Experience Gifts for Mom

The notion of giving a mom experience gifts, for Mother’s Day or another occasion, is you’re creating a memory through an experience versus something that she will end up putting on a shelf or cluttering up her house. For the person who seemingly has everything or for a mom living in a small space, an experience gift is a gift that won’t leave her saying, “Now what am I supposed to do with this?”

Experience Gifts for Mom

My husband and I embrace this notion of experiential gifts for our own mothers. They were aging and really didn’t need any other stuff to store in their small homes or have to dust on a regular basis. We also didn’t want them to feel the pressure to bring out those gifts to display whenever we visited. After writing 15 books, many about money, gifts and etiquette, I learned that many people feel they need to do when a gift giver visits.

Eventually, my husband and daughters started applying this experience gift thinking to my own presents for Mother’s Day, my birthday, the holidays and more. And I’m not just talking about basic gift cards, though they are always much appreciated.

For instance, my daughters know that I love the show “Friends.” So when they spotted an advent calendar for adults that was filled with a different pair of “Friends” socks, they bought it for me one December. So, I got the experience of having an advent calendar to open and I’m still wearing those socks. Boy, are they a conversation piece when people see “Pivot!” or “How you doin’?” written on them.

In time for Mother’s Day this year, here are some suggested experiential gifts a mom in your life might enjoy. Many of these center around hobbies or passions she already has or ones you think she would enjoy exploring in the future, thanks to your experience gift.

Gift idea for a dog mom

If you know me, then you know that I’m a proud dog mom. In my books about gifts, I also talk about personalizing a gift for someone based on their hobbies or likes. The example I always gave was about my dogs. If you gave me a gift that helped me enjoy my dogs more, it would be the perfect gift to give.

Since 2002, our family has rescued four dogs total. Right now, we have two dogs in our family, Oscar and Sadie. We rescued Sadie in 2012 and Oscar in 2015.

One of the greatest gifts my family ever got me was a dog DNA test kit. Specifically, we got the Wisdom Panel doggie DNA kit. You can read my review of my experience in this article. This gift allowed me — really us — to discover which breed or breeds of dogs our rescues were. That is a gift that keeps on giving because as companies get more DNA samples, they can better pinpoint what breed your dogs are — or, in the case of human family ancestry, from which countries your descendants came.

Now let’s say you’re looking for a gift for a cat mom and not a dog mom? Well, if she is new to having cats, this article on tips for new cat owners can help. It includes lots of items to buy, which you could wrap up as a Mother’s Day gift.

Enjoying a meal together

According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is one of the busiest days at American restaurants. This includes having lunch or dinner at a restaurant but also includes people who get takeout to enjoy together at home — a trend that started during the pandemic and continues today.

One of the best places to find deals on restaurant meals? Groupon. You can cater the results to be local to you and find a great place to take mom out for a meal — or order in — on Mother’s Day.

Another great Groupon gift idea? A membership to Costco. The current deal comes with a free Costco Shop Card worth either $20 or $40. She can use that shop card to do something as practical as filling up her car at a Costco gas station.

Ideas for moms to learn a new skill

Does your mom or the mom in your life want to learn a new skill from an expert in the field? There are classes she can take online from companies like Wondrium or MasterClass. From National Geographic photographer Bob Krist (and friend of mine) to Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, you can find all kinds of classes to do and adventures to take from home on Wondrium (formerly Great Courses).

You might be able to find something a little closer to home, too. For instance, many local libraries offer workshops you can sign up for to learn something new — even hobbies and pastimes where everything old is new again. You can learn about soapmaking, knitting or even genealogy.

A local makerspace I know offers woodworking classes for women only to carve handmade charcuterie boards. If a mom in your life enjoys entertaining and loves charcuterie boards when having family and friends over, then giving her the gift of learning to make one from scratch could be a great Mother’s Day gift.

Going Somewhere or Doing Something Together

My mother is a big gardener. So whenever I’ve looked for experience gifts to give her or enjoy with her, they’ve revolved around something garden related. One year we took a trip together to see the Chelsea Flower Show in London and then joined a tour of English gardens. On another Mother’s Day, we visited a local arboretum together. We’ve also simply worked in the garden together as a way of spending time with one another on Mother’s Day.

Personal Stylist Experience Gift Ideas

Perhaps the best gift I ever gave myself was the gift of a personal stylist. You can do it in person for free at a store like Nordstrom. This is where, twice, I’ve worked with Nordstrom personal shoppers to help me update my wardrobe. They’re styling services are free of charge.

Not interested in working in person or don’t live near a Nordstrom? No worries. There are many opportunities for mom to work with a personal stylist online.It’s an experience gift of shopping that takes place entirely at home.

My favorite online styling services are Stitch Fix and Wantable. If your mom is a fitness fanatic, you can sign her up for subscription boxes that focus on workout clothes and athleisure. Both of these companies offer these options.

Subscription Box Experience Gift Ideas

I love the idea of giving subscription boxes as experience gifts. Why? Because they can be delivered to mom at home and she can enjoy them monthly or quarterly for the rest of the year. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving. Many of these subscription box experience gifts are available through Cratejoy, the subscription box marketplace. Cratejoy is one of my favorite places to shop for niche subscription boxes. This includes food and drink oriented boxes as well as those that focus on self care. Right now you can save 50% with the Cratejoy coupon code EARLYMOM.

Finally, here is how Mother’s Day is celebrated in other countries.