Mother’s Day 2013 Gift and Activity Guide

Flowers are always lovely, but why not get your mom something that suits her unique personality this Mother’s Day

Your mom travels, she loves food, listens to music, and goes out – or at least she did before she had you! Honour your mom’s interests with a gift that shows how well you know her – and just how much you appreciate all that she does for you.

Whether your mom is sentimental, practical or adventurous, we’ve got ideas for gifts and activities that will suit her personality.

Click through for some personalized Mother’s Day gift inspiration.

For the Gardening Mom

Protect Her Hands

Is your mom a green thumb? Keep those thumbs well-protected with a good pair of gardening gloves from Canadian Tire, and pick her up a set of kneepads while you’re at it.

Soften Her Skin

At the end of a hard day’s work in the garden, she’ll appreciate a gift basket full of goodies to soften and nourish her hands.

For the Sentimental Mom

Create a Photobook

Photobooks are the new photo albums, and make printing your favourite memories easier than ever. Put together a photobook as a keepsake your mom will cherish forever.

Shutterfly is offering a Mother’s Day promotion, including new styles and discounts up to 40% off.

Start (or Add to) a Charm Bracelet

If your mom’s a charmer, give her something charming that reminds her of all the things she loves (including you!) Choose beads or charms for a personalized charm bracelet that are symbolic of your relationship with her.

Pandora and Persona both make beautiful bracelets and charms.

For the Show-going Mom

See a Musical Matinée

The Arts Club brings Dreamgirls to the stage from May 9 to July 7 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Enjoy a girls’ day out with this 1960s dramatic musical loosely based on The Supremes.

Tickets to the 2 pm matinée on Mother’s Day start at $29.

Attend an Evening Opera

If the opera is more your mom’s style, the Vancouver Opera presents four performances of
Tea: A Mirror of Soul, a fusion of Western opera and Eastern myth,at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre May 4, 7, 9 and 11.

Tickets for the 7:30 pm performances range from $35-$190.

For the Tea-drinking Mom

Dress up for High Tea

The Fairmont Hotel serves Afternoon Tea daily, offering a wide range of tea selections along with petit sandwiches, scones and fresh fruit at noon, 2 pm and 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged, so book well in advance.

Schokolade Café presents its Mother’s Day Classic Chocolate High Tea Saturday, May 11 at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Enjoy finger sandwiches, pastries, and various teas, coffees or hot chocolates.

Both teas start at $30 per person.

Make Brunch at Home

Bring your mom breakfast in bed and wrap up some organic tea and a tea infuser. David’s Tea offers a wide variety of exquisite teas in bulk, as well as a selection of tea infusers and teaballs.

(Pictured, from left: Organic Mother’s Little Helper, 2.5” Mesh Teaball, and Mamma Mia)

For the Tech-savvy Mom

Make Printing Easy

If your mom is constantly snapping away at life’s precious moments on her smartphone, she’ll love the convenience of the Polaroid G10 Instant 3×4 Mobile Printer, which instantly prints smudge-proof, water-resistant, tear-resistant photos with Zero Ink technology.

Available at Sears and Amazon.ca.

Give Her a Boost

And if she’s often draining her battery keeping up with social media or playing Angry Birds, a portable charger like the EZOPower Solar External Backup Batteryis just what she needs. This handy device works with most smartphones.

Available online at Amazon.ca.

For the Travelling Mom

Help Her Store Her Travel Stubs

If your mom collects postcards from each place she visits, or saves ticket stubs, pamphlets and maps, she’ll appreciate a handy place to store those keepsakes, like in this Travel Stub Diary available at Chapters and Amazon.ca.

Make Her Luggage Stand Out

She’ll never struggle to find her luggage on the carousel again with cute, bright luggage tags customized just for her.

Zazzle.ca makes a personalized items including keychains, hats, bags, and of course luggage tags. These durable tags can be customized with your own images and text.

For the Spa-loving Mom

Pamper Her with a Spa Package

Treat your mom to a day at the spa or join her for a relaxing mother-daughter day with one of many availablespa packages.

Looking for a deal? Try websites likeGrouponorSocialShopper for spa deals and other cool gifts.

Bring the Spa to Her

Feel Fabulous Mobile Spabrings spa services to your home – a perfect Mother’s Day idea for busy moms. Its Mom & Me Home Spa Experiences offers manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.

Get Her a Spa Gift Set

A luxurious spa gift set is a good option for day-to-day skin care. Whistler Naturals produces 100% natural, organic and vegan beauty and skincare products free of gluten, nuts, toxins and synthetic chemicals. Or try the complete Pure Indulgence Bath and Body Set.