At the Strategist UK, we think we have a pretty good idea of what makes the perfect Mother’s Day gift, whether you’re buying for a mum who coordinates her local parkrun or one who prefers to watch Ted Lasso in the bath. But year after year, it can be hard to find that special sort of gift — something unique and personal or something she won’t think of buying for herself. Since we spend a lot of time learning about the personal shopping habits of those with excellent taste, we thought we would call some of them and ask for their recommendations. We asked 28 of our contacts, including chefs, curators, and stylists (as well as several Strategist contributors) to share some of their suggestions for the perfect Mother’s Day gift. And we’ve sorted them based on price so you can find something that fits your budget. If you have a specific price in mind, you can jump to any of the categories here:
Under £10 | Under £20 | Under £30 | Under £40 | Under £70 | Under £100
Under £10
Natalie Hughes (editor, Saw This and Thought of U)
These crystal stitch markers are such a thoughtful gift for a knitting or crochet enthusiast (a friend gave me a set, and I was thrilled). Personally, I think they make sweet embellishments to homemade knits — they’re too pretty to take off!
Frances Costelloe (artist)
These Scribble & Daub cards are traditionally printed and hand-painted. I love the designs and have one framed in my studio. Make your card the gift (if it’s this good)!
Lauren Grant (founder, SARK)
Old Spike coffee is round the corner from SARK HQ, and its coffee is the best! A dream Mother’s Day gift would be one of the brand’s fancy coffee subscriptions. As a social enterprise, its primary mission is to help reduce homelessness through training and employment in the coffee industry, including an eight-week course that provides mental-health support, financial assistance, housing, and work-readiness training.
Frances Costelloe (artist)
I always love to browse and shop at the iconic Liberty London. The buyer Bryony Sheridan is a pioneer of great taste. I love everything HAY does, and this cute tin would be a happy addition to my kitchen — I am in need of something for my Earl Grey. I think my mum would also love it if my kids don’t get the hint from me.
Nathan Ma (Strategist contributor)
Oliva von Halle (founder, Olivia von Halle)
Under £20
Catrin Jones (chief curator, V&A Wedgwood Collection)
These delicate yet punchy bitters have become a staple for me as well as a lovely gift. The flavours work equally well as a nonalcoholic spritz (especially with citrus) and in a GnT, going beyond the classic Angostura flavour to offer something new.
Laura von Behr (founder, Laura von Behr Vintage)
Colleen Bulfin (editor, Saw This and Thought of U)
I love the idea of giving a beautiful piece of art for Mother’s Day. This colourful print reminds me of sunset on a tropical island and is sure to make your mum smile whenever she sees it.
Lucia Massey (cultural programmer and co-founder of Doña)
This Mother’s Day, I was thinking of looking at the Hart Store for a gift for my mother. It’s the online shop of Hart Club, a gallery and community space in SE1 that champions neurodiversity in the arts. Hart Club has an ongoing focus on collaboration and forging working relationships between established artists and neurodivergent artists, helping them to get the recognition and success they deserve. It’s also a platform for new and exciting creative expressions, which are so often overlooked in more conventional spaces (which are still pretty ableist and exclusive). I like these beautiful ceramic eye brooches by Helen Ralli, Hart Club’s founder. A lot of people know Helen for her groundbreaking work with Hart Club, which she set up more than three years ago. But most people maybe don’t know that Helen is an incredibly gifted artist — one of my favourites — and creates beautiful things including gorgeous little ceramic pieces. My mum is also a potter, so I think she would appreciate the work that goes into these brooches. Helen is Greek, and I especially love that these eyes could be considered lucky charms warding off evil things and bad thoughts. Plus, some of them have crushed bits of green or brown glass, making them sort of similar to the colour of my own eyes, so I’d like to think that if my mama wore it, I would be able to watch over her in some way.
Sophie Robinson (set designer and prop stylist)
The beauty of this gift is that it can be treasured every time it is used. These candles are made in the UK with natural soy wax and are a totally customisable product from the scent to the message on the label. If that weren’t enough, they even throw in a complimentary box of gorgeous matches — what’s not to love!?
Lauren Grant (founder, SARK)
Kirsty Patterson (founder, i and i jewellery)
Officine Universelle Buly is my favourite store in Paris, but thankfully it also sells online. Mexican Tuberose is the most gorgeous smell, and just having this soap in the bathroom makes the whole room smell divine! You can also choose the painting on the box (as well as having it personalised), which I know my daughter will love doing. In fact, there is no other company that does packaging so well (you even want to keep the wrapping).
