The Utterly Inessential Shopping List's stated aim of celebrating those things which you don't need, but really would rather like, hits a snag each Mother's Day. For while none of the things listed below is anything that we couldn't live without, celebrating your mother is anything but inessential. So hands in your pockets and do the right thing.
And remember: a bottle of gin is always a failsafe option. If you'd rather go straight there then our round-up of the best gins for Mother's Day is the place to look.
Traditional choice: Montblanc fountain pen
The art of handwriting might be in trouble in a world of keyboards and smartphones, but it isn't dead yet as these elegant, traditional and stylish pens show. From left-to-right: Patron of Art Homage to Victoria Limited Edition 4810 Fountain Pen M, £2,615; Patron of Art Homage to Albert Limited Edition 888 Fountain Pen, £7,300; Fountain Pen Patron of Art Homage to Moctezuma I Limited Edition 888, £7,500.
From £2,615 from www.montblanc.com
Surprise choice: Oppo Pad Air
If you've thought about getting your mother an iPad, we've some bad news: the huge inflation has hit the Apple tablets, and the basic entry-level model now costs a whopping £500. Ouch. But if your mum is simply after something to use to check her email, watch BBC iPlayer and see what tomorrow's weather will be like, the Oppo Pad Air is a great choice. Beautifully-built from metal, yet light, thin and smooth in operation, it looks like it costs far more than £200, and its screen size and shape actually works better than an iPad if you're watching TV shows or films: it's 16:9, the same as a television, so you don't get big black borders at the top and bottom of the screen as you'll find with an iPad.
Oppo Pad Air, £199 from oppostore.co.uk
Traditional choice: A year's worth of flowers
A bunch of flowers is always fabulous, and never a bad present for Mother's Day. But a bunch of flowers every month? That's something very special which will put a smile on your mother's face for a year — and will let her brag to her friends about how thoughtful you are. Bloom & Wild offer a three, six or 12-month subscription, at £20 for classic blooms or £25 for seasonal specials.
£20 for classic, £25 for seasonal from bloomandwild.com
Surprise choice: Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
There's a part of us all that wishes phones still had headphone jacks, and headphones had wires to plug in. But times change, wireless is largely the only option in most instances. If your mother regularly catches trains or aeroplanes, she'll thank you profusely for going for these utterly superb — but very pricey — headphones. If she just wants to listen to podcasts in bed, the non-pro 3rd generation AirPods will be just as good, and you'll save £90.
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation, £249 from johnlewis.com
Traditional choice: Posy earrings by Lily Gabriella
'Spring is in the air and with it the joy of flowers creeping back into bloom,' wrote Hetty Lintell in Country Life the other day, as she choose some of her favourite jewels to reflect her favourite season. And these delightful earrings were pock of the bunch.
Surprise choice: Google Pixel Watch
It's bizarre to think that the latest generation of smartwatch is 100,000 times more powerful than the NASA computers that handled the Moon landings in 1969. Whether your mother would need — or even appreciate — that much power sitting on her wrist is a question only you can answer, but there's no doubt that this is an astonishing gizmo. As well as getting your messages and controlling your music, you can also use the watch to look after smart home features like lights and heating, use it to pay for things, track your health and fitness, and much more. Get the 4G option and you won't even need to take your phone with you for it to perform its tricks.
Traditional choice: A big box of Montezuma's chocolate
Just as flowers don't go wrong, so chocolate always hits the spot — and Montezuma's have some lovely selection boxes for Mother's Day: this one, pictured, is the Milk Float.
Surprise choice: Nama sneakers
Made from embroidered suede and recyclced mesh, these trainers are pretty much the antithesis of ordinary footwear — and mothers with a devilish streak will love them.
Traditional choice: A scarf in Harris Tweed or a Liberty print
With some presents you're always taking a bit of a gamble, whereas others feel like they couldn't possibly backfire. These lovely scarves fit right into the second category.
