Mother’s Day is coming! Moms are awesome (if I do say so myself) and Mother’s Day is a great way to show the moms in your life how much you care about them. And while there are plenty of gift guides and commercials out there telling you what you should get, I wanted get a sense of what gifts moms actually want for Mother’s Day, not what stores are trying to sell you.

So I asked a bunch of moms of young children what their perfect Mother’s Day looks like. I anticipated that the number one answer was going to be sleep but I was wrong! Read on to find out what’s first on mom’s list.

Gifts Moms Actually Want

House Cleaning

This was by far the most common answer! Even more than sleep, mamas want their house cleaned by a professional service. I get it! The house cleaning is relentless, and you know there are certain things that just don’t get done as often as they should (cleaning baseboards, anyone??) so a house cleaner would be a welcome gift.

Not To Have To Do Chores

This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the first one, but it’s broader. Moms don’t want to have to be in charge of food, laundry, diapers, dishes, etc. on Mother’s Day. But let’s be really clear. This does NOT mean that it just gets put off until Monday! It means that the rest of the family takes care of it, because it’s not a real gift if it just means she’ll have more work to do the next day, right?

Sleep

Ok, sleep definitely still made the list. Most moms I know are short on sleep, so give her a break. Wake up with the kids and take them for a walk to the park so she can sleep in undisturbed.

A Meaningful Symbol

There’s a reason Mother’s Day jewelry is popular. But I don’t know about you, but I want something that has specific meaning to me. This handmade personalized birthstone necklace can be customized with your children’s birthstones and initials. And how gorgeous is this personalized tree branch necklace?

My sister-in-law got a beautiful Tree of Life pendant from Made With Love Keepsakes. This type of jewelry incorporates keepsakes into their jewelry, so my sister-in-law’s pendant is made with a small amount of breastmilk. What a beautiful way to commemorate the breastfeeding experience!

Another mom said she’d like a tattoo with her children’s names. You can’t exactly tattoo someone as a surprise, but I’m sure you can work out a gift card situation with your local tattoo parlor if that’s something the mom in your life would love.

No Whining

We all know this one isn’t happening, but I thought I’d throw it out there as it falls into the category of “my ideal fantasy Mother’s Day.” From my lips to God’s ears, right?

Time Alone

The moms I talked to admitted that time alone on Mother’s Day isn’t often realistic. Your kids and spouse want to spend time with you to show you they love you. But many moms expressed a desire to get some time by themselves at some other date, so a great gift would be to schedule a day where she can have some alone time.

A great way to do this would be to give her a gift card to something she enjoys doing by herself. Some suggestions the moms I talked to had were gift cards to the spa, yoga classes, or a book store.

Alternatively, if you are able to give her some alone time on Mother’s Day itself, you could put together a gift basket of bath bombs, a mud mask, a bath tray, a nice bottle of wine and a new book and give her the afternoon to relax in the tub. Just make sure you keep those kids occupied so none of them are banging on the bathroom door. That’s the opposite of relaxing.

To Not Have To Cook

Whether you choose to take the mom in your life out to eat for a Mother’s Day brunch or make her up some breakfast in bed, don’t make her cook on Mother’s Day. And if you’re more likely to burn down the house than create something edible in the kitchen, go ahead and take her out to that nice brunch spot, or at least order in.

Things That Make Mom Life Easier

Moms like gadgets that will make their lives easier. One mom I talked to said she really wanted a KitchenAid mixer or a Vitamix blender. Those are bigger ticket items, but they make life a lot easier, especially if the mom in your life spends a lot of time in the kitchen. I use my KitchenAid mixer constantly, and while I don’t own the Vitamix, I do have a Blendtec blender and I can vouch for its amazingness. We’ve used it almost every day this week!

I just have to give a quick shout out to one of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts I’ve gotten– this cream whipper ! It makes me feel so fancy. It’s great now that I eat a keto diet, since store-bought cans of whipped cream all have sugar in them. This way, with a press of a lever, I can add perfectly whipped cream to desserts, berries, or even my morning coffee. Plus you have tons of options for infusing your whipped cream with other flavors! Don’t forget to get the chargers to go with it!

Think of other things you could get for your favorite mama that would make her life easier. A jogging stroller was mentioned by one mom, but what about a good baby carrier? Those things are worth their weight in gold. Think about your particular mom and what things she deals with every day that could be made easier with a gadget.

To Be Acknowledged

Every mom wants to be appreciated for all the things we do. So write them down. Make a list of all the things you know that she does that you don’t thank her for often enough. Then think some more because there’s probably something she’s doing that you don’t even realize she’s doing because she just does it.

So make those cards and let her know that she’s amazing and awesome and strong and that she holds your family together.

And then give her some food and leave her alone. 😉