60+ first Mother’s Day ideas to give Mom her moment

The most important thing to remember about a first Mother’s Day celebration is that the focus be on Mom—not Baby.

I get it. Babies are little miracles who should be celebrated at every turn. And they are. At baby showers, sip-and-sees, christenings and baptisms, family get-togethers, first birthday parties and numerous other happy occasions.

So let’s give Mom a day that’s about the person she is and think about celebrations and activities that focus on her.

• Make a circle of love and support around Mom. Throw her a party where family and friends who are moms can tell her how amazing she is and how great she’s doing. Each guest could share a memory, poem, inspirational song or positive experience.
• Throw Mom a spa party. Let a trusted someone take the baby for a few hours and hire a manicurist to come to the house to treat everyone. If budget is an issue, you could simply have fun painting each other’s nails.
• Throw a cooking-cleaning party. Let Mom and Dad go out for some couple time while friends watch Baby, clean house and make freezer meals.
• Gather around Mom for a watch party. Turn on her favourite show or movies she hasn’t had time to watch. Friends can take turns holding Baby and caring for his needs so Mom can watch shows uninterrupted.
• Turn out that nursery. If New Mom has a dream for a nursery mural or wall that didn’t come to be before the baby came, use her first Mother’s Day to paint her dream.

• Introduce the new mom to the Mother’s Day Brunch tradition! Take her someplace fancy with a refined gourmet buffet, someplace casual with bottomless mimosa mocktails or a fast-food place with a delicious hot breakfast menu.
• Get her out of the house and into nature. Take a trip to your local botanical garden where she can be surrounded by natural beauty and you can buy her flowers or a plant in honour of her first Mother’s Day.
• You can’t go wrong with pampering a new mom. Go as a group to the nail salon or out for massages at the local spa. Look for coupons and group discounts to please the budget.
• Entertain her! Take New Mom to the movies or a special live performance like a play or concert matinee. It can be a struggle taking babies to venues like these!
• Think about the mom’s pre-baby interests. If she’s a bookworm, take her to a bookstore. If she’s a thrifter, hit up her favourite shops. If she’s an influencer, get cute shots of her to post on her socials.

My own first Mother’s Day story

On my first Mother’s Day, my baby was three months old. Since my own mom was states away, I decided to celebrate with my nursing support group.

I was a bundle of nerves, having to get Baby ready to leave the house and be on time and get to an actual place! My black shirt was wet with both breast-milk and spit up, the baby decided to poop right as we were walking out, I was dreading putting her into the car seat which always set off lusty screams, and I was on the verge of calling the whole thing off.

Except…I knew the other moms were waiting for me. And that they understood.

When you think of gifts for the new mom, again, don’t buy for baby. Baby’s got plenty of swag just for showing up as her little miraculous self. Think of things that feel personal to the new mom, things that reflect her interests and talents (beyond being a mom), and that will feel fun, thoughtful, helpful or sweetly sentimental.

A new mom is experiencing the meaning of family in a new way. She may be thinking about you, her own mom, in a whole new light. It’s special to celebrate new motherhood with a gift from you.

• Love through the generations. Gift a framed photo of your daughter as a baby next to a photo of the new baby and your own baby picture. That generational story will bring happy tears.
• Lock(et) it up. Put those baby photos into a beautiful locket. Take your pictures to a professional jewellery designer to make an heirloom piece or buy a locket kit to design one yourself.
• Pass down the family recipes. Make your daughter a recipe book with easy family recipes in your own handwriting and offer to spend time cooking with her. Using a pretty recipe organizer, you’ll give her memories to keep for years of cooking as an act of a mother’s love.
• Make her a memory book. Include letters, photos and bits of wisdom from all the women in your ancestral line, as far back as you can go. Make her feel like a part of a beautiful legacy of mothering.
• Make her a sweet video. Tell her the story of when she was born and what it meant to you. Tell her your hopes and dreams for her, as well as your hopes and dreams for the new baby. It will be a loving memento.

Feeling loss on a first Mother’s Day

As joyful a time as new baby brings, if the new mom has lost her own mother, her baby’s arrival can amplify that loss exponentially. Even if it didn’t happen recently.

