11 last-minute Mother’s Day gifts that will arrive in time for Sunday
Forgot the date? Mum’s the word.
It’s Mother’s Day in the UK this Sunday. Missed the memo? Don’t panic: we’ve rounded up the best last-minute Mother’s Day gifts that will still arrive in time for Sunday – and make you look like a loving, less forgetful child.
Sure, you could buy her a budget bouquet from the petrol station. But a wilting arrangement is hardly the most original way to show your gratitude. For a more meaningful Mother’s Day gesture, pick a present from our list below.
From digital vouchers to subscription gifts, each one can be ordered online and delivered almost instantly. And unlike a hastily selected bunch of Chrysanthemums, they’ll last longer than a week.
Botany Club gift subscription
Mum a bit prickly about needless gifts? Filling her house with cacti should do the trick. With a gift subscription to the Botany Club, she’ll receive potted plants on repeat. Once she signs up using the code on her gift certificate, a surprise succulent will arrive on your mum’s doorstep every month. Stump up for a 12-month membership and the Urban Botanist will throw in three ready-to-go terrariums throughout the year. The best bit? Unlike her offspring, each spiky arrival is designed to be low-maintenance.
Spotify Premium 12-month gift subscription
Millions of tracks on tap and your mum still picks Jason Donovan to fill the airwaves. You can’t complain about her favourite Aussie heartthrob on Mothering Sunday, but you can complain about the ad interruptions that make his crooning even less bearable. Solve at least one of those problems by gifting your mum a 12-month Spotify Premium subscription: besides unlocking high-quality audio, unlimited skips and the option to save songs offline, it also removes all adverts. That’s in addition to Spotify’s powerful discovery algorithm, which intelligently suggests new music – although when it comes to Donovan alternatives, any stream will do.
National Theatre Digital+ Membership
Delivering a Shakespearean monologue is one way to surprise your mum this Sunday. But if she prefers her Hamlet a little less hammy, a National Theatre Digital+ Membership could be just the ticket. She’ll get instant access to a catalogue of shows recorded live and available to stream online any time via the National Theatre at home platform. Packed with famous faces and adapted classics, the library grows every month. And if she feels like experiencing the theatre in person, your mum’s membership also gets her to the front of the queue for South Bank, West End and Broadway tickets.
MasterClass membership
Your mum might be the wisest person you know, but there’s always more to learn. Trouble is, it’s quite tricky to arrange a personal mentoring session with Anna Wintour. Get your mum the next best thing with a MasterClass gift subscription: from Gordon Ramsay on cooking to Annie Leibovitz on photography – plus the aforementioned Ms Wintour on leadership and creativity – MasterClass features a vast catalogue of video tutorials and workshops, each led by the biggest names in their respective fields. An annual subscription grants unlimited access, so your mother dearest can explore any topic that takes her fancy. Including Metallica on music, if she happens to be a closet metalhead.
Lick virtual colour consultancy
If your mum’s mentioned that her living room needs a lick of paint, you could take a risk with a roller and coat the whole place in Burnt Burgundy. Or for a redecorative gift that won’t leave her red in the face, you could treat her to a virtual colour consultation. Booked in with the paint-lovers at Lick, she’ll receive a 30-minute video call from an interior specialist. They’ll then create a bespoke mood board for up to three rooms, complete with suggested hues. Whether your mum trusts you to execute the suggestions with your paintbrush is a different matter.
Cameo
Reckon a personalised celebrity shoutout is peak cringe? Wait until your tennis-mad mum receives a Mother’s Day message from Andy Murray’s equivalent. Not a racquet fan? From Harry Potter and Game of Thrones actors to golfers, politicians and one half of the Chuckle Brothers, you’ll find a surprising squad of familiar faces available to commission through Cameo. Simply pick a figure, send your request and stump up the broadly affordable fees. Within a day or two, she’ll have Ben Fogle telling her to start a new life in the wild – or John Bercow ordering her to resume a sedentary position.
The Grape Reserve gift subscription
Mum keen on vino? Turn up with a bottle of plonk this Sunday and she might be perfectly pleased. But send nice wine her way every month and you’ll uncork a barrel of brownie points. Designed to expand your mum’s grape expectations, a Grape Reserve gift subscription will see two unique varieties delivered to her every month, together with tasting notes and a complementary recipe suggestion. Choose from red, white or one of each – or avoid tipple turmoil altogether by sending your mum a gift certificate and letting her decide.
Mubi gift subscription
Treasure movie nights with your mum? Unless you’ve got construction skills quicker than a midday makeover show, it’s too late to build her a cinema in the shed. But you can still buy your mum a Mubi subscription. Home to a regularly updated playlist of captivating films, Mubi throws a spotlight on independent cinema, as well as diving deep with interviews, news and critique in its Notebook. Equal parts streaming service, cinema club and cultural curator, Mubi is the perfect present for movie-loving mums who are bored by mainstream flicks.
Mr B’s Reading Subscription
Swing by your local independent bookshop before Sunday and they’ll help you hand-pick a page-turner for your mum. Out of town? Mr B’s Reading Subscriptions can do the same thing on your behalf. Choose whether to send your mum three, six or 11 books in total, pick between paperback or hardback, then deliver the digital voucher to her inbox. She’ll be invited to complete a questionnaire online (or she can visit the store in Bath). Using this info, a bookseller will carefully select suitable tomes to send her way over the next few months – and you can borrow them after.
Plant a tree with the National Trust
Giving off oxygen, providing habitats, reducing water erosion: trees are truly top of the copse. Trouble is, digging up your mum’s lawn to plant an orchard could go down like chopped timber. For a woodland gift that doesn’t require you to wield a spade, donate to the National Trust’s fund on your mum’s behalf. Just a fiver is all it takes to set up a sapling, helping the charity in its aim to establish 20 million trees by 2030. She might never sit in the shade of her tree, but your mum will at least receive a personalised digital certificate.
Headspace gift subscription
You can’t put a price on precious headspace, but you can give your mum access to mindfulness sessions that will help her find more of it. Home to hundreds of guided meditations themed around specific goals, worries or emotional experiences, the Headspace app is designed to help people stress less, focus better and be happier. Its catalogue of audio exercises also includes guided walks, mini-meditations and a sleep mode to help your mum get a better night’s rest, You can gift a month or a year’s subscription through the Headspace website, or pick up a 6-month gift card from Boots.
Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
