Five for Friday: Conscious + curated Mother's Day gift ideas
Not much you'd get in a department store here
Late last month, I ordered a pair of Adidas Sambas and shoved them in my husband’s wardrobe. “These are my Mother’s Day present,” I told him, guaranteeing I would ‘unwrap’ something I wanted.
Over dinner a few days later, I reminded my children what some of my favourite plates were, where they were kept, and the things I wouldn’t mind for breakfast on Mother’s Day morning (scones with jam and cream OR pancakes, and I said it didn’t matter if they were store bought so long as they were warmed up please and thank you).
I do something like this every year. It ensures I get something I want, that is within my family’s budget, and that my kids feel like they’re giving me something to go with the cards and crafts they make at school.
In the lifestyle mags I cut my teeth writing for, Mother’s Day Gift Guides were a big deal. Every publicist frothed over them; they all wanted their fashion, beauty and lifestyle clients to be in those pages. When I had my blog, I loved receiving press kits of products I could feature in Mother’s Day Gift Guides, but mostly because I loved receiving things in the mail.
This week, I’ve decided to take that same energy for the traditional gift guide but make it a little more conscious and clever. Needs-based. Reflective of the times we are in. Less consumerist, but still good. Yes, I have bought myself some sambas, but the below are gifts I have chosen to give others in my time; and gifts I have joyfully received. So without further ado, here are five things that I think would make a great gift:
Good reads: A book/books supporting an Australian author and an independent bookstore is the gold standard of gift-giving. It’s personal, it helps multiple people, and the joy of it lasts beyond the moment it is unwrapped. (In fact, every moment you pull the book out, you’re being gifted a moment in time and space to read it.) My suggestions right now would be a Palestinian-Australian author like Sara Saleh, Amal Awad or Randa Abdel-Fattah. Or a memoir that perfectly intersects the personal and political of the gender-based violence conversation while also connecting it to world events, like Amani Haydar’s The Mother Wound. A work of suspense/crime; some poetry (Saleh also has a collection out); a romance novel. Or maybe one of those food memoirs that come with recipes inspiring plenty of wonderful hours in the kitchen.
A learn-a-new-skill voucher: The options are just as endless with a skill-sbased voucher. You can gift someone a lesson in pottery or DIY perfume or pasta-making. I’ve never regretted the classes I have taken: in pasta making and crochet, and look forward to others on my wishlist, like pottery. If you want to pick something that benefits a small business and that won’t require you to go out and purchase loads of supplies, I can personally vouch for a Sunday Kitchen cooking class with Karima and Sivine. I did it last year and absolutely loved, and some of my picky eating habits were catered too (“what Lebanese girl doesn’t eat tomatoes?” my mother-in-law constantly asks). They give a brief history of the Lebanese culture and the mainstays of the Lebanese table, and the meals are delish and easy to recreate at home. Full transparency though: Karima is now a firm friend, though we didn’t know eachother personally when I first did the class.
A pamper-hamper: Hear me out. I know these are super-consumery and sometimes their contents are a bit blah, but the two I am about to recommend to you are not at all cheesy. First up are hampers by Mettle: I gifted one of these to each of my university supervisors when I finished my PhD. The organisation is a non-profit social enterprise that employs, trains and financially empowers those experiencing homelessness as a result of domestic & family violence, with 100% of profits going towards creating safe futures for victim-survivors through safe paid work, scholarships, crisis funds, childcare subsidies and support programs. The other option, and one for a working mother, is a retreat box by Retreat Yourself. I received one of these as a gift in March and absolutely loved it. The box is supposed to contain a bunch of items for a little self-retreat: snacks, skincare miniatures, incense, a gua sha, an incense holder and so much more. The contents change with the seasons (genius), and they currently have a 20% off code for Mother’s Day gifts. If you’re in Canberra, GGs hampers and flowers support people with special needs and offer same-day delivery anywhere in the ACT.
First Nations and migrant-led and -made gifts: As settlers, how much do we know about the places we call home, and who called them home for thousands of year before? And how can we better support those who are new to calling it home? One of the first things I do when I visit a new country is book a walking, bicycle or food tour to get to know the local sights, history and cuisine, but there are people with a knowledge of this land that I could really benefit from and one of my goals moving forward is to book tours even in my home state. Welcome to Country is a one-stop, First Nations-led social enterprise that allows you to book tours and buy products from thousands of Indigenous creators. Another store, Bush Medijina, is 100% Indigenous-owned, selling skincare that is inspired by bush medicine, and made with natural, botanical ingredients and knowledge of Country. If the mum in your life loves a bold print, then an item from The Social Outfit is for her. They employ and empower migrant and refugee women to gain work experience in Australia and build their careers here. I currently have my eye on these purple palazzo pants.
A voucher for a nice meal out (with her mates) or a food tour: A long lunch with my girlfriends is one of my favourite things, and I happen to love to cook (not everyone feels that way). A food voucher is never wasted. If your mum’s a Leb, I highly recommend the live entertainment dinners at Bayti; if you want to support a Palestinian eatery, then Khamsa sells vouchers online. If you think she’d fancy an excursion with her meal, then a truffle hunt and lunch at Robertson Truffles is just the ticket. Taste Food Tours is a social enterprise that runs food tours all around Sydney, surely there’s something in your home state.
Happy Gifting x