Make A Rock Portrait
MerMag Blog
We love this idea. It’s simple, sweet, fun – and it works no matter the age of the child. Simply pick up a rock – extra points if it’s one that you found on a nice walk or a day at the beach with mum – and paint your dear mama’s face upon it. If you want to make it really fancy, find a small presentation box (ideally one you have kicking around at home) and present your artwork inside it to show her just how much she rocks. Find instructions here.
White Chocolate Truffles
BBC GoodFood
Few are the mamas who would not be delighted to receive a prettily presented box of homemade truffles. These are easy and fun to make, and kids will love choosing the toppings to roll the truffles in (you can’t beat finely chopped pistachios in our book.) Plus, we love the dash of rosewater in this recipe, making for a beautifully delicate treat that also spells a jolly afternoon in the kitchen. Find the recipe here.
Lavender Pouches
Country Living
This is a sweet project for a budding seamstress. Just repurpose a handkerchief or another bit of fabric, stich into a pouch and fill with lavender: et voila, floral-scented underwear a-go-go and, more importantly, a sweet handmade present that will last and last. Find instructions here.
Strawberry Gin
BBC GoodFood
One for older (read: grown-up) children to make for their dear mothers. Pretty as a picture, tasty and ultra-easy to make, you can give it to her with instructions to drink in three weeks time, when the strawberries will have fully infused (or pre-infused and ready to drink if you’re the organised sort). Mother’s ruin it may be, but nothing that looks and tastes as lovely as this could possibly live up to the moniker. Find the recipe here.
Fruit & Veg Stamped Tea Towels
Homestead & Chill
As a rule, the gift of tea towels doesn’t hover particularly close to the top of our most wished-for items. However, these ones are so sweet that we’ll make an exception. They make the perfect rainy-day craft session too: just cut mum’s favourite fruit or veg in half, paint on the fabric paint and then stamp it onto a plain white tea towel. You could also use leaves or a stamping kit. Find instructions here.
Rosewater Hearts
Nigella
Who needs fancy Fortnum’s biscuits when you can make your own heartfelt ones? And what makes for a more fun baking session than rustling up a batch of heart-shapaed biccies with icing? We love this recipe from Nigella – there isn’t a mum in the land who wouldn’t be delighted to be served these with a cup of tea on Mother’s Day. Find the recipe here.
Flower Thumb Print Planter
5 Minutes For Mom
How we love this ultra-sweet idea: petals created from the thumb prints of little hands. Depending on how small the children are, there may be some guidance necessary to avoid smears – but even if they are unavoidable, we’d still love this pretty little planter for our kitchen herbs.
Make A Tapestry
The Fabled Thread
We love Eppie Thompson of The Fabled Thread, the ex-City worker turned embroidery entrepreneur. This is one to think ahead for and is definitely for older children with more developed fine motor skills, but we’d wager that your mum would love a gift that you have spent time lovingly creating. The Fabled Thread’s kits make it easy; choose from samplers, embroidery kits from classic tales and cushions inspired by the Just So Stories (ideal if they happened to be favourites that she used to read to you in childhood). Explore the range here and of course you could gift a tapestry for a mum to sew.
By Nancy Alsop
Updated March 2024