Acknowledge her loss by sending a card or note. Let her know that you’re remembering her mom on Mother’s Day. Tell her that her mom would be proud of the woman and mom she is. If you have a personal story or anecdote about her mom, you could include it in the note: “Your mom had the sunniest smile and funniest sense of humour.” Give her something sweet to recall.

Here’s an article if you’d like more ideas on how to support someone who has lost a mom.

And here’s a gift idea for a new mom whose mother has passed: Use a pretty dress, favourite blouse, coat or bed cover from the departed mom to make the new baby a bib, teddy bear, memory quilt or blankie that will make New Mom feel like her mother is connected to her baby.

• Share stories with her. Give her your recorded memories of when her own mom was born. Tell your favourite stories, sing songs that have meaning to you or share your wishes for her as a new mom.
• Share the good recipes…and some bad ones. Treat her to a recipe book of special family foods and add a funny history lesson on foods you used to cook that people no longer find appetizing.
• Plan a photo opp. Take New Mom, New Grandma and yourself out for an affordable, professional photo shoot, and give everyone a high-quality print to hang in their home as a generational keepsake.
• Support her self-care rituals. Give her a beautiful guided journal that keeps her feeling uplifted, seen, surrounded in love and supported in taking care of herself.

As co-parent, partner and best friend to the new mom, you have a close-up view of her new world and what she needs. Treat her to special things no one else can for her first Mother’s Day.

• Recognize that being a mom is work. Knowing how hard your wife or partner worked to get the baby here, you could gift a “push present” specifically commemorating the birth. Jewellery like rings, necklaces and charms with baby’s birthstone can be especially meaningful.
• Soothe those muscles. You could gift her an at-home professional massage session to help relax and release tension. Or do a little research online and become the masseur!
• Do the dad thing. Since dads don’t “help with” or “babysit” their own kids, you can take on all parenting duties on her first Mother’s Day. Have reinforcement on hand!
• Frequent reminders that she’s got this. Mom needs a lot of affirmation. She needs to be reminded that being a mom doesn’t make her a less desirable friend, companion or lover. You could create a little book of loving quotes, sexy sentiments, grateful thoughts and memories for her to keep and read when she needs it.
• Capture all the little moments. Take lots of pictures, candid shots, and funny “real-life” pics of Mom and Baby to make a slideshow or video she can watch during feedings. Recording those tender moments she can look back on is a gift she’ll appreciate forever.

As New Mom’s oldest friend and co-conspirator, a sister is a special gift-giver.

• Get her a new ’do! You could gift a nice haircut at a preferred salon that makes New Mom feel cute while she’s adjusting to motherhood.
• Dish, girl! Grabbing a mani-pedi and having a gossip session together will lift her spirit and help her feel caught up.
• Bring back old times. You know her so well. Write a little book of childhood stories about your sister that can be shared with the baby one day.
• Book some FaceTime. Give her a coupon book for video chats with mocktails (for her) and wine or tea. Give her time and space to laugh, cry, complain or just air out her head the way you’ve always done.

Thoughtful gifts from a friend who wants to support a new mom can mean the world.

• Take care of her stomach and her spirit. Send a gift card for food delivery and a greeting card to show you care and recognize she’s undergoing a huge life change. ƒ
• If you live close, go hold the baby and her hand. Having a supportive listener to talk to can feel like a lifeline sometimes.
• Send her to the spa. Give her a stack of gift cards for mani-pedis, facials or massage sessions.
• Get creative with her. She could probably use a Girls’ Day away to go to a pottery studio, a candle-making session, a sip and paint or some other creative exercise.

• Hire a reputable au pair or offer to be babysitter for the day. Yes, the whole entire day. Most new moms will tell you that the thing they feel right after immense joy is total exhaustion.
• Matching mommy and baby T-shirts. Ones that say something fun like “Me” and “Mini-Me” or “New Mama” and “New Boss.” Or gift the pair colour coordinated outfits from her favourite department store, outlet or thrift shop.
• Arrange a mommy and baby photo shoot. Depending on budget, you could hire a professional photographer or tag the friend with the best smartphone photography skills to take a few candid shots that the new mom will treasure.
• Make her the hero of her own story. Create a sweet picture book that’s all about her adventures as a new mom.
• Get her some mom swag. Shower New Mom with cute, clever or kitschy gifts from a printing company. Think mugs with phrases like “I remember sleep” or T-shirts that say “I nap when my baby naps.” Cheeky quotes on throws, pillows, mugs and tea towels could make fun nursery décor!

