Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and our team has been working overtime to curate a gift guide that will make your job of selecting the perfect present (or perhaps just dropping hints for one) a total breeze.
Instead of the usual bouquet of flowers or “#1 Mom” coffee mug, we’ve focused our efforts on personalized and custom gifts that are sure to elicit teary eyes (in a this-is-so-thoughtful kinda way) from that special mom, grandma or other motherly figure in your life.
So whether your mom is into gardening or gadgets, these unique gifts are centered around the one thing every mom has in common: a love for their children and family.
One word of warning: have the tissue box handy come opening time.
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PIN for when a gift giving occasion arises (these also make great birthday and holiday gifts!)
JEWELRY
I’m sure you’ve heard “you can’t go wrong with jewelry” before, but we beg to differ (ahem, the chunky choker necklace one of our will-remain-nameless husbands got us last year stands as proof). But personalized jewelry? Now that’s a different ballgame. Pick any of our favorite meaningful (and non-cheesy) pieces below and you’ll hit a homerun every single time.
Lisa Leonard
We adore the pieces from Lisa Leonard so much that we couldn’t bring ourselves to choose just one to feature. Each piece is its own little work of art – all hand cut, hammered, polished and hand stamped with your children’s names, initials, birth days, birth stones or a custom phrase.
Their best-selling Stacking Rings have an beautiful organic feel, and stacked together create a modern statement full of meaning. The Crossbar Birthstone Necklace is a classic piece that symbolizes stability and strength (that’s what mamas are all about, right?) and can be set with the birthstones of your choice. And the dainty Wild About Your Initials Necklace is perfect for those moms who don’t like a lot of razzle dazzle. The delicate charms can be customized with your loved ones’ initials, and also include a pretty freshwater pearl.
Most of Lisa’s pieces come in Sterling Silver, 10k or 14k gold or 10k rose gold. Check out her full selection to find the one that will best fit the style and personality of that special mom in your life.
Cascade Birthstone Necklace – DeLezhen
This beautiful hand-stamped Cascade Birthstone Necklace from DeLezhen is a serious showstopper. Everything is customizable from the birthstones to the initials to the metal and length of the chain, so your mom will get a one-of-a-kind piece created just for her.
And if you happen to add more to your family in the future, you can always purchase additional stones and leaves and send it back to them to rework it for no extra charge.
Fingerprint Jewelry – Caitlyn Minimalist
The dedicated team at Caitlyn Minimalist create high-quality, unique pieces with a minimalist touch. There’s nothing overwhelming in their vast line of heartfelt jewelry, yet the personal stories they embody – whether it be through fingerprints, handwriting or even your child’s special drawing – shine brightly through.
We can’t get enough of their custom Fingerprint Rings – simply send in a clear photo of your child’s fingerprint and they’ll transfer them onto a ring and even include a custom engraved message on the inside. Think Mom would prefer a necklace? They’ll place the print on this totally chic Teardrop Necklace instead.
Handwritten Cuff Bracelet – Emily J Design
These stunning thin cuff bracelets from Emily J Designs take the task of personalizing to a whole new level, engraving your actual handwritten message around the piece to be immortalized for all time. This is a clear winner if you have young kids who can write a heartfelt “I love you” or a special inside joke.
Tag Silhouette Necklace – Le Papier Studio
Mom will go ga-ga over having the likeness of her children near and dear to her heart with this elegant Tag Silhouette Necklace from Le Papier Studio. Whether you choose from the pre-made silhouettes or create custom ones based on your own photos, this charming piece will be treasured for years to come.
PERSONAL KEEPSAKES
Personalized Comic Strip – Peanut Gallery Comics
Kids say and do the silliest things, and if you’re like us, you have a handful of “wasn’t it so funny when…” stories you tell to family and friends on repeat. Now you can bring these stories back to life, with a personalized comic strip from Peanut Gallery Comics. Simply send in a few photos with your story and their team of talented comic strip writers and designers will create a custom strip from scratch. So unique!
Letters To My Mom: Write Now. Read Later. Treasure Forever.
Brace yourself for complete waterworks, because Letters To My Mom is one of the most heart-felt gifts the mom in your life will ever receive. This beautifully designed book holds 12 fold-and-mail-style letters that invite sons and daughters to write down their fondest memories, seal them up, and postdate them for the future. Each letter contains prompts to guide the writing like “I always think of you when…” or “From you I learned the importance of…”. And when the time comes, mom can pour through her child’s written love and gratitude, a priceless gift she will treasure for all of time.
RELATED: We also highly recommend Letters To Me When I Grow Up as a gift to your children – featured in our Unique Stocking Stuffers (that aren’t junk!) Gift Guide
Kid’s Drawing Art Print – Minted
Have your kids or grandkids draw an extra special picture and turn it into a magnificent piece of framed artwork. Minted will transform your munchkin’s drawing using fancy foil-pressed or letterpressed techniques to take it to Picasso level for a gift that’s sure to impress.
Personalized iPhone Case – Shutterfly
For the tech-savvy mom, personalize her own iPhone Case using your favorite family photos, custom message or monogram. Shutterfly’s 100+ designs and layouts make this customization painless, and she’ll be able to carry around her loves in a case that’s unmistakably all her own.
KITCHEN
Handmade Personalized Cutting Board – Wood Envy Dot Com
For those moms who love to spend time in the kitchen, the custom crafted cutting boards from Wood Envy Dot Com will make them smile every time they prepare a meal.
For Grandma, we suggest the sweet “Made With Love in Grandma’s Kitchen” or this one where you can add all of the grandkids names. And if you call your Grams by a different moniker – no worries, they’ll customize it to Nana, Nonna, Grammy or whatever you so choose.
