Mother’s Day gifts ideas for senior mums
You’ve been giving your mum gifts for the last 30 or 40 years or more. So what is there that would be different and appreciated? We’ve been looking at some more unusual or personal ideas available for Mother’s Day 2016. And where we’ve tested them ourselves we’re let you know what we think.
Marie Curie support
Marie Curie Nurses give practical, hands-on care to help people with a terminal illness remain at home. They will often spend a whole shift, usually at night, with one patient and their family. You can support the work of the nurses and find a lovely gift in their daffodil jewellery selection including exclusive Swarovski crystal pins. The charity also sells Mother’s Day Cards.
Easing those pains
Noozie electric hot water bottles are rechargeable, heat controlled warmers that cut out the risk of scalding from boiling water. The bottle is a pre-filled sealed unit, which heats to 65º. That’s quite warm next to bare skin but lovely through clothing. It charges by mains charger in 10-12 minutes and stays warm as a cordless bottle for 3-6 hours. Safety has been well thought through and features strongly in the clear instructions. We’ve given the red Noozie a quick test drive and found it extremely easy to use. More than that, with its soft, strokable cover it’s a huggable comforter and the next best thing to a cat on your lap. Costs £34.95 from the website shop.
Also on the cosy theme, the mains-powered heated lap blanket from telmenow.com includes Far infrared technology, aimed at easing muscle pains. Cost is £31.99.
Food and drink
This is one for the son who gave every single woman in his world a box of Milk Tray at Christmas. Now he’ll be able to produce a special box just for mum. Cadbury Gifts Direct offers a range Personalised Milk Tray boxes that can be tailored to Mother’s Day or any other event. Just click on the Make Your Own tab. The printed box sleeve can include a greeting, message and photos front and back. We’ve received ours and it’s looking pretty good. You’ll pay extra for the printed sleeve and delivery but if you order by 3pm the box should be with you next working day.
If you’re thinking Afternoon Tea as part of your Mother’s Day treat, you can find one in a growing range of venues, from garden centres such as Dobbies to the Royal Albert Hall. And take a look at our review of the tea at the Hilton on Park Lane.
Belvoir presses are rather lovely, and for Mother’s Day the company has launched a limited edition “You’re lovely” label for its most famous elderflower version.
Bottles will be available from all major supermarkets or from www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk , from Monday 29 February while stocks last. A 75cl bottle will cost from around £2.39 upwards.
Vintage and retro
When did boomboxes become retro? We still use one for listening to the Archers at dinner time. If your mum has a stack of mix tapes, books on tape or old recordings of the children that she hasn’t been able to listen to for years, she may enjoy one of Groov-e’s retro audio products. Choose from the boombox, personal tape players and personal CD players (with optional radio), with prices range between £17 and £50 from the likes of Amazon and Tesco. We like the quality of sound on all the products and the shiny red boombox is particularly attractive. The portable devices would be difficult to listen to on the move without carry straps but are great while putting your feet up. If mum uses hearing aids she’ll need over-the-ear headphones for the personal devices. In true retro style we’re getting used to prising open battery compartments and manually finding radio stations, but you could say that’s all part of the fun!
Layer is an online marketplace with thousands of vintage pieces, such as the brass pineapple lamp, Daisy mirror, and Gold and white metal flower mirror.
A life and legacy film
This could be lovely. It’s a professionally made documentary film that creates a time capsule of your mum’s life that can be shared with friends and passed on for children and grandchildren to enjoy. You choose the content, tone, style and music when you first meet with Wildhorse Films, who promise to put mum totally at her ease and who are happy to travel to their clients across the UK. Prices start at £1,490 for a four minute film that is delivered online protected by a password and is downloadable. For further information, please visit www.wildhorsefilms.co.uk. For a sample take a look at mum Gilly at https://vimeo.com/129288157
For something completely different…
A seniors dating website has created a special offer for When They get Older readers. “If you’re over 47 and wanting to find a Mother’s Day gift for a loved one or looking to treat yourself, we’ve got the perfect deal for you! Visit SeniorSinglesNear.me – enter the code MOTHERSDAY40 before the 4th of March to save 40% and get a six month membership for £72 (Usually £120)”
Jam today and preserves tomorrow
If mum has more time on her hands and would like to try home preserving, the Ball Home Preserving Starter Kit could be a good place to start. At an RRP of £19.99 the kit includes the equipment to turn fresh produce into homemade, vacuum-sealed jams, pickles and chutneys in three steps. Meanwhile the Ball FreshTECH automatic Jam & Jelly Maker avoids time spent stirring creations in the pan. Add your ingredients to the machine and press jam or jelly. The resulting product can be frozen, preserved using a waterbath method, or eaten immediately. You’ll want to be sure this is something mum would use as its RRP is £149.99. More information and recipes from their website.
