Mother's Day Gifts for...

By Ariel and Brianna

In which Ariel and Brianna gently nudge their families toward fantastic gift ideas for them. Ahem! Is the mom you are purchasing for a coffee lover or a jet-setter? Is she a mom married to the military or simply a multi-tasking mom who always needs a third hand? Chances are she falls into one of these categories. If so, we have ideas to jump-start your Mother's Day shopping! This post contains affiliate links. By using them you help keep Busy Nest News up and running. Thank you for your continued support!

Mother's Day Gifts For Coffee Lovers

It can be challenging to put pep in our step after staying up most of the night with a reluctant sleeper. It can be a challenge finding your oomph after chasing a runner up and down the library stacks all morning. It is not surprising that mothers the world around seek chemical intervention - coffee! For those coffee addicts in your life, try these  gifts sure to pack a caffeinated punch!

The Aeropress is my go-to method of coffee production. I have been using it for five years now with no plan on retiring it anytime soon. There is a bit of a learning curve, so if at first you don’t succeed? Watch a YouTube video and try again. If the mom you are shopping for prefers environmentally friendly products, I highly recommend purchasing this set of reusable filters to complement the Aeropress. The Aeropress is an especially good choice if she enjoys camping. It is light and compact, making it an ideal choice for  brewing on the trail.

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If I were to purchase a new coffee machine, the Nespresso Pixie would be my choice. The last hotel I stayed in had this exact model and it was so fun to play with! Does the mom you are shopping for prefer espresso? Does she laugh in the face of weak coffee? Then the Nespresso might be for her.

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How beautiful is this Canadiano pour over coffee maker? The makers claim that no matter what type of wood you choose the wood absorbs the oils from the coffee and only tastes better with time. If she has a sleek minimalist style with an eye for design this pour over might be for her.

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I am a sucker for items that serve two purposes - is it a scoop or is it a clip? It's both! Sharing a small apartment with my husband in Korea made me appreciate the art of living with less and making the most of the items you have. You could call it an obsession of mine now. Not a fan of the wooden one? Try this gold one!

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Or for the coffee lover who craves variety, why not invest in a coffee subscription? I have given a subscription to Counter Culture Coffee to several people, and not a one has been disappointed. Choose from three, six or twelve month options.

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Mother's Day Gifts for Frequent Flyers

Whether the mother in your life is traveling for business, pleasure, to visit family or reconnect with friends, she could use a few thoughtful items to make her adventures even better. I know I travel for all of those reasons, and after sprinting through ATL a few times, you learn some things. So learn from my experiences in cross-country road trips and frantically navigating airline hubs. The traveling mom is going to appreciate these gifts.

Before you can go anywhere, you've got to pack. You know what makes your suitcase beautiful and organized on the inside? Adorable packing cubes! Seriously, though, a great set of packing cubes makes packing and unpacking so easy. Everyone should have a set. What makes these different is that they're pretty. Mom will love them.

Next, Mom needs someplace to stash all of her important docs, cards, and cash while traveling. This super chic wallet comes in a veritable rainbow of colors, and it accommodates a passport, cash, IDs, plastic, and even a phone! One of its best features is hidden; it blocks RFID signals, so it's that much harder to steal your info from a passport or card. I have one, and I can't get over how sturdy and pretty it is!

Mom's bags are packed and she has her documents in order. Now she just needs a sweet pair of shoes. When traveling, whether flying or driving, comfy flats are an essential. Flats are safest for driving, and being able to easily pull them on and off makes them great for scooting through airport security. This pair is as cute as it is sensible. Perfect for traveling!

What about in-flight entertainment or keeping alert during long drives? Travel time needn't be downtime for the brain. Here at Busy Nest News, we're big fans of Audible. They have loads of audiobooks and exclusive podcasts, making an Audible subscription an ideal gift for a frequent traveler.

Finally, when Mom returns from her trips, help her show off her memories. We love this special frame with matting cut into the shapes of every state in the U.S. She can pop photos, postcards, or other paper mementos from her travels in each spot.

Mother's Day Gifts for Military Moms

Whether you are married to a service member or a service member yourself, our lives share certain commonalities. We move frequently and often end up living in beige box houses with no character.

When it comes to easing the stress of packing up our home, I have two major strategies: 1) minimize the amount of stuff to pack and 2) invest in quality tools for packing. The later category does not make good Mother's Day gifts, however, unless you are shopping for a freakishly practical mother like myself. "Here, Mother! We bought you this industrial strength tape dispenser!" And even I would give my family an odd look for that one.

Here are a few items to alleviate some of the stress of packing everything up at the drop of a hat and making a house feel like a home within hours of moving in.

