A Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Last updated on May 5th, 2021 at 10:39 am

So it’s a week before Mother’s Day and much like every year, there are far too many people who leave their shopping to the last minute, failing to get the mothers in their lives the gifts they deserve for the occasion. I’ve heard far too many stories of  flowers bought in a rush at the local grocery store or gift cards to “that place she likes”, but even if you tell yourself it’s the thought that counts, here’s the problem:

One just needs a few clicks on a computer and the other you probably got ’cause you forgot.

What moms want this Mother’s Day is to feel appreciated, because as most parents can tell you, it takes a whole lot of effort to raise kids.

And that appreciation might need a little more than the carnations sitting next to the cashier at cash #7.

So that in mind, I wanted to create a last-minute guide for everyone out there who’s struggling to find a great gift idea this Mother’s Day. It’s a little challenging, especially somewhere where the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us in our homes with a stay-at-home order in effect and in-person shopping just isn’t an option, but it’s not impossible—there are plenty of shops who offer virtual options, delivery or have plenty of great pick-up options available up to the day before Mother’s Day!

So without further ado, I’d like to welcome you to Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad’s Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Guide, full of ideas that’ll make sure to put a smile on Mom’s face when she opens it next Sunday! While some might not feel that a full week before Mother’s Day isn’t truly last-minute, that thinking’s what got us here in the first place.

Let me help you do better this year.

Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad’s Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Time

One problem that many moms often face is that they just don’t have enough time. Between caring for kids, managing the home and often juggling that with a full-time job, motherhood’s just plain exhausting, and who wouldn’t want a break from all that???

So one thing you can offer to a mom this Mother’s Day is the gift of time so she can live the way she’d like instead of the way she has to for everybody around her.

Some examples of the best ways to do this include:

• Getting her a 24-hour stay at a hotel where they don’t need to see or take care of another human the entire time. (Room service is a good addition and a jacuzzi? Definite bonus!)
• Some relief from the kids and a bit of peace and quiet, whether that means taking them out, letting Mom escape, or finding a way to banish the kids to some other part of the home so she’s relieved from parenting duty.
• A video call could always be a way to spend quality time if you haven’t spoken in a while.
• And sometimes, just a change in roles might do the trick instead, whether it means playing mom’s favourite games or doing all the things she wants to do without a gripe or complaint in the world.

But here’s the thing about time—it needs to be quality time, and that’s hard to come by in a home that’s full of distractions. And unfortunately, there are other things than just the kids that can mar a relaxing experience.

Something that can help with that is a helping hand with the household tasks.

Household Tasks

Another thing that all too many moms face is doing a disproportionate amount of work around the home, taking on a wealth of the mental load with household planning as well as the physical load with the chores. A good thing to do on Mother’s Day (and really, though life) would be to take all that weight off of their shoulders so it’s not nagging at their minds while they relax.

You could try:

• cleaning the house both leading up to Mother’s Day and on the day itself so she knows it’s taken care of and that there won’t be a mess to come back to. That could mean:
• doing the laundry, including folding it and putting it away
• doing the dishes so that both the sink and dishwasher are empty
• and if she’ll be on the road, try giving her a clean vehicle to do it with, making sure it sparkles both inside and out so it’s a pleasure to drive.

But the household chore that showed up consistently on moms’ wish lists this Mother’s Day is for someone else to handle the meals so they don’t have to toil away in the kitchen. Now, if you can cook, that’s excellent because you can start with breakfast in bed and make sure everyone’s fed for the rest of the day. However, for those of us who aren’t as culinarily-inclined, one thing that’s come out of the pandemic is the move to replicating the restaurant experience at home, especially in places where restaurants aren’t really a thing right now, like here in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

So with that in mind, let me share a number of places in the GTHA that can put a bit of deliciousness on the table this Mother’s Day!

Meal Planning

Take-Home Restaurant Kits

ChefDrop (Order by midnight, Tuesday, May 4th!)

Run by my good friends at Open Concept Hospitality, ChefDrop takes creations from some stellar chefs in the Toronto area and re-imagines them as meals you can prepare at home without needing to be an experienced chef to put them together.

