18 last-minute gifts that should arrive by Mother's Day
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Mother’s Day 2023, which lands on May 14, has a tendency to sneak up on us — and you may inevitably find yourself rushing around to get gifts at the last minute. To help you shop for the perfect Mother’s Day gift on a tight deadline, we rounded up ideas we think you should know about based on our previous coverage and Select staff favorites. Almost all of the items on this list offer two-day shipping, meaning it’s more likely to arrive on time.
Our top picks
Editor’s pick: Apple AirTag
Best for home: Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier
Best for fitness: Brooks Women’s Ghost 15
Best subscription: Book of the Month Club
Last-minute Mother’s Day gifts for 2023
Below is a collection of Mother’s Day gifts that offer fast shipping options in case you are shopping last minute. Many have been featured in our staff or expert-recommended guides.
Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier
The Levoit Core 300 air purifier is a great choice for Mom seeking cleaner air in their office or bedroom. Select updates editor Mili Godio recommended it in our guide to the best affordable air purifiers, and said it's quiet and “does a great job cleaning the air in my small apartment.” It is recommended for spaces under 219 square feet, and has a noise level between 24 and 50 decibels, according to the brand.
Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier
Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier $ at Amazon
Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier $ at Best Buy
Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier $ at Levoit
Dragon Touch Digital Picture Frame
One of our favorite digital picture frames, this touchscreen frame has 16GB of storage (in other words, it can store up to 40,000 photos) and an HD resolution. Your mother figure can flip the frame to switch it from portrait to landscape mode and use the Dragon Touch app, email, an SD card or a USB drive to share photos.
Dragon Touch Digital Picture Frame
Dragon Touch Digital Picture Frame $ at Amazon
Dragon Touch Digital Picture Frame $ at Dragon Touch
Brooks Women’s Ghost 15
Whether they’re an avid runner or go on casual jogs throughout the week, your mother figure likely needs a good pair of running shoes to keep her feet sturdy and supported. Brooks’ Ghost running shoes are one of the brand’s most popular options, and are some of our favorite running shoes for women. They provide a good amount of support, weigh under 8.8 ounces for a lightweight feel and can handle multiple surfaces, according to the brand.
Brooks Women’s Ghost 15
Brooks Women’s Ghost 15 $ at Amazon
Brooks Women’s Ghost 15 $ at DICK'S Sporting Goods
Brooks Women’s Ghost 15 $ at Brooks Running
AeroGarden Harvest Elite
The AeroGarden Harvest Elite is a great choice for moms with an aspiring green thumb. It can grow herbs and vegetables indoors, without any direct sunlight. In our guide to the best indoor garden kits, our experts said the Harvest Elite has advanced lighting and hydroponics compared to the competition. The included seed kit has thyme, curly parsley, dill, Thai basil, Genovese basil and mint.
AeroGarden Harvest Elite
AeroGarden Harvest Elite $ at Amazon
AeroGarden Harvest Elite $ at Home Depot
AeroGarden Harvest Elite $ at AeroGarden
Hatch Restore
If Mom hates the sudden jolt of the alarm in the morning, consider gifting her this sunrise alarm clock instead. One of our favorite options, the Hatch Restore mimics a natural sunrise, moving from red to orange to white over the course of 30 minutes to help the mother figure in your life gradually wake up in the morning. They can also choose from a variety of soothing nature sounds to replace their morning alarm, or white noise to help them fall asleep at night. Using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, you can control your sleep and wake-up routines on the companion app.
Hatch Restore
Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Stackable Mug
This mug from Select staff-favorite brand Yeti — which makes some of our favorite reusable water bottles — is a great choice for any mom on-the-go. It’s insulated to keep your mom’s drink hot or cold for hours, according to the brand. The mug is dishwasher-safe and includes the brand’s leakproof MagSlider lid. If your mother figure reaches for several mugs throughout the week, these stack on top of each other for easy storage. Yeti also offers 14-ounce and 24-ounce Ramblers if she needs a larger vessel for her morning coffee.
Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Stackable Mug
Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Stackable Mug $ at Amazon
Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Stackable Mug $ at YETI
Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Stackable Mug $ at DICK'S Sporting Goods
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
Select staff have enjoyed different versions of L'Occitane hand cream for years. During the cold and windy NYC winter, this cream is a luxurious way to rehydrate my hands. Colizza swears by the rehydrating power of the more intensive balm version of this hand cream, while editorial projects associate Rebecca Rodriguez loves the fragrant cherry blossom version. It’s a luxurious way for any mother figure to hydrate their hands.
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream $ at Amazon
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream $ at Sephora
L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream $ at L'Occitane
Book of the Month Club
Is your mom an avid reader looking to mix up her book collection? Book of the Month Club is a monthly subscription service that curates a reading list of five books each month based on her reading preferences and sends one or more books directly to her door. (One Select contributor previously wrote that she was “pleasantly surprised” at the selection every month.) You can choose to give her a 3-book ($59.99), 6-book ($99.99) or 12-book ($199.99) monthly membership. If your mom isn’t excited about the options during a specific month or doesn’t have time to finish her book before the next box is set to arrive, she can simply skip a month and roll her credits over.
Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club $ at Book of the Month
Apple AirTag
The Apple AirTag is a great gift for busy moms who tend to misplace essentials like her keys, purse or bag. It connects via Apple’s FindMy app and can show precisely where the AirTag is located. It does not come with a strap, so adding something like this Belkin AirTag holder can help make it more versatile. It’s our top pick for travel accessories available on Amazon.
Apple AirTag
Bala Bangles
For mom’s heading to Pilates, yoga or even their morning jog, we recommended these staff favorite ankle weights. Select associate updates editor Zoe Malin says the Bala Bangles are comfortable and versatile for various workouts like yoga, HIIT, walking and running. They come in multiple fun colors, as well as in 1- and 2-pound versions.
Bala Bangles
Bala Bangles $ at Amazon
Magnolia Bakery Sampler Pack
Bring New York City’s famous Magnolia Bakery straight to Mom with this “best of Magnolia” sampler pack. The small pack includes two large banana pudding cups and two cupcakes, a few “fan favorite” items that I personally love. Magnolia Bakery delivers nationwide and ships packages with dry ice packs. Its cupcakes ship frozen, while its banana pudding cups ship fresh.
Magnolia Bakery Sampler Pack
Magnolia Bakery Sampler Pack $ at Magnolia Bakery
Gaiam Classic Solid Color Yoga Mat
If your mom is anything like the Select team, yoga mats are for more than just yoga. Great for stretching, strength training and more, consider this expert-recommended yoga mat from Gaiam, which Select writer and yoga teacher Stephanie Mansour called her “go-to” mat. It is 0.2 inches, or 5 millimeters, thick and is available in over a dozen colors to fit your mom’s personal style.
Gaiam Classic Solid Color Yoga Mat
Gaiam Classic Solid Color Yoga Mat $ at Amazon
Wonderboom 3 Bluetooth Speaker
The Wonderboom 3 is a small, lightweight and waterproof Bluetooth speaker that can be great for moms who like to bring their music on-the-go. It’s my favorite speaker for travel because it’s small enough to pack in almost any bag and durable enough to use worry-free on hikes, kayaks and more. It’s also simple to use, with large buttons for volume and power, and provides up to 14 hours of battery life.
Wonderboom 3 Bluetooth Speaker
Wonderboom 3 Bluetooth Speaker $ at Amazon
Wonderboom 3 Bluetooth Speaker $ at Ultimate Ears
Coop Home Goods Original Loft Pillow
We previously recommended this option in our guide to pillows, and it’s also one of our team’s favorite sleeping products. The filling is made with shredded, hypoallergenic memory foam and it ships with a bag of extra foam if Mom prefers a firmer pillow. The outer zip cover and inner pillow are both machine-washable.
Coop Home Goods Original Loft Pillow
Coop Home Goods Original Loft Pillow $ at Amazon
Coop Home Goods Original Loft Pillow $ at Coop Home Goods
Apple iPad (9th Generation)
An iPad can make dozens of at-home tasks more fun for your mother figure, whether that’s watching videos, reading books or scrolling through photos. I have used various iterations of Apple’s iPad for years. They also make for a great travel companion — reading books and watching shows on the plane is much more fun with a big tablet screen. This iPad is Apple’s 2021 version, and while newer models exist, it is an excellent value for the features on offer.
Apple iPad (9th Generation)
Apple iPad (9th Generation) $ at Amazon
Apple iPad (9th Generation) $ at Best Buy
Apple iPad (9th Generation) $ at Apple
Hypervolt Go 2
Mom’s looking to soothe achy muscles will find a lot to love in a massage gun like the Hypervolt Go 2. Its smaller size means it is easier to pack into a bag than other, full-sized massage guns, one of the main reasons our experts previously recommended the first iteration of this travel-sized massage gun. With the Go 2, the controls are now more easily accessible on the back panel.
Hypervolt Go 2
Hypervolt Go 2 $ at Amazon
Hypervolt Go 2 $ at Bed Bath and Beyond
Hypervolt Go 2 $ at Hyperice
Teleflora Playful Pitcher Bouquet
Surprise Mom with this beautiful floral bouquet from Teleflora, which is available in three sizes: standard, deluxe and premium. The flowers come in a pitcher featuring a dragonfly design that your mother figure can use afterward for beverages or as a vase. The bouquet includes pink roses, purple matsumoto asters, pink carnations and lavender daisy spray chrysanthemums. The flowers are also arranged with lavender waxflower, dusty miller and leatherleaf fern.
Teleflora's Playful Pitcher Bouquet
Teleflora's Playful Pitcher Bouquet $ at Teleflora
Instant Pot
The Instant Pot can help Mom cut down the amount of time she spends cooking her favorite meals. We discussed several of the brand’s electric pressure cooker models in our Instant Pot buying guide, and we recommended this 6-quart version to help meal prep for the week. Instant Pot also sells separate accessories for the kitchen appliance, including a steamer basket and a springform cake pan.
Instant Pot
Related: These Mother’s Day gifts can help them get some much-needed R & R.
Why trust Select?
Harry Rabinowitz is a reporter at Select who has written product and gift guides for years. For this article, he picked products from Select’s past coverage as well as top-rated items from online marketplaces like Amazon.
MOTHERS DAY
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