Is it a colander or is it a gorgeous serving bowl? It’s both! This bowl does double duty and helps free up some space in your cabinets. The easiest way to make packing easier is to own less. That is why I choose pieces that have more than one purpose.

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Or choose products purposefully designed to use space efficiently, like these nesting cutting boards. No longer will you have to hear the thud as your cutting boards hit the dirt because you took one item out of your cupboard. That one item was apparently integral to structural integrity!

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Why am I so in love with this laundry basket? The real question is, "Why are you not?" It very literally checks all of my boxes. Grey? Check. Uses space efficiently? Check. A laundry basket? Check plus! Apparently it doesn't take much to make me happy. Bonus: Laundry baskets double as boxes for packing. I use mine to pack our first day essentials - those items that you will need to access the day you move in like the coffee maker, paper plates, plastic utensils etc.

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Want to make your house feel like a home within hours of moving in? Purchase items that transport easy and go up no muss, no fuss - like signs. Before I moved to Korea my sister bought me two signs at the dollar store. They were small but I cherished them. Whenever we moved apartments they were the first items I put out (after the coffee maker of course, because... priorities). They made each apartment feel more like a home. Choose something that will not only beautify your home, but act as a daily reminder of why you do it, like this Walt Whitman quote. Or a gentle nudge to thrive no matter the circumstances (easier said than done, I know)  like this quote. Or how about a sign that chronicles your adventures as a family, like this one.

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Not a fan of signs? How about something a bit more personal - like a frame that you can fill with pictures of your loved ones.

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But in my opinion, a home isn't a home until you have a rockin' doormat! Whether it is chic or punny, like this one, a doormat takes your house one step closer to being a home.

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The home organizer needs a place to organize. This is especially true when you are responsible for planning around deployments, training schedules etc. I am a visual planner. I need to have everything out in the open where I cannot ignore it. So I gravitate toward command centers. Currently I live in a small apartment where wall-space is limited, so my command center is the front of my refrigerator, but once we move I will be investing in something a bit more aesthetically pleasing, like this simple and versatile command center. When you need the ability to see several schedules and to-do lists at once, you can make that happen. If you are in a slower season of life and you just want a board for motivational quotes, you can do that. Tired of the background? You can easily swap it out for something new and fresh - the background is a sheet of metal with fabric layered on top.

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Mother's Day Gifts to Make Her Life Easier

Do you know a mom who is being pulled in multiple directions? Could she use an extra set of hands? Take some tasks out of her hands by putting these gifts into them. She'll be sure to think of you on busy days when these gifts are sure to come in handy. We're basically living in a Jetsons-esque future, so there's really no excuse to continue watching Mom struggle with something a handy bit of tech can do for her.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room and get it out of the way. That chick, Alexa, is moving into everyone's home. She's not for everyone, but for a mom who's trying to do more hands-free, Alexa's her new best friend. She can read audiobooks, tell jokes, play music, quiz the kids with a geography bee, answer their endless questions, and run multiple timers when you're trying to get dinner on the table. The Echo Dot is a great way to introduce Alexa and her fancy skills to a mom in need of a personal assistant. If you do get Mom an Echo Dot, consider adding the DockSocket. It lets her mount the Dot in most lamps or recessed lighting fixtures.

Speaking of getting dinner on the table, it doesn't get much easier than this wifi-enabled Crock-Pot. I know that sounds ridiculous, but when you spend more time at work or sports practice on busy weeknights, it's exactly what you need. Just dump the ingredients in the Crock-Pot and use your phone to keep an eye on it all day. Running late? Switch it to keep warm or off until you get home. 

Is Mom a big note-taker? Doodler? Rabid list-maker (*cough* Ariel *cough*)? The Rocket Book Everlast is a reusable notebook that plays nice with virtual note-taking apps like Evernote, Google Drive, iCloud, OneNote, Slack and more. After she's uploaded her brilliant notes or glorious doodles, she can wipe the pages clean and start again! This gift is almost as clever as Mom.

Full disclosure: I'm a total fangirl about this product. Activity trackers and smartwatches are enormously popular, and I can't understand why anyone would settle for a basic FitBit when they could have a Misfit Shine 2. They're beautiful and don't scream "I'M A PEDOMETER" at everyone who sees it. The Shine 2 is especially great for moms whose arms are busy holding kids, pushing strollers or guiding shopping carts, because it comes with a clip you can use anywhere on your body. If she's been thinking of getting an activity monitor, this is a great choice. While you're there, throw in some extra straps, she'll thank you for it.

Some people find cleaning relaxing. I'm not one of those people. If Mom loathes cleaning, this little bot might just be her new best friend. It's a little vacuum that roams around on command, and it will make real sweeping less of an ordeal. I bet she'll like it so much she'll give it a name. Bonus: the upgraded model mops, too!

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