A Working Mum’s Mother’s Day Gift List

I’m relatively new to experiencing Mother’s Day as a parent, but now that I’ve got one under my belt, I’m already looking forward to the next one. It’s not that I’m all about the presents, but it’s more about feeling like at least on that day, surely, all my parental efforts, my sacrifices and my hard work will be acknowledged and appreciated. In many ways, it makes me wish I could go back in time and make more of an effort to show my Mum more love and gratitude – but I guess that’s always the way. We don’t truly understand what our parents did for us, until we’re parents ourselves.

My own life as a parent has drastically changed this month. And as I get into the swing of my new routine as a working parent, here are some ideas for thoughtful gifts for all the other working Mums out there.

The Gift of Time

I could write a whole blog post about how I feel about being away from Pickle whilst I’m at work (spoiler: it’s not at all how I expected to feel!), but every day is always the same – I always look forward to home time and going to pick him up, then hearing all about his day. Since I started, I really wanted a nice watch to feel more professional (not sure why I equate wearing a watch with being more professional!), and to make sure I’m never late for the best part of the day: nursery pick up.

I spotted this black and rose gold Fiorelli watch in the Gifts for Her section of the TJ Hughes website. It’s stylish, classic and goes with anything – my kind of watch! It looks like this particular watch has already sold out (thank goodness I got in there quick!), but there’s plenty of other lovely gift ideas there to choose from.

LPD and I have a bit of a history of new watches going hand in hand with new jobs. I bought him a fancy pants watch for Christmas, just days after I found out I’d finally gotten my first full time theatre job, and in return, he bought me a new watch (a throwback to my much-loved childhood Mickey Mouse watch) when I accepted my ‘dream’ job. Let’s hope this new watch lasts me for as long as I hope this new job does: a very, very long time!

The Gift of Happiness

Despite having a mere fraction of the leisure time I used to enjoy, and with my responsibilities increasing every day, it’s undeniable that parenthood has brought me ridiculous levels of happiness. It’s not the same kind of happiness as before, but it’s happy on a whole new level. That said, there’s the other side of the parenting coin. The side that means I spend very little time deriving happiness from myself – it all comes from the pride and love I have for Pickle.

This Happiness Planner, available to buy from Find Me a Gift will enable any parent to refocus on finding their own happiness. I love that each day offers prompts for reflection and has sections for a to-do list, meal planning and exercise. And it’s a thing of PURE BEAUTY. For any fellow stationery geeks out there, this will not disappoint. I’ve photographed it surrounded by the things that make me happy (my family, doing crafts, fresh flowers and NICE FOOD: those brownies were made by Sophie from Wife Mother Life and they were delicious!).

The Gift of Style

It wasn’t until my first day at my new job that I realised I didn’t actually have a handbag anymore. I’ve been using my little mini orange backpack for the time being, but a new bag is definitely something I’d like to treat myself to. I still can’t quite get my head around leaving the house without needing to cart a truck load of nappies, toys and spare clothes.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for a new bag that I could guilt-free treat myself too but nothing has really jumped out at me yet. I’m not the best at bag buying – nothing ever really takes my fancy, and it’s only once I’ve had a bag for a few months that it begins to grow on me. That said though, it was love at first sight for my new changing backpack from Babymel!

I still haven’t found a work handbag, and in case you’re reading this LPD and want to ‘surprise me’ for Mother’s Day, here’s what I’m trying to find:

• Big enough to fit my packed lunch in
• Some kind of pocket/compartment that’s perfect for my phone/keys
• Hard-wearing
• Maybe a bit colourful?

The Gift of Light

We all know the depths of a lady’s handbag knows no end. And why is it the thing you want is always burried right at the bottom underneath about fifteen receipts, a half-empty box of raisins and random handfuls of change that miraculously disappears when you need money for the car park? I really love the idea of this Varta handbag light, and I can’t wait to try it out once, you know, I’ve got myself a handbag. Not only will it be useful in helping me find what I’m looking for in my bag, I’m sure I’ll end up using it for all my item locating needs, thanks to our toddler’s obsession with poking, slotting and pushing whatever he can get his hands on into whatever space he can manage to fit it in or through. I’m forever shining torches under the sofa and amazed at what has collected under there! A perfect little gift for anyone whose handbag has a dark coloured lining, and always ends up panicking at the idea of losing their keys.

The Gift of Life

As I spend more time at my desk, I can’t help but think it’s missing some plant life. I need a little pop of green to bring the outdoors that I love so much into my working world. With that in mind, a little plant holder that would add a bit of character to a desk would make a lovely little gift for any working Mum.

I mean, these are perhaps a little ‘out there’ to suit most tastes, but I’m weirdly drawn to these! The little badger jug is my favourite (a nod to my fellow Hufflepuffs out there), but I’d need some advice on what would be best to plant inside – it’d need to be low maintenance and easy to care for! Or maybe a little sprig of artificial greenery is the way to go? These are all available from a company called Audenza.

What makes me laugh most about this will be LPD’s face when he reads this. No way would be think something like this would be on my wish list! But who wouldn’t want a zebra that looks that majestic?!

The Gift of Understanding

A mother’s work is never done, and most of the time, we don’t want or need big expensive presents or grand gestures, we just want to know that someone understands what it’s like. We just want our hard work to be acknowledged. Which is why I think these little enamel pins available from Burble Baby are super cute and bang on with the right sentiment. For me, I’d have the ‘exhausted‘ badge. Because, let’s face it, I am. All of the time. For £7, I think these are lovely, and I’m already eying up the Might Fine Mother pin for a few very-deserving Mummy friends.

But first, breakfast

Whatever gifts you decide on this year, don’t forget the Mother’s Day staple: breakfast in bed. For this ONE day of the year, the thing I want most is a bit of a lie in and a cup of tea in bed, followed by lovely pyjama snuggles. If that comes with a side of poached egg on toast, too? Perfect.

Disclaimer: I was kindly gifted the Fiorelli watch from TJ Hughes, the Happiness Planner from Find Me a Gift and the Varta handbag light for inclusion in this gift guide, but all opinions, views and alternate gift ideas are my own.