Mother’s Day is coming up fast on Sunday, May 8. Spouses, sons, and daughters everywhere are agonizing about what the get the most important woman in their lives. However, not all moms are the same. We present some gift ideas for active moms, indulgent moms, and socially-minded moms.
The Sporty Mom
The sporty mom doesn’t lack for options in Beijing. From CrossFit and combat sports to Heyrobics, Pilates, yoga, and beyond, there’s definitely something for her. Check our archives here and here for some ideas. Get her a voucher for that new class she’s been meaning to try out, or better yet – make it a family thing. With summer coming up, sailing and golf are also great activities that the entire family can participate in. Click here for a directory of sailing centers and here for golf listings.
Fitness tracking apps are the hottest new thing. (Right? That’s what the kids keep telling me anyway.) The Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport are a solid present. The sport edition costs RMB 2,588 (38mm screen) or RMB 2,288 (38mm screen) and comes in ten colors. If that’s too rich for your blood, various Jawbone and Fitbit models are available on Amazon China. The Fitbit Surge, which features a watch display, retails for RMB 1,998.The cheaper Xiaomi version can also do the trick and retails for RMB 99.
For the yogi mom, both Isofit and Yoga Yard carry a small selection of high-quality yoga clothes from Lululemon and aumnie athletics respectively. Yoga Yard also has yoga books, yoga mats, and yoga bags. For a more socially-conscious choice, consider buying from the Yoganda Project, which teaches widowed women in Uganda how to make yoga bags. The products are available directly from Founder Theresa Pauline; add her on WeChat at TheresaRae or call 152 1007 1708.
The Indulgent Mom
Gift vouchers for massage parlors, nail salons, and hair salons are all easy gifts for hard-working moms in need of pampering. The idea is to get her something that she would love to try but isn’t likely to buy for herself, such as an indulgent facial or restorative hair treatment. For example, Bodhi has several spa packages for RMB 680-890 with different combinations of oil or aromatherapy massages, facials, body wraps, body scrubs, and aromatherapy baths. Scarlet Salmons of Z Hairdressing, a frequent collaborator on our Indulge columns, recommends the Keratin deep-conditioning hair treatment for moms with very dry or frizzy hair.
Shameless plug for a friend here: Rose Fulbright-Vickers is a London- and Paris-trained designer who specializes in luxurious silk lingerie and loungewear, which she produces under her brand Rose Fulbright. Her latest series, the Tropical Collection, features a pattern based on beautiful watercolor drawings of fish by her grandmother, Susan Williams-Ellis. Five percent of profits from the Tropical Collection are donated to Oceana, an ocean conservation organization.
Jewelry is always a popular gift, but avoid the cheap stuff from the Pearl Market. Personally, I love Paloma Sanchez‘s bold, sculptural pieces made with materials like natural rubies, emeralds, copper, and white and yellow gold. Nicolas Favard (who was featured in last year’s Mother’s Day issue with his son, Amos and also in this year’s list) is another favorite. His designs favor metals and gems in simple, sensuous forms; I was especially taken by an ultra-light titanium ring with a blue sheen last time I dropped in. Both have shops in Sanlitun.
The Socially-Conscious Mom
If the mom in your life doesn’t want material gifts, dedicate something from UNICEF Inspired Gifts to her instead. This UNICEF program enables regular people to directly impact the lives of children and families in need with items like blankets, mosquito nets, bicycles, and more. There are also packages like the Super Hero Pack (USD 54.07) – enough money for 50 vaccines, one vaccine carrier, and six mosquito nets – and the Winter Survival Pack (USD 161.25), which contains blankets, clothes, 900 packets of micronutrient powder, and 10,000 water purification tablets to help one child survive the winter. Note that you need a foreign credit card to pay for purchases.
Similarly, you can donate to a local charity organization like Roundabout, the Migrant Children’s Foundation, or Bethel China. There are many worthy organizations in Beijing; browse our website to find more archived articles on volunteering and donating.
In addition, the Starfish Project helps exploited women in Asia by teaching them how to make and sell their own jewelry. The pieces are beautiful, don’t cost very much, and are often made with hypoallergenic materials. You can also host a jewelry party with a Starfish Project rep and invite all of Mom’s friends for an afternoon of shopping and socializing. Click here to shop.
Want more ideas? Click here for our April 2015 article on custom-made Mother’s Day gifts. Click here for ideas about weekend trips. Here for a digital copy of our article in the April 2016 issue.
Photos: Harsha K R (Flickr), Yasunobu Ikeda (Flickr), Rose Fulbright, Nicolas Favard, UNICEF Inspired Projects, Starfish Project
