The best Mother's Day gifts under $50 2023

Whatever you like to call her — mom, mummy, mama — she probably deserves some tender loving care this Mother's Day (which falls on Sunday, May 14, 2023). Besides some good old-fashioned quality time, the best way to show her how much you appreciate her is by finding the perfect gift that’ll make her smile.

To help you narrow down your list, we curated our favorite presents under $50. If you're shopping for something more specific (like a personalized gift), you can check out the rest of Select's Mother's Day gift coverage here.

Below, we rounded up the best items under $50 for moms, grandmas and/or mothers-in-law across a variety of categories — including presents for her kitchen, closet and more. We chose items with Select readers in mind based on staff favorites, brands we’ve previously covered and products we think you should know about.

This popular 2-in-1 tool, which combines a blow dryer and round brush into one volumizing hair product, comes expert recommended in our guide to the best hair dryers of 2023. It's also a favorite of Select editor Christina Colizza, "I don't remember life before my Revlon One Step and I don't want to," she says. The top-rated dryer has three heat settings, two speeds, and bristles that help detangle and improve volume, according to Revlon. Plus, it has a ceramic coating, which helps distribute heat evenly so it's gentler on the hair and therefore less damaging. You can rest easy knowing you’re giving Mom a quality tool that's especially easy to use.

If your mother figure is always concerned about staying hydrated, you may want to consider gifting a Stanley Quencher. The popular tumbler is best known for its temperature control — it can keep cold drinks, cool and hot drinks, hot for hours. I consistently pour ice cold water in my 40-ounce vessel in the morning and by the midafternoon it remains bitingly cold. Plus, it's dishwasher-safe and its rotating lid helps keep the splashes and spills to a minimum.

When's the last time your mom upgraded her yoga mat? It's probably been a minute, which makes this lightweight Gaiam mat, one of the best yoga mats of 2023. Its sticky, nonslip texture helps with stability while doing yoga poses or pilates and rolls up quite easily so it's great for moms who are always on the go. In my experience, the 0.2-inch thick mat is the ideal size — it's perfectly firm yet cushioned at the same time for added support.

In our guide to the 23 best gardening tools, our experts recommended having a stool on hand to help protect your back and knees. This option from Uncommon Goods is a folding chair and a tool organizer in one, so your mom can house all her items in one place and take a break when needed. When Mom's ready for a seat (the stool weighs around 4.75 pounds, but can support up to 250 pounds) she can simply detach the bag from the stand's frame via its hook-and-loop fasteners. The bag itself can fold down when not in use and has two carrying handles, 21 outer pockets for her gardening essentials and a large open interior to hold any other items.

Baggu is one of my most reliable brands when I’m shopping for gifts. I have, and regularly use, their laptop cover, water bottle sling, fanny pack and reusable bags, and am always consistently impressed with the artistry and quality of the prints. These light, puffy slippers are fleece lined to keep your giftee's toes warm so they’re great for any moms or grandmas who love to keep the air conditioner on high during the summer. If your giftee is in between sizes, Baggu recommends sizing up. Choose from prints with florals, strawberries, smiley faces and more.

Whether she's a beginner to the dessert game or already a committed baker who loves spending time in the kitchen, Roman's latest cookbook (that focuses entirely on casual, but still excellent sweets) is the perfect treat. Roman's previous bestselling cookbooks "Nothing Fancy" and "Dining In" showcased her signature effortless style when it comes to entertaining. "Sweet Enough" comes with just the right amount of inspiration and hand-holding, and has recipes for desserts like old-fashioned strawberry cake and crunchy chocolate shortbread.

This classic tote is a Select staff favorite, and part of our guide to the best beach bags for a reason: It's built to last. Known for its durable handles, heavyweight canvas and reinforced bottom, L.L. Bean's Boat and Tote is the gift that keeps on giving. She can use it for vacation, grocery hauls or even as her everyday purse. The best part? It's customizable. Pick her ideal color, size and strap type, and then for $8, add on her name, monogram or a fun phrase like "cool mom," or "GOAT." It's a great gift for mothers-in-law and grandmas too — you can get all the generations involved.

When the only thing more addicting than her morning cup of coffee is her daily workout. Enter this tumbler that lets her do both at the same time. It has a built-in splash guard so she can get her caffeine fix sans any leaks, plus it's designed with a slim width that should fit in most car cup holders, according to Fellow. It comes in more than 10 colors including neutrals and is available in three sizes. If you’re looking to sweeten the deal and spend more than $50, check out Fellow's electric kettle; we’ve featured it in our guide to the best electric kettles and pour-over coffee makers.

These fluffy, pom-pom slippers come in more than eight colors and will add a playful touch to her everyday lounge look. They have a moisture-wicking plush fleece lining to help with any sweat, plus they have a waterproof anti-slip sole and a memory foam midsole that helps absorb shock, according to the brand. They run from sizes 5-12 and have an average 4.3-star rating from over 10,000 reviews on Amazon.

