How to Make Mother's Day Gifts

Would you like to treat your mom even though you're strapped for cash? There are plenty of gifts that you can make for Mother’s Day. If she needs some relaxing time alone, consider making her a gift that pampers her. You can also make her jewelry or her favorite food. If you’re really creative, a craft is a great Mother’s Day gift. As long as it’s from the heart, she’ll love it!

EditSteps

EditMaking Gifts that Pamper Her

1. Create homemade lip balm. Mix 3 parts of liquid oil and 1 part beeswax in a Pyrex measuring cup or heatproof canning jar. Set the jar in a pan with a few inches of water and slowly heat the water until it all melts together. Add a few drops of essential oil and mix it. Then pour the balm into tubes or tins and let set until completely cool.^[1]
   
   • Good choices for your liquid oil include castor oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. Castor oil will make her lips feel really smooth, so it’s great if she’s got chapped lips.
   • You can safely add peppermint, spearmint, sweet orange, lemon, lime, and vanilla absolute essential oils for both scent and taste. Just pick your mom’s favorite!
2. Make custom bath salts. If she likes to take luxurious baths, make her custom bath salts. Pour 2 cups (16 ounces) of Epsom salt into an airtight container. Then add a few drops of essential oil and close the lid. Shake the container until the oil has completely coated the salt.^[2]
   
   • Choose your oils based on what you want the salts to do for your mom. Peppermint and lavender are good for stress relief and citrus is energizing. You can also choose your scents based on what your mom’s favorites are.
   • You can also add a few drops of food coloring to color the salts. This is an especially good idea if you plan on storing the salts in a clear container.
3. Make hand and foot lotion with her favorite scents. Nothing feels more pampering than good hand or foot lotion. Heat 1/4 cup (2 ounces) coconut oil, 1/8 cup (1 ounce) shea butter, and 1/8 cup cocoa butter over low heat until it melts together. Remove the pot from the heat, and then add (0.5 ounces) of your choice of liquid oil – avocado oil, olive oil, or coconut oil – and 5 to 10 drops of your mom’s favorite essential oil. Mix everything together, then pour the mixture into your choice of container and let it cool. Keep a lid on the container.^[3]
   
   • Small canning jars are a great container to use for homemade lotions. These lotions are generally too thick to use in jars with pumps.
   • You can write the name or scent of the lotion on a little tag, then punch a hole in the corner of the tag and run a piece of ribbon through it. Tie the ribbon around the neck of the container.
4. Make her a coupon book. Write each coupon on one piece of paper. Then punch a hole in the corner of the paper. Run a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie it tight. You can also staple the pages together. You can also download templates for coupon ideas off the internet.^[4]
   
   • Coupons for free massages, cleaning the dishes or your room, performing extra chores, or letting your mom pick the movie for a movie night are all great coupon ideas.

EditMaking Jewelry

1. Make her a homemade wire ring. You should use 16 or 18 gauge wire, which can be found at any home improvement store. Cut the wire down to about 3 inches (7.6 cm). Use round-nose pliers to make loops facing opposite directions on the ends of the wire. One loop should curl up, the other should curl down. Wrap the wire around something sturdy and round, like a dowel rod or even a mascara bottle.^[5]
   
   • You can add beads to the wire before you loop it to add a little more flair to the ring.
   • Don’t worry about making this too small – wire rings are adjustable.
2. Design her some earrings. You can make your own stud earrings, or use wire to create a dangling design. Purchase stud backs from any craft store and hot glue anything to the front of them, making instant earrings.^[6]
   
   • You can glue pearls to stud earrings for an elegant look. You can also use something like colorful gems or buttons for a more playful set of earrings.
   • You can also make wire earrings. Cut a piece of jewelry wire to the length you want the earring to be plus 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bend the wire about 1 inch from the end so it forms the hook that will go in your mom’s ear. Loop the bottom of the wire so the beads don’t fall off. Then place beads on the wire in the design you like.
3. Make her a necklace. Necklaces are also really easy to make. You can pick up chains from the craft store, then spend time adding beads or charms your mom will love. You can also customize it by drilling on a hole in small objects, inserting a jump ring, and closing it around the chain.^[7]
   
   • For example, you can use a seashell you found on a family vacation, drill a hole in it, and add it to a chain for a great piece of jewelry and a fun memory!

