20 Thoughtful Gifts for Busy Moms (That She’ll Actually Use!)
Inside: Gifts for busy moms who will never ask for anything, but who would totally love your support! Find gifts ranging from free (babysitting anyone!) to career coaching packages that help her find the work-life balance she needs.
You’ve given her a sweater. You’ve given her the mom mug. Maybe you’ve even gifted the busy mom in your life one of those little coupon books to redeem for a free back rub…
But this time around you’re going to totally nail gift-giving time with this curated list of gifts for busy moms. These are items (and services) she will actually use and totally love. Ready, set, gift!
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Free Gifts for Busy Moms
Some of the best things in life are free! And you can gift those amazing free things to the busy moms you love.
Words of Affirmation
Tell her she is doing a good job!
Seriously, send her a text right now telling her that she is a good mom and something you admire about her.
Even if words of affirmation aren’t her love language, I have it on good authority this is going to give her a little pep in her step today. Go you!
Childcare
Really this one should be in a category called “priceless.” As much as the busy mom you love absolutely adores her kids, sometimes she needs a break! Or she’s juggling one million half-days of school and needs some kiddo coverage so she can get work done.
Whatever she needs – if you’re showing up to help out with the kids then you’re definitely a hero in her book. Offer to have her kids over at your house for a couple of hours and wrap that up in a bow!
Working Mom Hacks
Okay, so no one likes unsolicited advice. But, if a busy mom you love is ASKING how she can possibly get all the things done, let’s give that mom a hand.
Pull together your own best tips (breakfast for dinner anyone?) or do some Googling about the problem she mentioned last week.
Another option? Download this free Working Mom Hacks guide and hit forward. A time-saving gift wrapped up in an email!
$ Gifts for Busy Moms
For $20 or less you can be a gift-giving pro for the busy moms in your life. While you’re here, pick something up for yourself. Treat yo self!
Mom’s One-Line-a-Day Journal
I’ve been keeping a one-line-a-day journal for ten years now and these two little books contain so many memories of my pre-kids and mom lives. My handwriting is nothing to write home about at this point, but still they are some of my most prized possessions.
The best part about this gift is right in the name. One line a day. That’s it. No pressure to be a scrapbook keeper or a novelist. You can simply write down one sentence each day and then look back at all the memories you have collected.
When Mommy Grows Up
For the bookworm OR the Insta-caption reader, I’d recommend When Mommy Grows Up a laugh-out-loud, feel-all-the-feels, help-you-make-some-career moves book that’s a perfect gift for the busy moms in your life.
What can lessons we teach our kids like “you need to share” and “make new friends” teach us about our own career happiness? A lot actually! Author, Career Coach, and Mom, Becca Carnahan shares her own story of making changes in her career to find more fulfillment after having kids and helps other moms do the same.
Flowers
There’s just something about a bouquet of flowers that makes someone’s day a bit brighter. And you can do that for your busy mom friend with a quick stop at the grocery store.
Sure you can go fancier here, but picking up a cute bouquet from Trader Joe’s on your way over is going to have the same impact. Promise!
Fair Play
The busy mom you know and love – she may be SO busy because the household load isn’t distributed as fairly as it could be…
Enter the Fair Play System! The system created by author Eve Rodsky will revolutionize how partners manage life at home. The way Eve lays this all out in the book (the Conceptualize, Plan, Execute framework alone blew my mind) and with the cards will have a long-lasting impact on mental health, physical health, and marital harmony.
$$ Gifts for Busy Moms
We’re getting into the $50-ish dollar range here with some super practical and fun gifts she will absolutely want to send you a thank you note for, but you’ll tell her not to because she’s busy. Two gifts in one!
UberEats Gift Card
What’s better than giving a gift of a meal she doesn’t need to cook?
Seriously, when it’s not my night to cook…the best!
Why not extend that feeling with a meal delivered to her door from some of her favorite restaurants with an UberEats Gift Card? You’re so thoughtful!
Chatbooks Subscription
I am now officially two years behind on making photo books. While I adore HAVING the books of memories, actually sitting down to make and format them is a whole other thing.
If you have a busy mom in your life who also loves photo memories to live outside of her phone, these easy-peasy photo books from Chatbooks are a winner. Plus you can gift a subscription so she can get multiple monthly photo books with just a few clicks.
Check out all the Chatbooks Subscription options from 3 months to 12 months in various sizes.
Laptop Bag
By definition, a busy mom is on the GO and she needs to get where she’s going with all her stuff in tow.