Under £30
Frankie Reddin (publicist)
A dear friend of mine introduced me to Liha when I was having a moan about useless, expensive candles. Ever since, I’ve been buying Liha’s African Moss candle for myself, my friends, and now my mum. I like quite creamy, buttery scents that have a slight musk and a hint of sweetness, and this is exactly what Liha delivers. It’s a sultry scent that envelops you, making you feel peaceful, and, of course, it has an element of sex appeal. The Liha candle burns for ages — I had mine for at least a few months before needing another. But mainly, it’s the brand and the founders themselves who have created such an elegant and original collection, which speaks to their mixed Black and British heritage, similar to my own. If you’ve got some extra pennies, definitely try the Idan Oil: cold-pressed coconut oil into which the scent of the night-blooming flower tuberose has been immersed using a traditional African process of enfleurage. This is a great gift for a new mother who can use it for allover moisture and feel fabulously sensual after a birth. I like the full-size candle, which is £32, but the travel set is under £25.
Dr. Zoé Whitley (director at Chisenhale Gallery)
I always encourage friends to support their local nonprofit art galleries (Chisenhale included, naturally), so Studio Voltaire’s House of Voltaire range of household items is always delightful. I’m particularly taken with their current stock of David Shrigley tea towels: £25 functional artworks!
Holly Willcocks (wine expert, Half Cut Market)
Claire Naudin’s Omayga is a juicy red from Burgundy, made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes. Appropriately made by a mother and imported into the country by Emile Wines, who are mothers also!
Laura von Behr (founder, Laura von Behr Vintage)
These essences are formulated to overcome emotional barriers. I love them as an antidote to busy modern life. Remedies include Calm, I Can, and Worry Not with a bespoke option, too.
Oliva von Halle (founder, Olivia von Halle)
I think the best gifts feel personal and last beyond Mother’s Day. A beautiful English rose from David Austin ticks all the boxes. Pick one with a name that is sentimental or fun and that has a fragrance you know your mother will love. I know the “Bring Me Sunshine” rose will put a smile on my mum’s face for years to come.
Cassie and Isabel Holland (co-founders HADES)
Natalya Lobanova (Strategist contributor, illustrator)
Recently, I bought my mum a heinously expensive hair mask from Leonor Greyl; she had tried it in a sample and said she loved the scent, so I thought I would treat her to something way too decadent for her ever to buy for herself. She honestly raved about the scent to me, saying she would apply the mask and then just bask in the scent of it, and as she’s a true perfume addict and aficionado, that is truly high praise. Also – she originally misread the label (English is not her first language), and used it as a body moisturiser for the first day – it actually worked shockingly well. So there’s always that. If you’re looking for something less expensive, the little travel pack makes an excellent and luxurious gift.
Under £40
Nathan Ma (Strategist contributor)
I’ve been coveting this bag for ages, ever since I saw a friend with a similar one (the Space NK Travel Bag, which is unfortunately sold out). I’m not sure if Horizn is the biggest name in the UK, but it’s reasonably popular here in Germany, and its products are good quality. I’ve had a few travel-writer friends recommend the brand’s luggage sets as well. It’s a nice gift because it’s just slightly too pricey for most people to justify spending on themselves, but it’s well sized and structured so it will last for ages. The flat, rectangular base is key — it makes it way easier to pack all those little tubes and tubs.
Catrin Jones (chief curator, V&A Wedgwood Collection)
Made in Stoke-on-Trent, Reiko Kaneko’s designs are modern, functional, and beautiful. I love the simple bamboo form of this bone-china vase, which looks great with a single flower, a bunch of tulips or daffodils, or just on its own.
Rio Viera-Newton (Strategist contributor, beauty writer)
My parents never wore sunscreen growing up, nor did they use it throughout most of their adult lives. And I do get it. The formulas they had back in the day were nowhere near as cosmetically elegant as today’s — they were chalky, pasty, and left a terrible white cast, so it’s no wonder they weren’t keen to put it on every morning. But of course, SPF is not only one of the very best anti-aging products on the market (it protects skin against photo-aging, which causes wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and loss of elasticity); it’s also incredibly important for protecting the skin against harsh and dangerous UV rays. So I often use Mother’s Day as an opportunity to gift my mom a really excellent sunscreen, something she’ll actually want to use daily. And this one from Ultra Violette has been her favorite by far. It’s incredibly hydrating, makes the skin look super-glowy and radiant, and gives an excellent broad-spectrum protection of SPF 50. This is a great product if you’re trying to get your mom to incorporate sunscreen into her daily routine.
