10 Sentimental Gifts for Mom This Mother’s Day

Struggling to find the perfect gift for Mom this Mother’s Day? Here are 10 great options to make yourself (and a few to buy if DIYing gifts isn’t your thing!

The older I get, the less stuff I find myself wanting. So when my husband recently asked me if I could point in the direction of a Mother’s Day gift for me this year (I’m just floored he’s already thinking of Mother’s Day and it’s only March!), I told him to think of a gift he and the girls can make, or at very least personalize, for me, I just want a sentimental gift that will commemorate where we are in life in 2021.  

When my kids were babies, I loved handprint and footprint crafts. I have handprint turkeys and footprint penguins. Now that my kids are older, I treasure these sentimental keepsakes in a way I didn’t think I would when I was busy covering my kids’ feet in gloppy paint and hoping to not ruin their outfits in the process.  

My youngest is now 7, and handprint and footprint art has fallen out of favor in my household. Yet the sentiment behind these simple treasures remains. There are still so many wonderful ways my kids can make me fun, memorable gifts that I will cherish for years and look back on fondly when my days of raising kids are behind me. I want them to mark this moment in time for me to look back on always because the best, most sentimental Mother’s Day gifts come from the heart.  

Best Bets for Sentimental Mother’s Day Gifts to Give in 2021 

1. MOM Photo 

   I have three girls, so this is a photo I’ve asked specifically for this year. I want each of my girls dressed in a way that suits her style, each holding up a letter (either M or O). Then I want my husband to print them and line them up in a photo frame so that the images together are my girls spelling mom. Don’t have three kids? You can still make this photo work! If you only have one kid, have her hold up the words by herself! Two kids? Have one of them hold up a sign saying “We Love” and the other kiddo a sign that says “Mom.” More than three kids? Play around with the word Mama or Mother. Or include the year to commemorate this sentimental Mother’s Day gift.  

2. Personalized Mom Poem, Performance Optional 

   I am one of four kids, and, until recently, my siblings and I all lived in different states. Celebrating Mother’s Day, or any sort of special event, was hard. So we got creative. My mom’s name is Jane, so we each took a letter and wrote a few sentences (rhyming optional!) about how awesome our mother is. Then, we filmed ourselves reading our piece. We used a simple app to compile our performances and sent my mom the video for Mother’s Day. We also printed our poem on elegant card stock and framed it. So get your creative juices flowing and write an Ode to Mom this Mother’s Day! 

3. Dried flowers; Picked, Signed and Framed by the Kids

   With Spring in the air these days, it’s hard to not get excited for the warmer days ahead when you drive by a field of wildflowers. We always end up with more flowers in my car than I know what to do with! Why not turn those beautiful flowers into a timeless gift? Let each kid pick a flower of her choice. Then, dry the flowers by placing them between two sheets of wax paper in a heavy book. In a few days, when the flowers have dried, glue them to a piece of white cardstock. Let each child sign her autograph next to the flower she picked and then frame the final piece after writing the date somewhere on the paper to forever commemorate this stage in your kids’ lives! 

4. Personalized Pillow

    I love displaying fun throw pillows on the couch in my living room and switching them out as my seasonal décor allows. My girls and I are currently working on a new one to add to our rotation- a personalized pillow! I’ve purchased a standard white throw pillow case and fabric markers in a bevy of colors. Then I’ve asked each girl to think of things that she likes right this very minute. Then, my girls are taking turns writing and drawing things that they love in their area of the pillow. I’ve also asked them to sign and date the pillow case. When they are done, I can proudly display the pillow on my couch for all my friends to see. 

5. Handprint Coasters

    I am (finally!) the owner of several nice, new (or newly redone) coffee tables. And with nice furniture comes the need for coasters to protect the gorgeous wood from unfortunate rings from drinks. Enter handprint coasters, a gift I love to both give and receive. We grab ceramic tiles from a craft store and Sharpies in every color under the sun. Then we do one handprint coaster for each girl per year by tracing her hand and then having her sign her name and put her age and the year in the palm of her hand. Bake the finished tile at 350 for 30 minutes and voila! You have a practical coaster marking this time in your kid’s life. It blows my mind to look back at the coasters we’ve collected through the years and marvel at how much my kids have grown! 

6. A Personalized but Blank Book to Fill with Memories

    I have high hopes for travel plans in 2021. So I would love a blank book, with a note written to me from them, inside. Then, throughout the year ahead, we can fill it with memories! A great idea to fill the book is to collect stickers everywhere you go. You can find them anywhere- museums, gas stations, souvenir shops. Most people sell a sticker commemorating their business and they usually cost less than $3. Grab a sticker at each place you visit and place it inside the book with a sentence or two about the attraction. Then look back at the book next Mother’s Day to remember the great year you had!

7. A Decorated Flower Pot with Seeds

    Indoor plants are all the rage right now! So why not have the kids decorate a few ceramic pots to house the gorgeous greenery? Use markers to decorate clay or ceramic pots with pictures or words, and then bake the pots at 350 for 30 minutes to set the artwork. Gift the pot with seeds of your kids’ choosing to plant with the recipient.  

8. Kid-Made Confections

   Not all sentimental gifts have to last for years to come. Sometimes the best gifts for Mother’s Day are just about the gift giver’s intent. If your child loves to bake, why not let her get creative in the kitchen? My girls love making easy fudge in the microwave with white chocolate chips and a few additional ingredients. Then they can color the fudge whatever color they choose (purple for this mama!) and spell a sweet message on top of the fudge with icing or chocolate chips. Pretty and yummy? Perfect! 

9. Birthstone Jewelry for Mom

   Okay, so this gift may take a little bit of help from Dad. But I love the birthstone rings I have to celebrate my kids. I wear three rings stacked together on my right hand, each with a birthstone commemorating a kid. My rings go October-May-October, pink-emerald-pink, and I love that this combo is unique to me. When I’m traveling or away from my kids and missing their sweet voices, these rings bring a smile to my face! 

1. Kid-Made Spa Day

   My kids prepared a spa day for me last year, and it was simply the best! They made me a “menu” of all the services I would be receiving and signed their names by each (I still have the menu in my memory bin!). They started by drawing me a bubble bath and presenting me with body scrub they made themselves. They made and served me my favorite tea in a pretty mug. Then, they painted my nails the color of my choosing. They rounded off my spa experience with chocolate chip cookies they made themselves. Sometimes the gift of relaxation can be priceless!