With top notes of bergamot, lavender and sage this endearing soy wax candle will burn for 60-80 hours, according to Homesick. It's free of lead, plastics, parabens, synthetic dyes or phthalates too. Once she burns through it, she can upcycle the jar and use it as a mini vase or utensil holder.

This single-leaf hoya thrives in bright direct light and requires watering every two to three weeks, according to The Sill. It measures around two to three inches tall so it’ll add a small pop of green to any countertop. Plus, it's pet friendly, which means it's nontoxic to dogs and cats, according to the brand. For $34 you can opt to just buy the plant itself or for $48 you can pick a pot to go with it.

Many Select editors swear by silk accessories for sleep — whether it's an eye mask, scrunchies or pajamas — for their skin and hair benefits. And this top-rated pillowcase is no different. It naturally regulates heat and helps minimize split ends, dryness and frizz, according to the brand. It's machine washable and has a hidden side zipper too. This pillowcase is sold individually so you’ll want to order an extra if you want her to have a complete set of two for her bed. It's available in more than 20 colors and three pillow sizes.

Some of the best kinds of Mother's Day gifts are the ones your mom would never think to buy for herself. Enter: this gentle exfoliating scrub from Osea. Its mineral-rich salts get rid of any roughness, while the shea butter and seaweed in its formula will help nourish her skin, according to Osea (a brand that comes dermatologist-recommended to us). Stir well before use and then apply it in a circular motion before rinsing. Pro tip: Tell your mom she can use it on her hands to exfoliate any dry skin from winter.

Make mom look and feel her best with these lightweight, rubber-like sandals from Birkenstock. They’re waterproof so they’re especially great for summer and warm temps. She can wear them on and around the beach, pool deck, garden, gym and more. The sandal has a contoured footbed that absorbs shock, plus the straps are adjustable so she can find her ideal fit, according to the brand. They’re available in several neutral and bright colors and come in half sizes too.

If she's always sharing her go-to recipes with friends and family, treat her to these special recipe cards from Papier. The front has room for an ingredients list and cooking notes, while the back has lines for her to fill in all the instructions. You can customize details like the font, color and line and height spacing, in addition to personalizing the cards with mom or grandma's name. They’re 7x5 inches and are printed on a warm-white paper with a matte eggshell finish. She’ll get a pack of 10 with plain white envelopes accompanying it.

This top-rated mindfulness notebook has a 4.5-average star rating from more than 12,000 reviews on Amazon. The journal has prompts that encourage gratitude and cultivate a sense of appreciation, according to the brand. There are weekly challenges, inspirational quotes, places for self-reflection and more — and it only takes five minutes a day, according to The Intelligent Choice. You can buy one yourself and do it alongside your mom each day or gift it to a new mom in your life who you know could benefit from having a little structure when it comes to practicing mindfulness.

Let mom go hands-free with this popular fanny pack from Lululemon. Designed with water-repellent fabric, this small but practical bag has interior and exterior pockets that can hold her essentials while she's out on the go: keys, wallet, hand sanitizer, tissues and more. She can wear it across her hips like a typical fanny pack or across her shoulders in a crossbody style. If you’re looking to give her a little more room, it comes in a larger style that's also under $50.

This minimalist made-to-order necklace comes in sterling silver, 14-karat gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil. You can pick from 10 fonts and add up to eight letters — whether you want to customize it with your mom's name or give it to Grandma with all her grandchildren's initials on it. This Etsy bestseller is also available in 14-karat solid gold if you’re willing to spend more than $50.

Level up her loungewear game with this lightweight waffle knit robe. This machine washable option has an average 4.5-star rating from over 7,000 reviews and has a tie belt and two front pockets. It's available in several colors including navy, burgundy and teal, and runs from XS to 7X.

Turn your mom's favorite photos into the puzzle of her dreams. Shutterfly offers 60-piece, 252-piece, 520-piece and 1014-piece jigsaws — all at varying prices under $50. It's made of high-quality paperboard and the puzzles are available in landscape or vertical orientation, according to the website.

Make mom's happy hour better with this 7-inch veined marble cooler. Marble's natural properties help keep wine chill, according to the brand. Reviewers also noted how sturdy it is. This piece is part of a collection so if you want to spruce her gift up past the $50 mark, you can add on a cheese board, fruit bowl, lazy Susan and more.

Lindsay has been sourcing products and editing and writing gift guides for years — most recently as Select's new commerce editor and prior to that as a senior commerce editor at theSkimm. She has expertise in women's lifestyle products and books. For this article, she pulled products based on items the Select team has covered before and items she has personally used.

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Lindsay Schneider is an editor for Select on NBC News.