Personalized gifts for mom, for her birthday and all year long
A gift for mom 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 mom, her kids, the time you spend together. This guide covers seven of them, downsides included, one of which is our personalized coloring book: your family photos as color pages, each followed by the same scene to color.
A few examples that work for this case
Seven original gift ideas for mom
Ask most moms 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.Jewelry 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 mom 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 personalized coloring book
Each family photo becomes a color page, then the same scene in line art to color. Mom can browse it as a keepsake or take a coloring break, alone or with the kids. Allow 3 to 5 business days before it ships, plus transit, and choose photos where faces are sharp.
Birthday gift for mom from kids: a book that tells her story
For a birthday, the book can follow her story as a mom: 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 color, already printed, and the same scene in line art, ready to color. Plenty of adults use coloring as a calm, screen-free break. Here, the pages are her own memories: she's coloring moments she actually lived.
Her first name (or simply Mom) 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 mom 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 color 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 mom who's now a grandma finds her children as little ones and their own kids in the same book.
If she likes guided coloring, our color-by-number line turns the same photos into numbered areas with a color key. It's more precise, and it appeals to adults who want a neat result.
Birthday, Christmas, a new grandchild: when to give mom 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 3 to 5 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 mom picks her own photos, which some moms prefer. The printed book costs $29.99 USD to $64.99 USD depending on the format, shipping included.
Our tip for mom's book
Mom 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, $44.99 USD
Hardcover
The 12-photo format lets you mix big occasions with small everyday moments, with enough pages to color together.
Create the book for momHow we make your book
Printed on demand by our print partner, close to your delivery address. Square 8.5 in format, 60 lb uncoated inner paper that holds pencils and water-based markers well, hardcover on the 12 and 24-photo formats (saddle-stitched on the 6-photo format).
- 8.5 insquare format
- Stays flat when open on the table, the right size for coloring.
- 60 lbmatte uncoated paper
- A grain that grips colored pencils and won't bleed with markers.
- Soft or hardcover
- Softcover for the 6 photo format, rigid hardcover for the 12 / 24.
- 3 to 5days to ship
- Printed as a single copy by a professional printer, then shipped with tracking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a unique personalized gift for mom?
A gift that's about her rather than women in general: a day with nothing to manage, a one-on-one outing, jewelry with the kids' names, a book of family photos. Our personalized coloring book combines a keepsake and an activity: each photo gives a color page to look at and the same scene to color.
What's a good birthday gift for mom from the kids?
Something the kids clearly had a hand in: photos they picked, a message they wrote or dictated, a page they colored before wrapping it. The personalized coloring 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 mom.
What do you get a mom 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 personalized coloring book stays as a keepsake and adds a calm activity for whenever she feels like it.
Mom 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 mom who has never colored?
Yes. The color pages are already printed, so the book stands on its own as a keepsake. Coloring stays optional, something to try alone one evening or with the kids on a weekend. For a first try, color by number gives more guidance: each area has a number that points to a color.
How long does it take to get mom's book?
Allow 3 to 5 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 mom picks her photos afterward.
Our personalized books made from your photos
Three ways to turn your family photos into an activity book, from free coloring to guided play.
- Personalized coloring bookEach photo becomes a color keepsake page and the same scene to color freely.
- Personalized color by numberYour photos as numbered zones with a color legend: guided coloring, true to the memory.
- Personalized dot to dotThe drawing of your photo appears as you connect the numbers, then gets colored in.
Ready to create your book?
Every page is checked before printing.
Create the book for momRead 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 color reference page of the memory, then the same scene to color.
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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