Forget the Hallmark Card: 8 Experience Gift Ideas For Mom This Year

Gift giving at any time of year can be difficult, but sometimes finding just the right thing for Mom can be especially challenging. If you’re trying to get a gift for the woman who has everything, try giving her something that makes a memory, rather than an object. Here are a couple ideas for how you can spoil your mom this Mother’s Day with great experience gifts that go above and beyond a typical card and flowers.

 

Spa Day

What woman doesn’t love a good old-fashioned spa day? But who said it must be old-fashioned? Check out different spas and massage parlors in your area to see what special treatments they have to offer. For instance, The Spa at The Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania has a whipped cocoa bath. Chocolate spa treatments are all the rage from chocolate facials to chocolate body massage you can truly pamper mom.

Not into sweet treatments? Many spas have a unique body and facial treatments to choose from depending on preference and needs. From light therapy to wraps and even relaxing salt rooms for a natural healing treatment. Call, email or search online for any kind of gift packages or gift cards and give Mom a day to pamper herself in her own unique way. She spends a lot of time looking after other people; now she gets to look after herself.

 

Wine Tasting Trip

Wine tasting isn’t just confined to the famous Napa Valley nor is it limited to drinking your favorite blend. Visit small wineries or even restaurants that offer small group or private wine tastings. Many come with a variety of small bites like charcuterie plates of cheeses, crackers, fruits and veggies so you can nibble on something that compliments the wine and helps you keep your wits about you through the many…MANY glasses.

Wine tasting isn’t all sitting and drinking if you don’t want it to be. Some locations offer long tours of the vineyard and grounds, a lesson in winemaking, trips to the cellar and yes, your very own grape stomping experience. Take Mom on a full weekend trip or search for a local vineyard near you to get her the ultimate wine tasting experience. The best part is, you can enjoy it with her!

 

Mom’s Date night

Include dad and give them a date night. Supply a gift card or certificate to her favorite restaurant, (5-stars only please) and book and save on an Uber so they don’t have to stress. Offer to pet sit, babysit, or house sit if they need so mom can enjoy her date night out without a care. Mom deserves a little romance so plan an epic date for the two of them and maybe book an added surprise by telling the restaurant it is a special occasion and get a personalized dessert at the end or have flowers and a card waiting at their reserved table. From start to end you can make it the best date she has had in years!

 

Give Her a Laugh

Your mom is more beautiful when she smiles, so make her laugh all night with tickets to a comedy show. From Seinfeld to Segura many comedians might be headed to your town. Do a quick search on TickPick or TicketLiquidator to find what is coming up in your area and cop a few seats for her and her friends, her and dad or take her yourself! Have a laugh with mom this Mother’s Day and give her a night of side-splitting fun.

 

Take A Lesson

Ever ask your mom what is on her bucket list? Has she ever wanted to learn a skill or trade or language and just never got around to it? Now is your chance! Book her lessons to finally cross that thing off her list. Whether she has an artistic soul and wants to take some art classes in acrylic paints or pottery or has an affinity for the culinary arts you can find and book lessons online to broaden her mind like a sushi or pasta making class. LivingSocial.com has a great selection of classes and lessons you can buy and save online.

Is she active? Does she want to be? Try surf or rock climbing lessons to bring out her adventurous side this Mother’s Day.

 

Walking Food Tour

Show her a new side of her city with reservations for a walking food tour. Let her experience the food her city has to offer and let her explore a new city near her. Walking food tours are a great way to get her to try new foods, meet new people and experience her town in a whole new way. From unique eats to hole in the wall diners that serve the city’s best grub, walking food tours include some of the best and most unique bites in town. They are a great idea for that mom who gets stuck in a routine and doesn’t get out much!

 

Give Her Thrills

Bring out her inner child with the ultimate gift, a trip to a theme park. Whether she is a roller coaster tycoon or just loves the playful atmosphere, theme parks are a great “fun for the whole family” Mother’s Day Gift. Not to mention, it can be 2 gifts in 1! There is nothing mom loves more than to see the family get together. With you, your siblings and dad in cahoots, you can surprise mom with a good old-fashioned family vacation for the day at a theme park to get some thrills and make some memories this Mother’s Day.

 

Get Outside

By the time Mother’s Day rolls around, it’s spring, and starting to warm up a little in a lot of places. Take advantage of that beautiful spring weather and go outside. Take a picnic lunch to a state park, go for a hike on the trails, or head to the beach for the day. Spending time together outside can be a great way to make memories, and it’s super easy to do on a budget. Look up a local botanical garden or state park near you and pack a picnic with her favorite bottle of wine from Wine.com, make delicious small bites and get her to relax and enjoy the fresh air. She deserves it!