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A Diaper Bag She’ll Take Everywhere
Calpak Convertible Mini Diaper Backpack
A Fantastic Mug
East Fork The Mug
A Sleek Lightweight Stroller
Zoe Tour
A Lead-Free Tumbler
Owala 40-Ounce Tumbler
The category of “mom” encompasses a tremendous amount of variety. There are moms like me, who are coming out of that first-year haze of constant diaper changing and no sleep and are slowly reclaiming their hobbies and free time. There are moms with multiple kids, who are coping with the needs of teenagers and three-nagers simultaneously (those mothers are stronger than I will ever be). And finally, there are moms—possibly your mom—who might have an empty nest but are still fielding your calls about how long to cook a chicken.
This guide has something for all of them, from tools that make motherhood a little easier to things she can enjoy when the kids are finally in bed. Looking for something else to delight your favorite mom? We have guides on everything from breast pumps and strollers to the best baby gear for that first year.
Updated April 2024: We’ve added several new gifts to this guide, including the Calpak Clear Cosmetic Cases, Zoe Tour Stroller, Owala 40oz Tumbler, and Prana Heavana Hot Spell Leggings.
Adrienne So and other members of the Gear team have contributed to this guide.
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Photograph: Nena Farrell
A Diaper Bag She’ll Take Everywhere
Calpak Convertible Mini Diaper Backpack
My house has no less than four diaper bags in it at one time, but Calpak’s Convertible Mini Diaper Bag is my favorite to wear, with or without my kid in tow. It’s a nice size for my fellow petite moms who look like they’re a turtle in a standard backpack and keep losing baby snacks and socks lost at the bottom of a massive bag. It’s also big enough for 11-inch tablets and laptops and has a pass-through slot to slide it onto luggage. I’ve found myself grabbing this bag to use for almost every outing (even D&D sessions—three books and my massive bag of dice fit, no sweat) that requires something larger than a fanny pack.
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Photograph: East Fork
A Fantastic Mug
East Fork The Mug
WIRED writer Jaina Grey recommends this mug for coffee lovers, and I can’t get it out of my head. I might be a tea drinker myself, but I want it! It’s beautiful! Your mom deserves a gorgeous vessel for her caffeine of choice, too. Plus, its beauty helps distract me from the fact that my tea got cold … again. Oh well, at least the baby didn’t stick his hand in it this time.
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Photograph: Zoe
A Sleek Lightweight Stroller
Zoe Tour
If she’s a mom to a kid over a year old but is still using a bulky, everyday stroller, set her free with a lightweight travel stroller. The best one around is the Zoe Tour. It’s more affordable than most strollers, is super light to carry, and still comes with a snack tray and drink holder for kiddos and a drink holder for mom. It’s also pretty to look at and well-made for the price. It doesn’t fold quite as flat as I’d like, but it’s so much easier to store and tote around than most other strollers. It makes for a great secondary stroller to keep at Grandma’s house, too.
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Photograph: Amazon
A Lead-Free Tumbler
Owala 40-Ounce Tumbler
If you’re worried about lead in your mom’s Stanley cup, replace it with one of our favorite reusable water bottles, the Owala Tumbler. It can do everything the popular Stanley can, without any lead in its manufacturing process. It’ll keep mom’s water cold all day and fits into most cupholders, and even some stroller organizers. You can drink with the straw or use the chug spout in the lid. Owala is also constantly dropping fun, limited-edition colors, so keep an eye out for special colorways your mom will love. If she’d prefer a true reusable water bottle with no straw, Owala’s FreeSip ($38) is another fantastic, colorful option. You can even get kiddo a matching one ($23).
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Photograph: Dad Brand Apparel
A TV Fanatic’s Hat
Dad Brand Exec Producer Hat
If the deep double chime of Law & Order is constantly playing in the halls of your mom’s home, she needs this hat. I bought it for my best friend a few years ago, and she’s still wearing it everywhere—I watched three people compliment it just last week (though one of them was me). Dad Brand also makes hats for our fellow Sopranos–, Succession-, and White Lotus-loving moms. A hat that simply states Your Mom will also work if she prefers straight facts over great TV.
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Photograph: Cyrill
A Strappy Phone Case
Cyrill Classic Charm Mag Case
This phone case is both cute and useful. We love it for iPhone 14 owners like myself. The case comes with two strap lengths, crossbody and wristlet, that are easy to switch out. I’ve found the wristlet length to be perfect for quickly grabbing my phone when I’m off to chase my toddler down the hall, or to keep my phone handy when I’m wearing a pocket-free outfit. You never know when day care might call, after all. Plus, it looks nice and gets plenty of compliments, and most folks assume it’s a regular wristlet when they see it dangling from my arm.
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Photograph: Nena Farrell
Nerdy Journals
Crow & Crown D&D Character Journal
One of my most precious gifts I’ve gotten in recent years were these gorgeous gaming journals from Crow & Crown. They’re designed to replace your character sheet in Dungeons & Dragons, taking a frankly hideous piece of paper and turning it into a much easier to use (and much prettier to look at!) little journal for any role-player mom to track her character’s abilities and supplies. There’s also a dot journal ($9) if she prefers a more freeform space, and a Bag of Holding Tote ($20) that is just begging to be gifted.
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Photograph: Amazon
(Almost) Infinite Books to Read
Kindle Unlimited
It’s always really nice when folks try to guess what book I’ll read next and buy one for me. Unfortunately, they’re not always right. I can’t guarantee if a fantasy novel or gory murder mystery will be my next reading obsession.
I love when I get gift cards or subscriptions to shop for whatever book strikes my fancy. Kindle Unlimited is a great subscription for a large variety of books, or you can grab a gift card to her favorite bookstore (definitely check what kind of ebook reader she has first—you don’t want to give an Amazon gift card to a Nook user!) You may feel like it’s less personal, but you can always print out the gift certificate and put it in a cute card or even pair it with something book-themed. Personally, I’d love this gorgeous Kindle sleeve.
