Mother’s Day 2016: All The Best Do-It-Yourself, Creative, And Last-Minute Gift Ideas For The Wife Or Mom In Your Life


Mother’s Day 2016 is almost here, and anyone looking for an alternative to buying flowers and chocolates can find plenty of best do-it-yourself and last-minute gift ideas here.

Mother’s Day is one of the most popular gift-giving days of the year, and creativity really matters on an occasion so important. That means the more personal the gift, the better.

For crafty people looking for that perfect personal gift, and do-it-yourself maven Martha Stewart once again comes through. She compiled a list of the best last-minute craft ideas for Mother’s Day, including pom pom flowers or a heart shadow box to display a child’s art work. All of Martha’s ideas can be found here.

And not all do-it-yourself Mother’s Day gifts need to be crafty. Time has a great list of practical gifts that your mom (or your wife) will love. One of the best ideas is to find a gift card to a store that she loves but avoids because it’s too expensive or is filled with inessentials. The report noted this is a good way to “spoil her when she won’t spoil herself.”

Another great do-it-yourself Mother’s Day gift idea is to take those old stacks of photographs tucked away in a closet and have them digitized. A total car cleaning was another suggestion.

“This one is especially good for mothers of younger children, whose once-spotless vehicles have inevitably been infiltrated with Legos, juice spills, banana gunk, Cheerios dust, balled-up used tissues, and worse. For scoring extra points with mom, dads and kids should make her car spick and span right in the driveway, so she can see her loved ones toiling away in her honor and truly appreciate the gesture. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with taking your shirt off while hosing down the Honda—give mom ‘tickets to the gun show’ as a little extra bonus.”

The report also suggested snagging mom’s e-reader and stacking it with digital copies of some books she would like, but hasn’t bought yet. This one might require a bit of extra research, asking those close to mom what books she’s been talking about or has been wanting to read. It also pointed readers to the list of Mother’s Day book suggestions from New York magazine for some guidance.

For those who like to dream big for Mother’s Day 2016 — and have a few grand to drop on a present — can follow the New York Times‘ advice and buy a 3-D replica of yourself to keep mom company. The report found a company in Alabama that makes a life-size replica of a person using a giant 3-D printer.

The cost: $30,000.

“We do more of industrial things,” said Renato Gross, the president of SWIGRO, the company pitching the deal.

SWIGRO is even offering a Groupon deal that includes travel and lodging so the person can have a full scan of their body.

While this might be a little tough to swing at the last minute, those looking for more sensible ideas for Mother’s Day 2016 have a lot of options. For moms who love to golf, Callaway has some great last-minute gift ideas.

For the more fashion-conscious moms, Glamour magazine has its own list of last-minute gift ideas.

There are also plenty of ideas for the cost-conscious son or daughter on Mother’s Day 2016. Women’s Day has a list of 50 last-minute gift ideas for under $50, including a neat interlocking dish set from Pier 1 Imports.

Anyone still looking for gift ideas for Mother’s Day 2016 can check out this Time magazine report on the most popular ideas for each state, or here for Fortune’s list of the top tech gift ideas.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]

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