Give her an upgrade from the grocery tote she’s been stuffing everything in (raises hand) and gift her a bag that fits all the things.
Check out this laptop bag available on Amazon that will easily hold her laptop, water bottle, notebooks, pens, tissues, lipsticks, Matchbox cars, etc.
If you know, you know.
Echo Show
A fellow busy mom gifted my family the Echo Show in the height of COVID lockdowns so that my kids would have someone else to talk to… No, seriously. It worked too!
I love the Echo Show for SO many reasons including timers my kids can set themselves for reminders about screen time limits, to grab their library books, to put their shoes on, etc. The music, the news highlights, the recipe look up, I could go on and on here.
Okay, ONE more perk. The video calls! My kids can call their grandparents from the Echo Show to say hi all on their own!
Yeti Coffee Tumbler
I don’t know how Yetis works to keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, but they do and I’m here for it!
If you have a busy mom on your shopping list who doesn’t have time to eat up her coffee AGAIN, then this 5-star rated Yeti Coffee Tumbler is exactly what she needs.
There are about a billion colors too so we’re going to customize this gift just for her.
$$$ Gifts for Busy Moms
We’re heading into the $100+ range here with some gift goodies that will make her life easier AND a bit more luxurious. Go you!
Annual Audible Subscription
For the mom on the go – it can be really hard to find time to cuddle up with a good book. Enter Audible!
Whether she is commuting, running errands, waiting in the pickup line (or all three!), you can fill her earbuds with the latest bestsellers with a year’s worth of books. I’m a BIG fan of Libby too for a free option, but this is a fun splurge for her so that books show up on demand.
PS. You can do a month-long subscription option too and that puts this back in the $ category!
Skylight Calendar and Frame
I love the Skylight Calendar because it’s a planner that solves for a MAJOR busy mom pain point – the mental load.
“What time is Nico’s piano lesson?” “When does Evelyn have practice?” “What day are parent-teacher conferences?” “That work trip is THIS week?”
In lots of houses, moms are the keepers of this information but you can help her share the load with this digital calendar the whole house can easily check! As a bonus, she can add her digital photos to the frame for a fun slideshow that keeps the kitchen full of their smiling faces without a trip to CVS to pick up prints.
Artisan Gift Box
Time to get a bit fancy! Check out how beautiful these artisan gift boxes are from Belle Box Co. Gorg!
Support a women-owned business (who is supporting OTHER women-owned businesses) with the gift of sweet treats, candles, lip balms, mugs, blankets, and more wonderful things a busy mom just doesn’t think to buy for herself.
And while I put them into the $$$ category because there are options in the $100+ range (that knit throw, come onnnnn!) there are definitely $$ options here too.
Professional Support Gifts for Busy Moms
If want the busy mom in your life REALLY needs is direct support from a pro to meet her goals, then you’re in the right place. There’s not a $ price tag on this one because support can range from free to a big investment, but I have to say it’s all priceless.
Career Coaching
Career Coaching is a game-changer for working moms who are feeling misaligned in their careers. She doesn’t have to go this alone.
To get started, send her a link to this free training, How to Land a Fulfilling Job You Love Without Giving Up the Flexibility You Need, designed specifically for parents. The training will walk her through the three mistakes job seekers make and how to fix them AND provide a four-step framework for finding a new flexible and fulfilling job.
And if she wants to keep rolling with career coaching, head here to Next Chapter Careers!
Life Coaching
Maybe it’s not career on her brain, but your busy mom friend does need help meeting another big life goal. Whether that’s managing her time, improving her health, and becoming the parent she wants to be.
Check out some of my friends in the working mom coach world who can help her get where she wants to go!
Business Coaching
This one is for the entrepreneurial mamas! The number of women-owned businesses shot WAY up since 2020 and your busy mom friend might be one of those founders.
If so, she may need some help scaling her business, especially as a solopreneur. Check out some fabulous business coaches below to get her the support she needs.
Therapy
For the busy mom who keeps saying, “I really need to find a therapist” – help her do just that!
You can give a BetterHelp gift membership to a mom in your life who hasn’t had time to find a therapist but would love to put some guilt-free time on her calendar to focus on her mental health.
Happy Gift Giving!
Is your cart full of gifts for busy moms you love yet? Amazing!
Thank YOU for being such a thoughtful gift-giver. And give that busy mom you love a little love from me too. Mom life is A LOT, but we get by with a little help from our friends. ❤️