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Photograph: Popflex Active
A Cool-Girl Hoodie
Popflex Cloud Hoodie
You know those cool girls who wear a hoodie and it falls perfectly over a shoulder and manages to be fun and oversize without drowning them in fabric? I found the hoodie behind it: the Popflex Cloud Hoodie. It’s oversize, but the bottom of the hoodie still scrunches up to sit at my natural waist, keeping the oversize fit to my upper body instead of making me look like a walking marshmallow. The hood is massive–I feel like a Jedi when I wear it. It’s soft inside and has a nice weight to the fabric without being overheated and heavy, and it always falls off one shoulder to make me look way more calm and casual than I ever feel when trying to wrangle my child.
The Cloud Hoodie comes in hybrid sizes (e.g., M/L instead of medium or large) and I chose the small/medium for my petite, medium-size upper body and love it. It comes in a ton of colors too, so you can pick mom’s favorite specific shade of cool-toned wheat, or dress her in bubblegum pink.
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Photograph: Tivoli Audio
Portable Tunes
Tivoli Audio Pal BT Radio
What I love about Tivoli’s Pal BT radio (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is that Mom can either use it as a Bluetooth speaker for her latest playlist or just switch on the radio when she doesn’t want to overthink it. Plus, it’s cute! And portable, so she can move it around to wherever she is in the house to jam to her favorite tunes (or, if we’re talking about my mom, to listen to NPR).
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Photograph: Quince
A Silk Pillowcase
Quince Silk Mulberry Pillowcase
Help your mom care for her beautiful face by gifting her a silk pillowcase. Silk sheets boast benefits for hair and skin, and a pillowcase targets those benefits to your face and hair. The Quince pillowcases are my favorite after testing several since they’re the best weight (read more on that in our sheets guide) that you can get for the price, and have a zipper enclosure to keep your pillow inside. Plus, they come in a ton of colors, so you can make sure to match Mom’s favorite sheet set.
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Photograph: Calpak Travel
Cute, Clear Organizers
Calpak Clear Cosmetics Cases
Calpak’s clear cosmetics cases have gone viral for a reason. The cases come in three sizes: small ($75), medium ($85), and large ($95), and multiple color options for the top and edges around the clear plastic body of the cases. The small is great for a purse or a gym bag, if you needed to throw a little makeup and deodorant stick somewhere secure, or some travel-size bottles. The medium is big enough to use for everyday makeup and hair items—I have five different large hair clips, various makeup, and a full-size hair brush inside my medium case. The large is the size I’d buy for my mother, because no case is ever big enough for her.
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Photograph: Google
A Tablet That Does Double Duty
Google Pixel Tablet
Thinking mom needs an assistant around the house? Google Assistant is our favorite voice assistant, and the Pixel Tablet (7/10, WIRED Recommends) and charging dock double as a smart display and a tablet. She can place the dock somewhere central in the house to easily ask questions, see the weather, or control her smart home while the tablet is resting on the dock, and the screen has a few lovely clock options it can display. Then she’s able to easily pop it off the dock to use it as a tablet. It’s the best of many worlds.
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Photograph: Prana
Super Soft Leggings
Prana Heavana Hot Spell Leggings
I’m just your average mom who loves her leggings. Prana makes some of my favorite leggings, and the Heavana Hot Spell Leggings are my current go-to pair. They’re super soft, and the waistband stays up and fitted without pinching my squishy post-baby middle, even after wearing the leggings for hours. I have the combo color of black with a beige stripe down the side of each leg, and the side stripe is more flattering than I expected. (Plus, the heather color goes nicely with the sand color of the Popflex hoodie. Guess what I’m wearing right now.) The only thing it’s missing? Side pockets.
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Courtesy of ConcernedApe
A Soothing Video Game
Stardew Valley
Look, you don’t always have a ton of downtime as a mom, whether you’ve got a newborn who only wants to contact nap or older kids who always need to be driven somewhere. Stardew Valley is a great game to enjoy in those short time windows to relax. The music is lovely, the game is simple, and your house is always clean. While it isn’t a new game, a major update recently dropped for PC players with tons of new dialog, items, and more.
If you’re looking for something newer, Fae Farm is a similar concept, but in a magical island town. It has a longer tutorial period, which is nice to help slowly onboard you to all the abilities you have in this game, from the mechanics of running your farm to fighting off magical vines with your staff. Both these games are great on a little Nintendo Switch Lite ($195) screen, but you’ll have to wait a little while for the newest Stardew content to arrive on the Switch and other consoles.
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Photograph: Nena Farrell
A Modern Quilt
Brooklinen Cotton Matelasse Coverlet
Brooklinen’s cotton coverlet looks like a quilt thanks to its geometric print, but it’s actually a coverlet since it’s a single layer of fabric with no filling. And your mom needs it. It’s a great addition on top of existing bedding as a light extra layer, whether for her own bed or to dress up the guest room with something special. I add it on top of a comforter and flannel top sheet in the wintertime, and can’t wait to use it solo when the hot summer arrives.
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Photograph: TP-Link
A Smart Plug
TP-Link Kasa Mini Smart Plug EP10
Of all the smart devices you can buy, some of us on the team find smart plugs to be the most useful. They don’t have a camera or a microphone, and they easily integrate with dumb devices to solve actual pain points and save energy.
Is Mom always the one who ends up trudging downstairs, after she’s already gotten in bed, to unplug Christmas lights and make sure your house doesn’t burn down? Plug those lights into a smart plug and let her turn them off while lying down. (Or even better, she can ask her smart speaker to do it for her.)