Bathtime
A few ideas to relax aching muscles and revive tired skin, in the nicest possible way.
Available from Boots, Arnicare Bath & Massage Balm works in two ways, as a massaging balm for tired muscles or for pouring into a relaxing bath. The natural properties of arnica Montana extract are combined with lavender and grapefruit essential oils and enriched with Evening Primrose and Sweet Almond oil. It costs £8.55. We’ve also been trying the Calendula cream for dry and chapped skin that’s easy to apply and only very lightly fragranced. Available from Boots and Holland & Barrett starting at £5.35.
The Sunday Times Style Magazine has called it “bath nirvana”. Billed as a therapeutic bath oil that can relieve stress, ease aching muscles and provide an antidote to a cold or flu, Olverum Bath Oil (www.olverum.com) has been around for eight decades with a formulation that has been largely unchanged for 83 years.
Get moving
Here’s an option for gentle exercise without leaving the house. Online yoga service Yoogaia is launching online, live classes aimed at older people. All you need is a subscription and an iPad, smartphone or laptop with camera. The idea is that younger members of the family buy a gift subscription of the yoogaia service, and show their older relatives how to use the service. Sign up at www.yoogaia.com for a free 7 day trial. Users can access classes live, where they can opt to watch only or switch on the camera so the instructor can see them. Or they can watch recorded classes at a time that suits them.
If it all gets hot and bothersome, the Citrus Zinger Sport infuses water with citrus fruit flavours to give a refreshing drink. Unscrew the bottom cup of the Zinger, flip the body onto the top cap, and press a citrus half into the reamer. Screw back on the bottom lid, add water through the cap opening, shake and drink. £14.95
And travelling
On the subject of getting moving, Delsey claims that its Dauphine case is the lightest luggage of its size on the market, at 5.9 lbs for the largest trolley (77cm with 4 wheels). Stockists in the UK are John Lewis, Selfridges and Harrods.
Bruges is a beautiful city of waterways, lace and chocolate (and beer) for a “mum and me” short break and there are plenty of ways to get there. For example Leger Holidays offers a guided coach holiday Bruges from £259 or you could cruise there with Imagine Cruising with prices starting at £199.
Art pieces
Paintings and other art works often come up when we’re looking for gifts for people who have everything. This time around we’re mentioning Sally Mackness, who picked up a paintbrush at the age of 47 after being inspired by a television programme about the Royal Academy of Arts. She has just been invited by New York Art Foundation to join them for ‘Art Takes Manhatten’ featuring 20 emerging artists, Find Sally’s flowers at www.sallymackness.co.uk.
Meanwhile online art retailer King & McGaw has put together a selection of prints to suit mothers- contemporary graphic motifs or delicate floral prints, classic book covers or sophisticated Vogue icons.
A doorstop made of rope? Why not? Handmade by a British craftsman who specialises in historic nautical knot tying these doorstops are completely weather-proof so can be used indoors or in the garden. The small doorstop pictured here costs £48 + p&p.
Eco gifts
Gathered from small producers around the world the gifts on www.yourssustainably.com range from paper jewellery to tin trays and cushions.
And finally, say it with flowers
While flowers aren’t exactly different, we’ve used Flowercards quite a few times and really like them. These teacup flowercards (£25) are definitely unusual, and the company also offers trugs, planters and succulents. Order by Friday 4 March for delivery in time for Mother’s Day.
This list was created in February 2016.
Still stuck for ideas? Why not take a look at our Christmas gifts list from 2015? There’s plenty more inspiration there, though do check that any offers are still current.
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