Surprise choice: You're going to need to send an edgy card
Buying cards has been particularly tricky, with only the limited racks in the supermarket to choose from in the latest lockdown. But there are plenty of places doing things online instead, albeit at a price — from the cute to the funny to the divisive. Prime candidate is the one above, which your mother will probably find either wildly insulting, hilariously funny, or a bit of both.
£3.29 (plus 81p delivery) from thortful.com
Traditional choice: Say it with (a tube of) flowers
The British florist sell gorgeous tulips by post, which arrive in funky cardboard tubes. Simple and just perfect — and for extra credit you can even get a weekly, fortnightly or monthly subscription.
From £20 at www.smithandmunson.com
Surprise choice: A lovely jug
From left to right, these are a Green Pelias pitcher (£55, Sophie Conran — www.sophieconran.com), Green Tartan Squiggle jug (£75, Matilda Goad & Co — www.matildagoad.com) and a Bordallo Pinheiro Strawberry pitcher, 2L (£59 from Divertimenti, 020–7581 8065 — www.divertimenti.co.uk). Delightful.
Surprise choice: Ariat Wexford boots
These classic Chelsea boots are available in a range of colours — just a great mix of practical and beautiful.
Traditional choice: Brook + Wilde Marlowe pillow
Pure decadence, this pillow filled with Hungarian goose down isn’t so much a thing to lay your head down on — it’s more like melting softly into a giant marshmallow. The down is ethically-sourced, the covering is Egyptian cotton, and the effect is really rather wonderful.
Surprise choice: A bath she'll never want to get out of
Relaxing in the bath is surely the Mother's Day Starter for 10. So let mum relax in style.
Traditional choice: A beautiful botanical bundle
Have we gone past 'peak succulent', as the millennials describe these things? Maybe, maybe not, but if your mother is yet to hit the point of cactus saturation (cacturation, perhaps?) then these look lovely.
£74 from thelittlebotanical.com
-
19 charming homes for sale, from picture-perfect cottages to beachside retreats, as seen in Country LifeThis week's selection of some of the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week.
-
You can’t always rely on the Great British summer — but you can rely on its watchesBritish watchmakers have excelled themselves in recent months — releasing bright and beautiful timepieces that you'll want on your wrist through summer, and beyond.
-
Seven perfect Christmas gifts for people who just love beautiful, functional thingsWilliam Morris famously said to have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. These things do their best to hit both targets.
-
Christmas gift ideas for menFrom fathers to brothers to lovers, we run through some smart ideas for Christmas presents for the men in your life.
-
Father's Day gifts: What to buy that extra-special dadSunday June 15, 2025 is Father's Day: the occasion to honour the father figure who taught you how to cast a fly, decant a bottle of red, carve a joint of beef, or reverse park a Land Rover with one hand.
-
The Utterly Inessential Wimbledon Shopping ListWe've rounded up all the utterly inessential products — posh tennis gear, in other words — that you absolutely do not need to enjoy Wimbledon, but would probably fancy having anyway.
-
The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Supercharged home Wi-Fi, smart headphones and a mobile phone literally anyone can useOur Utterly Inessential Shopping List returns with some technology that is far cleverer than we are.
-
The best weekend bags and finest holdalls that (rather a lot of) money can buyGoing somewhere nice? You might be soon, so here's Hetty Lintell with her pick of the finest holdalls and best weekend bags you can buy.
-
Best smart speakers for non-techie people: What to expect, what you'll love and what doesn't workSmart speakers are no longer the preserve of tech geeks and millennials — these handy speakers are, and (as we'll discover) particularly handy for those living in the countryside. We've looked at some of the main contenders to see which one comes out on top: Google Nest Audio, Amazon Echo Studio, the Apple HomePod Mini, and the Audio Pro G10.
-
Easter gifts of real quality, from a diamond bunny to a Fabergé eggHetty Lintell and Toby Keel pick out some, all the while desperately trying to avoid using the word 'eggsquisite'.