They deliver every Wednesday and Friday, with a cutoff on Sunday for Wednesday delivery and Tuesday for Friday delivery, and free delivery on all orders for the rest of May. In fact, if you want to save on an order, you can use the code CASEY20 to get 20% off of your first order of $50 or more, so if you want a memorable Mother’s Day meal, ChefDrop’s worth a try!

(Delivery is available to most addresses in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. If you’re unsure of whether or not you’re in the delivery zone, simply fill out your address on the checkout page and it will let you know!)

And if you want some extra sweetener for your decision, you should note that ChefDrop is not only a local business; they’re also committed to feeding people in their communities who experience food insecurity! For every meal kit they sell, ChefDrop will provide a meal to one of the incredible local organizations they’ve partnered with to feed those in need.

But they’re not the only ones who can feed you this coming Sunday, so never fear!

More Restaurants in East Toronto

• You can get a grazing box from Graze Anatomy.
• Red Rocket Coffee has a Mom’s Day Easy Bake Package.
• You can go to Pippins for loose-leaf tea in a new mug.
• Mon K Patisserie is almost sold out for their Mother’s Day cakes, but if you can’t get one from there, Bobette and Belle has great cakes as well!
• You can get an evening gin package from Reid’s Distillery.
• Dinner from Lake Inez is always a win, but if you can’t score from there, give Chula a try with some bottled sangria on the side.
• Maple Leaf Tavern also offers a brunch kit.
• And of course, there’s always the breakfast meals and sandwiches available at Lazy Daisy’s Cafe.
• You can visit the makers and bakers at Mess Hall on their Sweet Saturdays, where you can pick up their bundles and boxes as late as Saturday for Mother’s Day. They even have several goodies available for walk-ups if you need that “one more thing” to add to your gift!
• Patisserie la Cigogne is known for its croissants.
• Get a MoM-umental Afternoon Tea from Butter and Spice.
• Mother’s Day tea from Aviator Danforth.
• A Mother’s Day Grazing Platter from The Samosarie. (Order soon! Supply is limited!)
• Freshly-baked muffins and cupcakes from PAM SWEETS.
• Special Mother’s Day chocolate boxes from Mary’s Brigadeiro!
• Mother’s Day treats (cupcakes, bake trays, and cheesecake treat boxes) from Amazing-Glazing.
• The Oh Là Là Gourmet Brunch Box from Canadian Women in Food.
• Coffee from Pilot Coffee Roasters.
• And with whatever you do, make sure to add a rose latte from Pomarosa to wash it all down!

Other food-related items you may want to consider this Mother’s Day

• Chocolate, whether by itself or covering strawberries.
• Clockwork at the Fairmont Mother’s Day Tea
• An At-Home Afternoon Tea for Mama from Cooking with Mir, PC Teas and The Envision Floral & Design Studio
• Treats from Little Sister Baking.
• Pancakes and bacon for breakfast.
• Snack plates to nosh on in the days.
• A charcuterie board for a light lunch.
• An afternoon tea of sandwiches and desserts.
• And maybe keeping a bottle of bubbly at hand for whenever she wants her glass filled, though some rosé or some top-shelf whiskey could do just as well!

But doing the stuff that’s supposed to happen anyway doesn’t necessarily scream special, though—on a day like Mother’s Day, consider going above and beyond to show how much you love them!

Let’s talk about acts of service.

Acts of Service

The good thing about Mother’s Day gifts is that they don’t always have to cost a lot of money—doing nice or special things can often do the trick, too, and as I asked around for last-minute  gift ideas for Mother’s Day, here are some acts of service that shone through:

• Letting her enjoy a bath, whether it’s a bubble bath or one with essential oils in it.
• Either getting her a massage or going online to learn some tricks so you can give one.
• Give her the TV remote for the day so she can watch what she wants.
• Do a task that she’s been putting off or is just plain annoying so she can relax.
• Or you could always get vaccinated so you can finally get that long-lost visit in.

Of course, you could always give an actual gift in the most literal sense of the word and get her something that’ll make her feel special this Mother’s Day.

