8 Stylish Last-Minute Mother's Day Gift Ideas For All Types
The 48-hour countdown to Mother's Day has started. Tick, tick, tock. If you haven't done your gifting though, there are many (mostly) quick online-enabled gifts that'll show your mom that you love her and that you know how to shop for her — she doesn't need to know that it was a bit last minute. Here's our gifting tip sheet for mothers of all personality types!
Classic
Harry & David is known for its gift baskets and holiday themed goodie "Towers," but if you didn't have time to get one delivered, here's the beauty of an e-certificate: she can choose exactly what she wants, whether it's a picnic basket, a mini rose garden, or a tower of chocolate.
Perfectly Coiffed
For the mom who likes to be close-up-ready, a twist on the Mother's Day brunch is the "Beauty Brunch" that includes a spa or salon treatment. The old-school way to set it up was to make back-to-back beautification and brunch reservations, but some places are now packaging the experience themselves. Here are some great examples: Manhattan-based beauty bar Pucker, in partnership with Magpies, Nordstrom at The Grove in Los Angeles, and Hotel Vitale in San Francisco (paired with high tea, not brunch).
Media Junkie
Moms of the iPhone generation are pretty savvy with social media, photo-uploading and the wonderful world of viral video, but that doesn't mean they won't occasionally drop their device off a countertop or into the bathtub. To help keep her phone safe, give her an Otterbox case. Stylish, practical, and super-sturdy, the Preserver Series is waterproof to 6.6 feet for up to 30 minutes and even comes in pink (Commuter series only) — plus, she can store a credit/debit card and cash in the back. Available at BestBuy, AT&T stores, and other major retailers.
Sweet Tooth
It's almost too easy to send a sweets lover into a "nom-nom" spiral with a box of gourmet cupcakes, but why doubt something that so obviously works? Crumbs Bakeshop, Sprinkles, Georgetown Cupcake and every other self-respecting bakery has Mother's Day boxes ready to go. And if you want something slightly different, Magnolia Bakery does old-fashioned icebox pies and cakes, just like your great grandmother used to make.
Sporty
Private tennis lessons are a great gift, but a private weekend getaway from Andre Agassi in Las Vegas is on a whole different level. It's available via IfOnly, a startup that provides extraordinary experiences in several leisure categories, with a "luminary" expert guiding or curating the experience. If you don't want to go with Agassi, other instructors include Brad Gilbert and Gene Mayer. It's also worth to note that a portion of every IfOnly transaction goes to charity.
Epicure
With so many Mother's Day brunches serving buffet-style to accommodate large crowds, people who prefer a fine dining experience might want to skip this tradition in favor of a less rushed, more elaborate dinner. BLT's "Mother's Day Blackboard" menu varies by location, with à la carte or prix-fixe dining available. In Las Vegas, STK wins the prize for Mother's Day celebration with the bawdiest name, the MILF Dinner. "The Mom I'd Like to Filet Mignon" is a four-course steak dinner with sides and a cocktail pairing option.
Spa
Either pampered or put through the cardio wringer, it'll be mother's choice if you spring for a gift certificate from Exhale Spa. Now in nine states and one Caribbean location, Exhale is known for its rigorous Core Fusion barre program, and on the flip side, for its holistic spa offerings (including acupuncture and vibrational therapy). Offerings vary by location and gift cards can be for packages or for a specific amount that she can spend how and where she likes.
Chic
If your mom is the fashionable type, you can't go wrong with a virtual shopping spree at industry-leading fashion flash sale site Gilt. The site always has an impressive number of designer labels (Zac Posen, Marni, Balenciaga, etcetera) mixed with not-so-famous brands that may be just as flattering. Always excellent at guiding the user experience, Gilt has its own Mother's Day Gift Guide posted and ready for Sunday shopping – with even more mom-personalities than we just covered here – so grab an E-Gift card and consider your gift hunt over.