Mothers are amazing. They build us, body and mind, and help shape us into the people we are today. We should thank our mothers every day — and for goodness sake, guys, call your mother more often — but on Mother’s Day show our appreciation with meals, activities, and gifts. They say “it’s the thought that counts,” but a thoughtful gift that your mother can actually use is worth infinitely more than dead flowers and stale chocolates.
She’s your heart
Fitbit Inspire HR
Staff pick
With most of the features of its larger Charge 3 counterpart in a lithe shell, the Inspire HR is a near-perfect, inconspicuous fitness tracker at an excellent price. It has 24/7 heart-rate tracking, built-in GPS, and guided breathing sessions for when you or your dad drive Mom crazy.
$100 at Fitbit
All stay connected
Motorola G7 Power
With a 5,000 mAh battery, Motorola says you can expect 3 days of full use with the G7 Power before ever needing to put it on the charger, which means that even when your mom forgets her phone in her purse overnight, it will last through the next day of photo-swapping and live-tweeting.
$250 at Motorola
Worry free computer
Lenovo Chromebook C330
You want your mother to have an easy-to-use computer that will last all day and can take a beating from her and her family? I haul this one around Walt Disney World regularly, use it 8-10 every single day, and it hasn’t failed me yet. Just be sure to get the 64GB version!
$250 from Amazon
Best tablet for mom
iPad Mini (5th generation)
There aren’t a whole lot of quality tablets that run Android these days — and Chrome OS tablets aren’t a mainstream thing yet — so if your mother wants a tablet, go ahead and grab her an iPad mini. Powerful and portable, this is the tablet that will make her happiest.
$399 at Amazon
Music never dies
Tronsmart Force
We threw this USB-C charged Bluetooth speaker four stories into a pool! FOUR STORIES!! Then two young boys literally threw it around as a pool toy for ten minutes and it still works! To borrow from the best villain of all time, Don’t underestimate the power of the Force.
$60 at Amazon
My heart’s a stereo
Anker Soundcore Flare 2-Pack
One Soundcore Flare is a great wireless speaker with dual drivers, passive bass radiators, and a sweet-looking LED ring at the bottom that will pulse with the music. This comes with two Flare speakers, which can be linked for stereo playback for backyard movie night.
$110 at Amazon
Listen on the go
Aukey Key Series B60
These Bluetooth earbuds charge using the same USB-C cable most Android phones charge with these days, and turning it on and off is as easy as pulling the magnetic buds apart and putting them back together. The wingtips help these buds stay in smaller ears without hurting.
$60 at Amazon
Power of three ports
AUKEY 10000mAh Power Bank with QuickCharge 3.0
This phone-sized power bank from AUKEY has one USB-C port with 18W Power Delivery input/output charging and two USB-A ports, including one with Qualcomm QuickCharge, so it can charge your mom’s phone, your dad’s phone, and your phone all at the same time!
$30 at Amazon
Save her hands
Popsockets Swappable PopGrips
Phone grips are just as awesome for your hands as they are for your phone, or even more so. Swappable PopSockets are Qi compatible and fun. There are hundreds of styles, but get your mother a custom one of her family, her cat, her dog — whoever her favorite baby is.
From $10 at PopSockets
Plucky phone prop
Plinrise Silicone Bird Phone Stand
Available in several fun styles — as well as a zoo of different creature shapes — this tweet-worthy phone stand will help your mother avoid hunching over her screen, whether she’s browsing Facebook or video-chatting with you and her grandkids.
$9 at Amazon
For more than makeup
Walnut Tree Drawstring Cosmetic Bag
This can be used for makeup or traveling toiletries, but do you want to know another fun, awesome use for waterproof makeup bags like these? Tech organizers! This drawstring bag allows your mother to lay out all of her cables and chargers, then cinch it all closed again easily.
$8 at Amazon
For the assist
Lenovo Smart Display
This is one of the first and still one of the best smart displays you can buy — and doesn’t Mom deserve the best. It’s offered in both 8-inch and 10-inch screen sizes with loud speakers, a nice bamboo back, and the best of Google Assistant right at her beck and call.
From $200 at B&H
Mommy’s AI helper
Echo Show (2nd Gen)
Give your momma all the power of Alexa with a big, beautiful screen and big, beautiful speakers that can be used to view the weather, watch cooking shows on Amazon Prime, or video call her kids, her grandkids, or her friends whenever we wants, hands-free.
$229 at Amazon
Always keeps her cool
Nest E Thermostat
Don’t make Mom get off the couch just to turn up the AC 2-3 degrees — or down 2-3 degrees when Dad complains it’s too cold. The Nest E has most of the 3rd-gen Nest Learning Thermostat’s smarts in a snow white plastic housing that blends well with most decor.
$169 at Nest
Leave the light on
Philips Hue 2-Bulb Starter Pack
Philips Hue’s easy room and scene setup are so easy, your mom will be insulted if you ask to help her with it. This 2 color bulb start kit can provide mood lighting to a single room and let your mother see if she’d like some more lights for the rest of the house.
$100 at Amazon
Only the best for mom
Whether you want to go big or keep it simple, there is a great, useful gift you can give to your mother this holiday. Want a small, personal gift that she’ll use every day? Create your own PopSocket with her favorite child, or favorite pet, or that vacation spot she never gets to go to because she’s too busy cleaning up your messes. It’s funny, it’s functional, and it’s not flowers!!
If she’s wanting to keep up on her fitness a little more — or maybe you’re wanting her to keep more active — grab the Fitbit Inspire HR. This tracker just came out this spring, it’s thin enough to not feel intrusive or in the way when you workout or sleep with it on, and it’s easy for your Mom to sync and track.
Now, some of us may want to go big or go home for Mother’s Day and get her something really useful, something she wouldn’t buy for herself, like a new phone, a new tablet — or a new Chromebook. Chromebooks are super-simple to use, they update all on their own and require little to no maintenance, and these days with Google Play apps, Chromebooks can do just about everything most users need. If you want to get your mother a Chromebook that she will never need to call you for help with, get her the Chromebook that I’ve been using and abusing, the Lenovo Chromebook C330.