Jenny Phung (chef, Ling Ling’s)
Lauren Grant (founder, SARK)
A bunch of flowers from Sage would make my mum smile. This independent sustainable florist round the corner from SARK HQ is debunking the traditional rules of floristry by using unexpected colours and a mix of flowers you rarely see, like marbled roses paired with shiny, bold anthuriums. There’s just something about their wild bunches, which is why they create bouquets for the likes of Gucci, Converse, and Fenty.
Under £70
Eshita Kabra (founder, By Rotation)
Sophie Robinson (set designer, prop stylist)
These socks are utterly divine, and, as their company mantra suggests, they bring “unexpected joy.” They are soft, warm, and stylish and are made with sustainable materials in Scotland. If your mum is on her feet all day, she may as well be in some seriously gorgeous socks! Better still, the company is owned and run by two lovely mums (Alice and Anna), so really, by buying these socks, you are supporting a mum-led business.
Emma Cooke (Strategist contributor, travel editor)
Last year, I got my mum a Wedgwood teacup and saucer. She loves to drink her tea out of bone-china cups (which I feel is prime mum behaviour). The Wedgwood ones are proper bone china and feel so delicate and pretty. I definitely couldn’t afford to buy a full set, but just one is a lovely gift, and you can add to the collection over time — like a tea-drinking version of getting Pandora charms, I guess. I also think the designs are just a touch more contemporary than other fine-china brands, so they don’t risk feeling a bit old ladyish.
Rio Viera-Newton (Strategist contributor, beauty writer)
Candleholders are a great gift because they quickly make even the most slapdash table setting suddenly look fancy and intentional. My mom is constantly having people over for impromptu lunches and dinners, so this set of leopard candleholders from Mrs. Alice went down as a treat (leopards are also my mom’s favorite animal). I recommend gifting them with a set of gorgeous chartreuse candles, also from Mrs. Alice.
[Editor’s note: Mrs Alice is out of stock of chartreuse candles, but we like this spring green bundle.]
Monica Heisey (Strategist contributor, author, and screenwriter)
Show me someone whose mom doesn’t love a cape scarf and you will be showing me someone whose mom has not yet tried a cape scarf. A very big scarf also works. It can be an airplane blanket, an emergency stain cover-upper, a throw on the back of a chair, or just a nice, bundled-up moment for cold weather.
Emma Cooke (Strategist contributor, travel editor)
Nearly ten years ago, I bought my mum a silver heart locket from H.Samuel. She still wears it, and it has really stood the test of time both style- and quality-wise. I think there’s a lot of trendy pieces you can get from more contemporary or fashionable brands, but they don’t tend to last long. H.Samuel, in contrast, is just so dependable, and the jewellery is super well made — and usually solid silver or gold rather than plated. I also got it engraved, which added a personal touch.
Under £100
Itunu Oke (retail editor, British GQ)
Dr. Zoé Whitley (director at Chisenhale Gallery)
My mother recently gave up wearing heels but still wants to be fashionable in flats. So these limited-edition “dress blues” Vans high-tops by one of my favourite South African designers, Sindiso Khumalo, are the perfect, unconventional Mother’s Day gift under £100.
Sonya Patel Ellis (Strategist contributor, gardening writer)
I’m dying to fill my mum’s sun-drenched conservatory with the kind of plants that wouldn’t survive a minute in our shady Victorian abode. This white bird-of-paradise plant (Strelitzia nicolai) is a pretty but laid-back statement-maker with gorgeous, shiny evergreen leaves and exotic white birdlike flowers that will hopefully appear as it matures. Adding a 22cm pale-grey concrete planter means she can position it as soon as it arrives.
Monica Heisey (Strategist contributor, author, and screenwriter)
Lucas Oakeley (senior content editor at Mob)
There’s nothing wrong with a taste for the finer things in life, and there’s nothing wrong with splashing the cash when it comes to quality. Exmoor Caviar is the UK’s only caviar farm, and the creamy, clean-tasting caviar it produces is perfect for a luxurious special-occasion gift. This particular cav is cured with Cornish sea salt — that’s what gives it such a pleasant mineral finish — and is best enjoyed slowly with a spoon. Or greedily with crisps. Whatever works for you.
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