And for mom, your child’s very own artwork can be laser etched into the wood of your choice (Maple, Bamboo or Cherry) making it a lovely memento to display in the kitchen when not in use.
Custom Recipe Plate – Prairie Hills Pottery
If you have a treasured recipe in your family, simply scan and send it to the genius folks at Prairie Hills Pottery and they’ll permanently fire it onto an oven-safe Pie Plate (perfect for Great Grandma Hilda’s Apple Pie), Cake Stand (for Grammy Connie’s Fruit Cake) or other ceramic piece of your choice. This makes the perfect heirloom to pass down from generation to generation.
Illustrated Family Recipe – First Pancake Studio
Alternatively, grab your siblings and pool together to order one of these incredible custom illustrated family recipes from Jessica at First Pancake Studio. Simply send her the recipe and she’ll turn it into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece using hand lettered text, personal details and whimsical illustrations. Frame the finished piece de resistance for a sob-worthy gift (and grab some extra prints to keep as your own memento).
HOME/DECOR
Personalized Blanket/Throw – Baby Heirlooms by Delia
There’s nothing better than curling up on the couch at the end of a long day mommy-ing (we know from serious experience) with a cozy blanket and a good TV show or book. And we’re beyond obsessed with these beautiful throw-size blankets: they come in a gorgeous range of muted colors, and are super soft and cuddly.
These special blankets can be monogrammed, but what really sets them apart is the custom tag which can be personalized with a heartfelt message. We get teary eyed just reading the ones here, so we can’t imagine the waterworks if we were on the receiving end.
Custom Family Portrait – The Template Guru
Immortalize your likeness forever in a darling custom family portrait from The Template Guru on Etsy. Choose as many family members as you’d like (all your Nana’s grandkids would be spectacular!), and they’ll be turned into a stunning illustration full of color and charming details that mom is certain to deem frame-worthy.
Modern Custom House Portrait – JPress Designs
The house where you raise your family holds sacred memories for any mother. That’s why we love these custom house portraits from JPress Designs as the perfect way to capture the essence of the place that means so much – but in a decidedly fun and modern way. Send a photo of your home to Susan, the designer extraordinaire behind JPress, and she’ll add plenty of whimsy and charm, plus your family name and address if desired. You can even add family pets to complete the customization.
Custom Made Serving Tray – Lake Art
If your mom has any ties to a lake, this gift will set her heart a flutter. Pick from over 4,000 different lakes (from over 10 countries and islands) and have Lake Art laser-cut its depths and the surrounding towns and roads into an exquisite handcrafted serving tray.
TO TOP IT ALL OFF
And to continue the personalized theme one step further, we’ve created the most beautiful printable Mother’s Day booklet that you and your kids can customize with colors, drawings and fun fill-in-the-blanks. There’s 2 versions – one for Mom, and another for Grandma. Take a quick peek at what’s inside:
Head over here for more details, or fill in the form below and we’ll send the easy-to-print PDF to you lickety-split!
Where should we send your printable Mother's Day Booklet?
You'll get the link to download instantly.
To complete the perfect personalized gift, how about this fantastic “MOM” wrapping paper from Minted? Talk about the cherry on top!
We hope these ideas have set off a spark to make your Mother’s Day gift the best one yet..and further cement your place as Mom’s favorite.
Which gift would you like to give or receive? Tell us your favorite in the comments below!If you’re looking for a DIY gift you can personalize – check out these incredible keychain charms with your kids’ initials and headshots. Would you believe they’re made from Shrinky Dinks?!
For the full tutorial click here
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Oh my gosh- I NEED those personalized rings! I LOVE them! I’ve seen kids birthstones and such but nothing as beautiful as this. Thanks for sharing. Off to check them out.
I LOVE the kitchen items and the blankets. I mean, what do you get the woman who has everything and doesn’t love jewelry?! Now I know what I am going to do! Thank you- seriously!!!
These are all amazing! I’d love to have any of them. I think I would choose the thumbprint rings or handwritten cuff bracelet as my favorites, though. I’d love to have one of those bracelets with my son’s handwriting… once I teach him to write! Haha 🙂
I really like the rings with your children’s names on them. Can you recommend something similar that’s a necklace? Love it!
Aren’t they fabulous?! Lisa Leonard has a wide variety of personalized necklaces too – these ones have different charms that be hand-stamped with your children’s names: http://www.lisaleonard.com/jumble-of-charms-necklace-sterling-silver-prd-lpd009-si/
Love all the ideas! They sound so great <3!
http://www.fashionovermatter.com
Oh my goodness I want those personalized stacking rings! These are terrific ideas. Pinned for Mother’s Day!
Wow!!! There are so many great ideas here! I am loving the handwritten cuff bracelets and the cutting board. So much fun!
Oh my goodness, I love all these items so much! So many great ideas! I love the fingerprint rings and the customized recipe art, both such sweet, unique ideas.
Some years back my family got me an anniversary sundial that sits on the windowsill and makes rainbows in the room when the sun shines. It is a clock that uses the sun to tell time, but it also does something else that is really special. My husband had the guy who handmade it for us add a special date line for our anniversary day that the time shadow follows on our special day each year, and also a line for each of our children’s birthdays – every year so far it has worked perfectly! I don’t remember what it’s called exactly but you can probably find it with a search. I think it has got to be one of the best gifts I ever heard of because it does something special every year for our anniversary, and also celebrates the birth of each of our children…plus the colorful rainbows in our kitchen can really brighten up the day!
Lots of fun ideas!
I especially love Handwritten Cuff Bracelet – Emily J Design. You’re right; they’re timeless gifts that will always be treasured.
xo, Darlene 🙂
Love the ideas here for Moms!
For some more ideas, we have a great collection of engraved wood Mothers Day Cards she will cherish forever:
https://ohmylaser.com/collections/mothers-day