• Help New Mom pamper herself. Put together a relaxation kit with bath bombs, body washes, lotions, a comfy robe, soft slippers, a book she’d enjoy (paper or audio), herbal teas, lavender-scented lotion, a weighted eye pillow and other items to help her grab a few minutes of restoration.
• Bling, but make it personal. Give New Mom a ring or necklace with her and her baby’s birthstones set in. As budget allows, this could be a piece of fine jewellery or stones set in more affordable metals like aluminum, copper or stainless steel. Either way, she’ll be touched.
• Make cuddling extra cozy. Think about gifting or making her a plush cuddle blanket that could be personalized with her and her baby’s names and dates of birth.
• Let pictures tell her story. Pull together an old-fashioned photo book of pictures from pregnancy (or adoption or surrogacy) to now with pictures of her and Baby.
• Make feeding time more fun. A new mom often finds herself up late at night for feedings. Gift her a streaming service subscription so she can watch what she wants as she nourishes her little one.
• Give her the gift of time with a luxurious six-hour (or longer) nap. Arrange with New Dad to set up a warm, quiet, nest-y place where she can rest uninterrupted for hours. Or the celebration group can contribute money to get her a nice hotel room.

Celebrating two moms on Mother’s Day

When both partners in a loving couple identify as women and both want the experience of being a mom, loved ones and community can support them by following their lead and how they want to be celebrated. A couple might want to be celebrated together as two moms or they might want each mom to be honoured for the distinct woman and mom she is.

• Make meals easy. With the baby, even routine things like making breakfast or dinner feel like a lot. A meal subscription service or gift cards for food delivery can be lifesavers.
• Make a babysitting coupon book. Trusted family and friends can volunteer a few hours per week to watch baby so New Mom can get out of the house baby-free to run errands, shop, get beautified or have fun.
• Fill a journal with mothering advice. Have friends share positive and pragmatic mothering advice. (No horror stories please!) Make these shared pieces of wisdom that can help, like “Get lots of skin-to-skin contact” or “Laundry can wait.”
• Loungewear! New Mom won’t actually have time to lounge, but she’ll appreciate a couple of comfortable and cute loungewear sets that will take her from sofa to shopping with no fuss.

• Make a little family history showcase. Get both sides of the family to share photos of the new mom and dad when they were babies to add to pics of the new baby. Make it sweeter and add New Mom and Dad’s parents’ (Grandma and Grandpa) baby pictures, too.
• Create an heirloom. Buy her a piece of jewellery that can be passed on to her child at a graduation or wedding. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, just meaningful. Turn a trinket or old jewellery piece into a charm for her to wear now and hand down later.
• Add them to a family tree. Give the new mom a photo family tree and create a ceremony around adding her, her partner and baby to the tree.

One challenge of becoming a new mom is the identity shift from being your own person to somebody’s mom. New babies need everything that Mom has to give and that can mean putting her own interests and identity on the back burner. So think about giving gifts that support her pre-baby interests and remind her who she is in addition to being a new mom.

• If she’s a bookworm: Gift beautiful and unusual bookmarks, book-themed mugs, a cozy blanket and a gift card to her favourite bookseller.
• For the plant mom: Gift her a gardening class at the local nursery so that her annuals, perennials and veggies flourish.
• If New Mom is into gaming: Treat her to a game she can play with friends remotely for those times when she’s craving adult company.
• If crafts are what excites her: Send her to the craft store with a gift card to buy the materials she needs to make her next quilt, scrapbook or piece of jewellery. Or consider gifting her with something clever like this cross-stitch mug.
• For a new mom who’s into fitness: A fitness day. Arrange childcare so mom can hit the gym or running/walking trail. Follow with a healthy meal at a preferred restaurant. You could also go in together on a quality baby carrier for hiking or a jogging stroller for running.
• If she collects ornaments: Remind her that she’s an amazing mom with a Mother’s Day Keepsake Ornament to touch her heart.

Stepmoms deserve love, too!

Even though a stepchild may not be newly born, a stepmom finds herself in a new relationship with a child she hopes to build trust and love with. So a stepmom needs the same affirmation about being a good mom and the same treats and pampering as other new moms on their first Mother’s Day.