stash.

Obviously, make sure that when you give the book to her, there’s no nearby prying eyes. You don’t want anyone else to know that the book is more than it seems!

I keep jelly beans and Pokémon cards in mine.

4. Give your mum an ‘IOU’ voucher.

Agree that she can exchange the voucher for gardening, or painting, or toenail clipping – whatever she needs.

Let’s face it, after years of raising a child, getting an afternoon’s labour out of them barely scratches the surface, but it’s a start.

Can I suggest that you specify a time limit on the voucher (e.g. one day’s labour) so that you don’t suddenly find yourself in indentured servitude?

5. Adopt an animal at a zoo for your mum.

Lots of zoos allow you to adopt animals. You usually get a certificate, some photos, and maybe a thank you card. You don’t actually get to keep the animal, so your mum won’t need to dodge a chimpanzee flinging banana skins at her, funny as that might be.

A word to the wise though, CHOOSE CAREFULLY! If you decide to adopt a hippo for your mum and get a teacup winged at you, don’t say we didn’t warn you. People read into these things even if you don’t mean for them to.

6. Wrap up some of your dirty socks for washing

It’s common to view the past with rose-tinted spectacles, and think of simpler, happy times. Give your mum some delightful nostalgia by presenting her with your smelly socks for her to wash, just like when you were a youngster.

This has two benefits:

1. Your mum will be able to reminisce about when you were (probably) smaller and cuter.
2. Your mum will be starkly reminded of how much better her life is not having to do your dirty washing anymore.

If your mum still does your laundry then I’d keep quiet, and go with one of the other ideas listed here.

7. Give your mum some noise-cancelling headphones

Do I even really need to explain this one!?

8. Arrange an alpaca Zoom call

If you’re not able to see your mum on Mother’s Day (like many of us at the moment), then why not do a Zoom call with her, but invite some other guests?

Lots of farms are offering alpacas, camels, goats and donkeys to join in on video calls. If your mum is anything like mine, she’ll probably find speaking to an alpaca far more engaging than speaking to her child anyway!

You can find out more about alpaca Zoom calls in this Telegraph article here: Animal Zoom Calls

So, there you have it! Eight very alternative Mother’s Day gift ideas that are sure to surprise and delight in (almost) equal measure. If nothing else, you will at least be known for being more original than most people.

I would like to stress though….

DON’T FORGET THE FLOWERS!