EditPreparing Food for Her

1. Serve her breakfast in bed. Start your mom’s day off right by serving her breakfast in bed. There are so many different ways you can do this. It can be as simple as pouring her a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice and bringing it to her on a tray. Or you can make a full breakfast – scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon – and serve it on pretty dishes.
   
2. Make a special dinner. If your mom really isn’t a morning person, consider making her a special dinner instead. You can try a new recipe, or you can get some help making her favorite meal. Just make sure all she does is relax! If you don't have a lot of experience cooking, ask an older family member for help.
   
   • If your mom loves a good steak, you can make her a steak dinner!
   • Chicken is pretty versatile, so you can cook it a lot of different ways. Don't be afraid to use her favorite flavors when you're preparing her meal.
   • You can also use shrimp as the meal's main ingredient if your mom is a fan of seafood.
3. Prepare some sweets for her. You can add it at the end of dinner or you can serve them alone for a mom who loves sweets. Consider making her favorite cookie or cupcake, or even homemade chocolate.
   
   • If you can't bake on your own, ask your dad or older siblings for some help.
   • Chocolate chip cookies are always a crowd-pleaser!
   • Fudge is a great option if your mom is a chocolate fan.
   • You can also make tiramisu for something a little more elegant.

EditGetting Crafty

1. Make ribbon bookmarks. Cut an 18-inch (45 cm) piece of ribbon in a color or pattern your mom will love. Fold over one end to about an inch (2.5 cm), then fold it again. Sew or hot glue the fold closed. Fold the other end once to an inch, then place a hair elastic at the seam of the fold and fold the ribbon over again. Sew or glue the fold close. Glue or sew a button on the end without the elastic, on the front of the ribbon. This will be the opposite side of the ribbon from where you folded the ribbon down.^[8]
   
   • When you’re finished, place the elastic around the button to hold the bookmark closed.
   • Customize the bookmark with your mom’s favorite colors, designs, or even characters!
2. Make a homemade tin can flower vase. Clean an empty tin can well, using warm water mixed with the dish soap. Let the can completely air dry and then paint it in your mom’s favorite color. You can use ribbon or washi tape to decorate the can once it’s dry, adding a pretty design on top of the color you chose.^[9]
   
   • To add a little something special, buy a small potted plant to put in the tin vase, or pick some flowers from your own garden. Just make sure you have permission to pick your own flowers!
3. Make a memory jar. You can use any jar you like – a mason jar, an old vegetable jar – just make sure it’s cleaned out really well and smells fresh. Then write one memory of your mom on each slip of paper. When you’re finished, fold them in half and put them in the jar.^[10]
   
   • You should use at least twenty slips of paper so the jar looks pretty full.
   • You can decorate the jar with stickers, craft paint, or ribbon. Make sure you write “Memory Jar” on the outside.
4. Put together a “Things I love About You” Book. Hole punch blank index cards in the upper left corner. On each card, write down one thing you love about your mom. When you’re finished, slip a binder ring through the hole in the all of the cards.^[11]
   
   • You can ask your whole family to participate, so she knows why you all love her.
   • Try using different colored index cards or decorating them before you put the book together. It will make the book look more personal and let your mom know you spent a lot of time on it.
5. Make a handprint bouquet. This is a really great gift to make if you have siblings who want to help or be involved. And it's something your mom can keep for a long time, unlike real flowers!^[12]
   
   • Using a different color paint for each kid, dip your hands and feet in paint and then make a row of handprints or a row of footprints on a 36-inch (90 cm) wide piece of paper. When everyone is finished making their hand and footprints, let the papers completely dry.
   • Cut out each foot or handprint. Arrange the cut-out hand and footprints in rows in a shallow half circle shape on a large piece of construction paper. When you’re happy with your design, glue them down.
   • Roll the construction paper into a cone and glue or staple it closed.

EditTips

• Work from your heart.
• Be creative. Moms will prefer homemade gifts rather than bought items because they show your personality.
• Make sure that you find out what kinds of things your mother likes so you don't give her something she won't use/doesn't enjoy.
• Make sure that you keep it a surprise, so don't be too obvious or else she'll get suspicious.

EditWarnings

• If you’re using glue guns or sharp knives or tools or boiling hot water, make sure you ask for help.

EditRelated wikiHows

• Make a Mother's Day Breakfast
• Get Flowers for Your Mom for Mother's Day

EditSources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found