Best Gifts for Mom (2026): IE-Readers, Digital Wall Calendar, Smart Bird Feeders

Mothers give the best gifts, so it makes sense that you should find the best gifts for Mom when shopping for her in any situation. That includes Mother’s Day, her birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, and any other holiday in your family’s life that involves gift-giving. I’ve made some great summer additions for moms with a birthday coming up, or a mom who wants to treat her to something nice this warm time of year.

If you’re worried about giving her a disappointing gift or something she already owns, fear not: I’ve rounded up the coolest things we recommend here at WIRED that just about any mom will love. From wellness gadgets that can improve her skin, a beach bag I can’t stop using, or even a device that puts her digital calendar on an IRL device, moms everywhere can get a ton from these gifts. Many of these things I have given to my mom, or other WIRED staff have given theirs, or are at the top of my list as a mom of a 4 year old.

Updated July 2026: I’ve added a beach bag, sun hat, and linen sheets as new gifts to this guide.

My Favorite Summer Bag

Mission Outdoor

Cassi Beach Tote

I’ve had this bag for a few summers now, and it’s holding up great. My go-to bag for the beach or pool, and the mesh sides make it sand and water inspired alike. The thin straps have a ton of room to sling this bag over the shoulder or on the handle of a stroller, and I’ve never had a break even with all the towels, swimsuits, and stuff I put in it. The bottom is waterproof so it’s perfect for lounging by the pool, and the stylish colors make it a bag she’ll love to bring. I prefer the look of it by a mile to the big Bogg bags I see on the lake, and it’s a better price.

Next Level Skin Care (and Skin).

A must-have gadget for women of almost any age is the LED mask. These masks promise to use red light to erase wrinkles, brighten your skin, and prevent acne. I haven’t seen much change in my complexion in my year and regular use of the red lightening mask, but I can confirm that it brightens my skin and reduces acne and scars very quickly when I regularly treat my skin. The HigherDose is my favorite mask because the three-strap design allows it to hang on my head rather than being tight, making it one of the most comfortable masks I’ve ever worn.

Another of my favorite LED tools lives in my head and comes from HigherDose. The product’s Bright Red Hat treats your head with a red light to stimulate your scalp and hair for better hair growth, and as someone with sensitive skin and hair pulling problems, using this hat often really improved my scalp and hair. It’s the healthiest it’s ever been, and my scalp doesn’t itch too much, either. I love that this hat also has a battery pack, so I can wear it comfortably wherever I carry my head.

Chic Sun Protection

I managed to get two different headaches this summer, and I’m worried about it. My 4-year-old let me go everywhere from the beach to the pool to the county this summer, and even the sunscreen I sprayed in my hairline didn’t keep me safe. Enter: this Solbari wide-brimmed hat. It’s soft and flexible, so it’s easy to roll up and store in a beach bag or stroller, and the cotton linen design keeps it breathable, though you’ll want to dial it back to the white side on hot days. It promises UPF 50+​ to protect your head, and the 4-inch hem helps keep my neck safe, too. It’s cute while still providing plenty of coverage, and it’s a great choice for any mom who’s going to be dragged out in the sun all summer.

Her Google Calendar IRL

My latest family planning gadget is a digital wall calendar. These portable devices take the Google Calendar that I live by (and pretty much any other digital calendar, if your mom isn’t a Google girl) and put it on a portable device that I can quickly access without needing to grab my phone or bark at Alexa. Skylight Calendar 2 is my favorite, because it not only includes a to-do list, meal planner, and cookbook but also doubles as a digital photo frame. That means it shows cute pictures of my family most of the time, and then, with a simple tap, opens the calendar or any page I’ve saved to show me what’s on my family’s schedule. It does have a subscription fee, however, to get the digital photo frame feature and a few other options, such as meal planning. But I think it’s worth it to get more features in one device.

For the Student

Look, I love the Kindle, but if you want to get the best e-reader for your money, the answer is actually the Kobo. My favorite is the Kobo Libra Color which is cheaper than the Kindle Colorsoft and can double as a digital notebook if you add a $70 stylus. I also prefer Kobo’s annotation options: You can write right on the pages instead of the weird pop-up line and boxes only on Kindle. Kobo also has its own page turn remote now, which I like to pair with the pillow holder so I can lean back and relax without holding my e-reader while reading. I gave my mother the same place for a pillow, and now I can easily see her last place because that pillow rests there.

Luxury, Cooling Sheets

If your mom (or your wife) is complaining about hot nights this summer, one of the best types of sheets to keep her cool is a linen sheet set. These beautiful sheets from Modern Dane are made from 100 percent European flax grown in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and produced in Portugal. These sheets weigh 165 GSM, or grams per square meter, which is where linen sheets are graded instead of thread count. That gives them a medium weight, but these sheets feel nice and light and are perfect for sleeping on hot summer nights. Also, these sheets are certified with OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class and Masters of Flax Fiber certification. You can choose from a variety of colors and prints that will perfectly match his bedroom design.

Clear Listening

My husband and I got AirPods at the same time. We were late adopters and longtime fans of our Apple wired headphones. AirPods 4 aren’t the WIRED audio group’s favorite, but I’m one of the many people who can’t keep other earbuds in my ears, so Apple’s tipless design is fine for me, even if it means you don’t get good noise cancellation. I got my first set for Christmas from my siblings this year, and at first I attached cute stickers to my case to tell the difference between my case and my husband’s. I’ve since upgraded to this stylish case from Mujjo, which makes it easy to see which one is mine and attach it to my keys. It’s great if your mom already has AirPods but is struggling to keep track of them or is looking for an easy way to separate hers from other members of the household.

Gamer’s Gear

When my baby is asleep, you can find me parked on the couch with my Nintendo Switch. I recently upgraded to a Nintendo Switch 2 ($449) to finally buy and play Pokopia ($70), since it’s exclusive to the new console, and I’ve already logged countless hours in the game. It’s the same as Animal Crossingbut imagine all Pokémon instead of random animals. He has a stranglehold on me, similar to it Animal Crossing: New Horizons I do in 2020, and there have been many times when I am still awake playing when my son wakes up in the middle of the night or an accident. (You could say it’s helping me prepare for parenthood.) My son is 4 and not really ready to play a video game, but he loves flying as a Dragonite in this game, and he loves watching the cutscenes with me when I complete parts of the story.