Yahoo Finance 15 great Mother's Day gifts you can get for under $30 that your mom will adore
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With Mother's Day 2023 coming up on Sunday, May 14, it's time once again to celebrate all the best moms in our lives, whether it's our own mother or a friend who's recently had a kid.
Maybe you're saving up your allowance to get something for a parent—or just looking for a small, heartfelt token for a pal. This list is for everyone who wants to let that special mom in their lives know they're loved without breaking the budget.
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Fortunately, there are plenty of cheap gift ideas that are solid, popular picks Mom is sure to love. Here's our list of favorite Mother's Day gifts you can get for under $30.
►Mother's Day 2023 gift guide: 65 best Mother's Day gift ideas any mom will love
1. Perfecore facial mask
Aside from cooling the skin, ice masks like this model from Perfecore claim to reduce redness and puffiness, and can temporarily shrink pores and reduce wrinkles. