Ars Technica’s gift guide for Mother’s Day: Give mom some cool things
say hi to your mom for me
Wondering what to get the mom who has everything? We’ve got some ideas!
Credit: Carol Yepes / Getty
Greetings, Arsians, and welcome to Mother’s Day, which I am told is once again happening this weekend in the US! Do you, much like the rest of humanity, have a mother? Well, if you do, then this is the time of year when you’re supposed to buy her something to make up for all the pain and suffering she went through in order to bring you into this world! Mom raised you, and while what your mother probably wants more than anything is for you to pick up the phone and talk, you could do a lot worse than throwing some money at the problem and buying your mother something from the list we’ve assembled below!
Stuff for under $100
Severance TV show mug, $17.99
From Allentown to Cold Harbor, discerning innies know the best way to drink beverages. Credit: Amazon
Whether the mom in your life operates primarily as an “innie” or an “outie,” if she’s a fan of the Apple TV+ show Severance, she may appreciate this ceramic coffee mug inspired by the series. The mug features the iconic phrase “The Work is Both Mysterious and Important” in blue text that mirrors Lumon Industries’ sterile corporate aesthetic. It’s an ideal conversation starter for fans enjoying the show’s second season after the painfully long production delay. Best of all, it’s perfect for morning coffee before Mom begins her own mysterious and important work. The same company also offers a “Woe’s Hollow” mug if you’d like an alternative design. Celebrate the Sisyphean every-day-is-the-same blessing of motherhood with confidence as these mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe, and they are available in both 11oz and 15oz sizes.
Frameo digital picture frame, $49.99
Frame your mom! Credit: Amazon
From awkward baby pictures, to wedding memories and last year’s holidays, your mother likely has more photos than she knows what to do with. Frameo digital picture frames give your mom somewhere to show off those countless photos without embarrassing, unexpected tags on Facebook.
The digital frame shows uploaded pictures like a slideshow. With the iOS or Android app, it’s easy to upload photos from their phone to the frame. Mom hates the cloud and prefers PC storage? No proble—Frameo frames also support PC upload via USB. You can even help ensure the frame puts your best face forward: With the proper permissions, you can access the thing remotely and upload photos to your mom’s frame from afar. Other handy features include sleep mode and the ability to display the time or weather.
There are various Frameo frames available depending on the size, resolution, and look your mom prefers. Here is a popular 10.1-inch IPS one with 1280ˣ800 resolution and 32GB of storage.
A USB-C charger that will actually fast charge her phone, $27.99
Faster charging means never having to say “I’m sorry.” Or “My phone is dead.” Credit: Amazon
Smartphones haven’t come with chargers for a few years now, which means most people like your mom are using one that’s years old. And that old plug probably can’t hit the increasingly lofty charging speeds of new phones. If mom has an old 18W plug, a new one could juice up her phone at double the speed or more. We like Anker’s Nano II charger (on sale for $28) because it’s compact and reaches an impressive 45W, which is fast enough to hit the max wattage for even high-end phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google. It supports USB-PD and PPS charging technologies, which means it can max out anything with a USB-C port to a limit of 45W.
Loop Quiet 2 ear plugs, $20.95
They look soft! Credit: Amazon
Let’s face it: Moms need uninterrupted sleep. When relieved from kid or pet duty, or perhaps resting after a night shift, it’s great to wipe out a sleep deficit thanks to some good earplugs. These silicone earplugs offer 24dB noise reduction while avoiding the uncomfortable pressure of cheap foam plugs. The most frustrating thing about traditional earplugs is that there’s a wide variety in “ear hole” sizes out there. To fix that, Loop includes four different tip sizes to ensure a proper fit in any ear canal. The silicone design works well for side-sleepers, and the rubber loop makes them easy to pull out and won’t get lost in your ear canals. Amazon reviewers praise these earplugs highly for travel, focus work, and sensitive hearing situations, with many noting they’re comfortable enough to forget you’re wearing them.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird courses, $40-$125
If you take a course, you might be able to identify this bird! (Spoiler: This bird is Christina.) Credit: Cornell
These courses do a few things at once. They give a bird-loving mum hours of engagement. They nicely supplement a complementary webcam-equipped bird feeder or binoculars. And they support an organization that advances bird education, research, and conservation. You can start with beginner basics, pick a lane like ducks or owls, or pack in more with a savings bundle. They pair well with pointing mom to the free Merlin Bird ID app and trading sightings with her throughout the year.
The gift of enlightenment: An Ars subscription, $25-50
Hope to avoid dinner conversations about why you shouldn’t vaccinate your kids? Don’t want forwarded messages about how climate change is a hoax? Can’t endure intense lectures on the perils of germ theory? Know the symptoms of brainworms—and stay safe with Ars Technica.
Brainworms are an active public safety threat in the US. They can infect people you know and love. Brainworms have already attacked our current HHS secretary; they could be coming for your mom next!
Fortunately, there is a vaccine. Get the peace of mind that comes from an Ars Technica subscription. Provide your mom with a completely ad-free viewing experience and access to extra homepage stuff (like the ability to hide news categories she doesn’t like!). An Ars Technica subscription, if applied topically on a daily basis, should inoculate against dumb Facebook memes and other vectors for brainworm infection.
Give that mom an Ars subscription! Moms love Ars subscriptions.
Keep your mom away from jade eggs and pseudoscience! An Ars subscription will show instead how measles is killing kids again, or how the administration’s attack on science is ending America’s worldwide leadership in research, or how NOAA is being stripped bare even as the Atlantic hurricane season gets underway.
Every single subscription helps support the work we do at Ars, and every one is appreciated. So help fight the brainworms and give a subscription to your mother! Soon, she’ll be proudly posting memes in the Ars OpenForum!
Mid-price: $100-$300
Bose Ultra Open-Ear headphones, $249
These are the strangest headphones we’ve ever liked. They’re made for people who want excellent environmental awareness and don’t want the weight of headphones or the discomfort of in-ear units. If those two things are high on your list, these deserve a look. If not, move on because they’re relatively expensive otherwise.
They’re a little odd-looking, but they sound great. Credit: Amazon
When we first tried these, we expected muddy sound and paltry bass, but to our surprise, they sound extremely good–leaps and bounds beyond bone-conduction headphones that have become popular with some runners in recent years. And unless you crank these, or are sitting somewhere very quiet, people near you won’t hear your music.
They are comfortable, too, despite being clamped on the outer ring of your ear. You can almost forget you’re wearing them, unless you’re one of the rare people for whom these are pure torture. All this said, beware: a recent firmware update improved the microphone, but it’s now only average, and we couldn’t recommend these for anyone who plans on doing a lot of calls with them on. As we said at the outset, these are designed for a particular use case; outside of that, there are better options.
Google TV Streamer 4K, $99.99
Stream away! Credit: Google
Your mom’s TV probably has streaming apps built in, but they’re terrible. A good streaming box can offer better audio and video options, as well as a smoother experience. Google’s TV Streamer 4K fits the bill, with support for HDR10+ and the more rare Dolby Vision video, plus Atmos audio. There are other streaming boxes out there, but we think mom will appreciate Google’s Android TV interface over the cluttered, clunky stuff you get from Roku or Amazon. Google’s streamer also connects to the Play Store for apps, which is much better than the alternatives.
Victrola Empire 6-in-1 record player and speaker, $289.99
Part record player, part boombox, part Bluetooth speaker, all class. Victrola’s Empire 6-in-1 Wood Record Player could be the last speaker your musical mother ever needs.
With the ability to play vinyl records (33 1/3, 45, or 78 RPM), CDs, cassettes, and FM radio (unfortunately, there’s no AM tuner), this speaker lets your mom enjoy all that physical media she has stacked in the house, while also allowing her to tune into live radio to hear the latest hits or about current events. If your mom doesn’t need all that, Victrola also makes record player-Bluetooth speaker combos that skip CD, cassette, and radio functionality for less money.
Oooh, retro! Credit: Victrola
Keeping mom in the 21st century, the Empire also lets you connect to its speaker via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm jack, so she can stream music from her favorite apps or play files
stored on her phone.
With a vintage look available in multiple hues, the speaker makes for a classic living room piece that looks vintage without feeling overly dated or antiquated.
Belkin auto-tracking phone stand, $144.99
Mom will be unable to look away. Because the stand will track her. Credit: Amazon
This stand is partly pitched at video creators, sure—but it’s also a boon to anyone who wants to reduce the pain of FaceTime calls with their parents. Set up the stand in their home, make the call, and your folks can sit, stand, wash dishes, wander about, or do anything besides hold a phone in the air or crouch over a table. It comes with a cable and charger, it requires no companion app, and it’s a gift to you, too—the person spending far less time looking up your parents’ noses.
Lego Botanicals Flower Arrangement ($109.99)
The thing about a bouquet of flowers is that it looks nice for a few days, maybe a week, and then it dies. Not so with a Lego Botanicals set, which will always look as good as it did the day you built it. (Speaking from experience, they’re also great conversation starters!)
Beautiful! Just don’t step on the pieces. Credit: Target
This 1,161-piece flower arrangement is one of the larger and pricier sets, but the good news is that the Botanicals series includes many sets at all kinds of prices. Sets like this mini orchid or plum blossom run around $24, or you could pick up a flower bouquet for $48. Longtime Lego fans will also enjoy seeing how Lego has repurposed heads, hats, and other shapes from other sets to create plastic plants.
Big spender: Over $300
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth headphones, $379.99
In our estimation, Bose still sits atop the noise cancellation game. And that’s why you buy these: best in class noise cancellation. The first time I used Bose’s QC line was on a trip from Boston to London. A flight attendant offered me a pair for the flight, and the rest is history: they became my go-to for travel. Apple and Sony can’t touch this noise cancellation.
They’re quiet and comfortable, like it says on the tin. Credit: Amazon
It’s not just bout noise cancellation though. The sound quality is excellent, even if we might give the Sony’s high-end WH-1000XM5 the nod on bass. We found the Bose QC Ultras to be warm and detailed, and certain types of music (hello, Radiohead) sounded amazing with their spatialized stereo option, dubbed Immersive Audio.
Critically, we stumbled upon these as a gift for someone who found the AirPod Max too heavy (385g). At 252g, they’re nearly a third lighter. Bose primarily accomplished this using plastic rather than metal, but in our usage, we appreciated the lightness more than the looks.
Oura Ring 4, $499
We last checked in with Oura when they released version 3.0 of the Oura ring, and it did not impress us much. With Oura Ring 4.0, we’re ready to recommend this device to fitness fanatics with a few caveats. First, the good stuff. The Oura has slightly better battery performance, and we can go 6 days between charges. It’s more comfortable now, too, thanks to repositioning improved sensors. If you want a smart ring, this is the best one right now.
Smart rings are getting smarter all the time. Credit: Amazon
But yes, caveats: fit is critical. If you want accurate steps and activities, you must get the tightest ring you can still easily remove. Order the sizing kits, or use the sizing its in the story. Do not rely on your traditional ring size. It might not fit!
Most annoying, full use of the ring’s software requires a subscription, which is best purchased annually at $70. This makes the Oura quite a splurge, but if that special mom is looking for extra motivation to focus on fitness, wants to track her sleep, and doesn’t want a wrist-tracker or Apple Watch, we’d recommend this.
Apple iPhone 16E, $599 and up
Though no longer as budget-friendly as Apple’s old, discontinued iPhone SE, Apple’s new iPhone 16E still gives you a lot of value for your money (read our review here). It excels at all the things that most people use their phones for—it’s fast, it’s well-built, it has a great camera, and it will get years of software support from Apple.
Who doesn’t need an iPhone? Credit: Apple
For anyone using an aging iPhone SE, or any iPhone that’s more than three or four years old, it will feel like an immense upgrade. It also ditches Apple’s Lightning port in favor of USB-C, so you can charge it with the same power brick you already use for your laptop/Nintendo Switch/Kindle/etc.
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