From The Royal Osteoporosis Society's extraordinary auction to wonders from Aspinal and flowers in a tube (really), we take a look at some of the loveliest ways to give your mother a treat for Mother's Day on March 14, as picked out by Toby Keel and Hetty Lintell.
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: if nothing quite feels right, 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.
A gardening apron that’s a cut above, from Aspinal
We can’t help but think that that vast majority of Aspinal’s customers probably have a gardener, but for those who are both well-heeled and green-fingered this is a beautiful and practical gardening apron.
You can even get your mother’s name embroidered onto it: use the code ‘MOTHER21’ you can also get it personalised at no extra charge.
Ariat Wexford boots
These classic Chelsea boots are available in a range of colours — just a great mix of practical and beautiful.
Madison Protec cycling jacket
There’s a real touch of 80s chic about these waterproof cycling jackets — they’re the spitting image of those Nike jackets that everyone wore for years around the time the Berlin Wall was coming down. Ideal for the active mum who’s gone cycling-mad since this time last year.
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.
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.
Petra Palumbo’s designs with her mother
It seems apt for Mother’s Day to suggest a mother-daughter collaboration — and that’s what we have with these lovely cushions designed by Petra Palumbo with her mother, Hayat Palumbo, who specialises in hand-painted needlework.
Petra Palumbo has all sorts of other lovely suggestions as well, including some beautiful carafes.
Petra Palumbo x Tapisserie Needlepoint Kits, £128; carafes from around £72 from petrapalumbo.com
You’re going to need to send a 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
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
The McQueens x St Germain Pétillante Set
If you can’t decide between bubbly, flowers or a bottle of something stronger, why bother choosing? This set comes with a hand-tied bouquet, a bottle of St Germain elderflower liqueur, a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne as well as some Perrier and Art Deco glass both for the drinks and the flowers.
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.
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.
£65 from thelittlebotanical.com