Physical/Virtual Gifts

Some ideas of gifts you can give include:

Physical Gifts

The Epson FastFoto FF-680W Wireless High-speed Photo Scanning System

So this won’t be the first nor the last time that I gush about the Epson FastFoto photo and document scanner, but if you have a mom who:

• Has plenty of printed photos at home that she wants digitally archived
• But doesn’t want to hand them over because they’re really sentimental
• However, they still expect you to do it…

…well, you’re going to need a solution that doesn’t take forever and a day to do it.

Enter the Epson FastFoto Wireless High-speed Photo Scanner, which can automatically scan stacks of photos or documents as fast as a photo/page per second in shockingly high resolutions. If you’re looking to upgrade your memories for a digital age, I strongly recommend it!

More Physical Gift Ideas

• Plush spa towels
• A watch
• Flowers
  • Store-bought is an option, with bouquets coming from unlikely places like the Four Season Hotel
  • Or you can buy seeds/bulbs if she has a particularly green thumb
  • Getting a big planter or floral arrangement is also possible
• A spa day at a safe spa
• Candles
• Engraving  a ring with the kids’ names
• Getting a photo book from Google Photos or Storyworth
• New clothes if you know her style, like sunglasses, a jean jacket, stylish flip flops or a new summer dress
• Books for the bibliophiles
• Ceramic pots
• Handmade artisanal soaps or body lotion from the farmer’s market
• Noise-cancelling headphones
• Extra-strength Tylenol
• An Instant Pot if she loves to cook
• A robe from ROWE Apparel
• Preserved roses from Royal Flower (they last up to three years!)
• A Lohn gift set including a candle, tote, and tea or Mary’s Brigadeiro chocolates
• Jewellery
• bath salts
• An accessory for a sport or hobby that she’s been holding out on getting because it’s expensive, and not a “need”, but totally fangirls over!

Virtual Gifts

• A beading workshop from Anice Jewelry
• For the moms out there who like to get creative, they can try out a Dutch paint-pouring class from my friend Ana from A.naDesigns out in Winnipeg! (Make sure to use the code canadiandad to get 50% off of the class!)
• An online yoga class
• A virtual cocktail event (like the ones offered by Reid’s Distillery in Toronto)
• If she’s a theatre-lover, you can get her an annual subscription to BroadwayHD at a special Mother’s Day price!
• Or perhaps a virtual escape room experience from Looking Glass Adventures!

Subscription Boxes

• The Mama BFF Mother’s Day Self-Care Gift Box, loaded with 8 essential items Mamas LOVE! (Use the code HAPPYWIFEHAPPYLIFE for free shipping!)
• Only Fans Cocktail Subscriptions

Gifts found in East Toronto

• Custom Mother’s Day gifts from Clayton’s Customs
• Shopping at Good Intentions
• Handmade soaps and bath salts from Sage & Thistle Handmade
• Sterling silver or 14K gold filled jewelry from Gold Crane Jewelry
• Sustainable and hand-selected gifts and oddities from BADVENUS
• Gifts from Collected Joy or clothes from El Pipil or Snug
• The ageLOC® LumiSpa® Essential Kit (Normal/Combo)
• Gift boxes and other individual items at Shop Local.
• Mother’s Day bundles still available from Eastside Wick co, offering free local delivery and gift wrapping.
• Or shop at the Toronto Virtual Market, with fifty local east end businesses that have things going on for Mother’s Day

Gifts found in Winnipeg

• Also felt I should mention that if you’re in Winnipeg, my friend Ana at A.Na Designs has some earrings for sale if you’re looking for some last-minute magic!

Helpful Gifts for Others

And finally, maybe your Mother’s Day gift isn’t a gift to your mother at all, but a gift to the all-too-many women out there who are facing difficult times with domestic issues. Perhaps consider donating a portion of your gift to a charity that directly deals with women’s issues!

Examples include:

• Red Door Shelter

So the plan is this: Make this the best Mother’s Day EVER.

Basically, there are all sorts of options for what you can get this Mother’s Day—it just requires a little more thought than doing all your shopping on Mother’s Day weekend.

I hope this list can help you out, and as we get closer to Mother’s Day itself, all the mothers in your lives something worth sharing!

You know. If they’re into that.

Good luck out there, everyone!

Until the next, Casey out.