Personalised gifts for mum, for her birthday and all year long
A gift for mum outside Mother's Day usually means her birthday, Christmas, or wanting to spoil her on a random Tuesday. The trap is the gift you could give any woman: a candle, a bath set, a scarf. Nice, and quickly forgotten. The ideas that land are about her life as a mum, her kids, the time you spend together. This guide covers seven of them, downsides included, one of which is our personalised colouring book: your family photos as colour pages, each followed by the same scene to colour.
A few examples that work for this case
Seven original gift ideas for mum
Ask most mums and they'll tell you: what they want is time and attention. These ideas take that into account, from the gift that costs nothing to the keepsake that stays.
1.A day off from everything
Meals, errands, driving, laundry: someone else handles it, and she decides what to do with her day. It costs almost nothing. You just have to keep your word until bedtime.
2.Jewellery engraved with the kids' names
A necklace, bracelet or ring with initials or birth dates. Subtle, worn every day. You need to know her taste, because a piece she doesn't love stays in the box.
3.An outing with one of her kids
A concert, a museum, a dinner out, a walk in the woods, just her and one of her children, grown or still small. These one-on-one moments stick far longer than last year's present.
4.A creative workshop
Ceramics, watercolor, flower arranging, sewing. Perfect if she likes making things with her hands. Offer to go with her: that's often what gets a busy mum to actually book it.
5.Flowers or a plant
Always welcome, quick to arrange. A bouquet wilts within a week. A plant she likes lasts longer, as long as she wants to look after it.
6.A year-in-review photo book
A way to relive twelve months of family life. She'll enjoy it, then it joins the shelf with the previous ones. It means sorting a lot of photos, the part everyone puts off.
7.A personalised colouring book
Each family photo becomes a colour page, then the same scene in line art to colour. Mum can browse it as a keepsake or take a colouring break, alone or with the kids. Allow 5 to 7 business days before it ships, plus transit, and choose photos where faces are sharp.
Birthday gift for mum from kids: a book that tells her story
For a birthday, the book can follow her story as a mum: pregnancy, the first days, the first vacation, the kids today. For a milestone birthday, slip in a photo or two of her before the kids. Those are often the ones that get her, because nobody ever shows them to her.
Each photo gives two pages: the scene in colour, already printed, and the same scene in line art, ready to colour. Plenty of adults use colouring as a calm, screen-free break. Here, the pages are her own memories: she's colouring moments she actually lived.
Her first name (or simply Mum) appears in large type on the title page, and a few signed lines greet her on the dedication page. Every page is checked before printing, faces included.
A gift for mum from her kids, little or grown
With young kids, it's usually dad or another relative who puts the book together behind her back. Let the kids choose a few photos, dictate the message and sign in the From field. If they want to colour a page before giving it, let them, even outside the lines.
If you're grown kids, make it a joint gift. Each sibling sends photos, one person orders, and the 24-photo format leaves room for the grandkids. A mum who's now a grandma finds her children as little ones and their own kids in the same book.
If she likes guided colouring, our colour-by-number line turns the same photos into numbered areas with a colour key. It's more precise, and it appeals to adults who want a neat result.
Birthday, Christmas, a new grandchild: when to give mum the book
Mother's Day has its own guide. The rest of the year, the book works for her birthday, Christmas, the birth of a grandchild, or to close out a tough year.
It takes 5 to 7 business days between ordering and shipping, then transit. Aim for three weeks before the date, counting the time it takes to find photos she's actually in. In December, order earlier still.
Too late for the printed book? A gift card can be given right away, and mum picks her own photos, which some mums prefer. The printed book costs £19.99 to £51.99 depending on the format, shipping included.
Our tip for mum's book
Mum is often the one taking the pictures, which makes her the one who shows up least in them. Before you choose, look everywhere: your phone, your dad's, the grandparents' albums, school photos from a trip she chaperoned. Keep at least three or four shots where she's clearly there with the kids. Round it out with everyday scenes she loves (snack time, bath time, the school run), not only big occasions. Check that faces are sharp and well lit. And if you're short on photos of her, take a few on purpose in the weeks before, without telling her why.
Recommended format
24-page book, £34.99
Hardback
The 12-photo format lets you mix big occasions with small everyday moments, with enough pages to colour together.
Create the book for mumHow we make your book
Printed on demand by our print partner, close to your delivery address. Square 21.6 cm format, 90 gsm uncoated inner paper that holds pencils and water-based markers well, hardback on the 12 and 24-photo formats (saddle-stitched on the 6-photo format).
- 21.6 cmsquare format
- Stays flat when open on the table, the right size for colouring.
- 90 gsmmatte uncoated paper
- A grain that grips coloured pencils and won't bleed with markers.
- Soft or hardcover
- Softcover for the 6 photo format, rigid hardback for the 12 / 24.
- 5 to 7days to ship
- Printed as a single copy by a professional printer, then shipped with tracking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a unique personalised gift for mum?
A gift that's about her rather than women in general: a day with nothing to manage, a one-on-one outing, jewellery with the kids' names, a book of family photos. Our personalised colouring book combines a keepsake and an activity: each photo gives a colour page to look at and the same scene to colour.
What's a good birthday gift for mum from the kids?
Something the kids clearly had a hand in: photos they picked, a message they wrote or dictated, a page they coloured before wrapping it. The personalised colouring book works well for that, with a From field for their names. For a birthday, mix eras, from her pregnancy to today, so the book tells her story as a mum.
What do you get a mum who says she doesn't want anything?
Usually she means she doesn't want more stuff. Free time, a moment with her kids and memories are a different matter. A day where she handles nothing, a letter or a book of family photos all fit. A personalised colouring book stays as a keepsake and adds a calm activity for whenever she feels like it.
Mum is hardly ever in our photos. What can we do?
It's common: she's often the one holding the phone. Check with grandparents and friends, and look through wedding or school event photos. Add scenes she isn't in but adores, like the kids asleep or on vacation. And take a few pictures of her in the weeks before, without raising suspicion.
Is it a good gift for a mum who has never coloured?
Yes. The colour pages are already printed, so the book stands on its own as a keepsake. Colouring stays optional, something to try alone one evening or with the kids on a weekend. For a first try, colour by number gives more guidance: each area has a number that points to a colour.
How long does it take to get mum's book?
Allow 5 to 7 business days between ordering and shipping: one day to prepare and check every page, then printing. Transit comes on top of that. Order about three weeks before the date. If that's too tight, a gift card is available right away, and mum picks her photos afterward.
Our personalised books made from your photos
Three ways to turn your family photos into an activity book, from free colouring to guided play.
- Personalised colouring bookEach photo becomes a colour keepsake page and the same scene to colour freely.
- Personalised colour by numberYour photos as numbered zones with a colour legend: guided colouring, true to the memory.
- Personalised dot to dotThe drawing of your photo appears as you connect the numbers, then gets coloured in.
Ready to create your book?
Every page is checked before printing.
Create the book for mumRead more
Practical guide
Everfold, My Colorful World, Us in Colors and Memory Pencil: one page per photo, or two?
Everfold, My Colorful World and Us in Colors turn each photo into one black-and-white line-art page. Memory Pencil, which wrote this comparison, makes two: a colour reference page of the memory, then the same scene to colour.
Practical guide
How to choose a dot-to-dot book your child will actually finish
Between a child just discovering numbers and one who can follow a long sequence, the right book is not the same. Real difficulty, readability, number of dots, themes: the guide to choosing well.
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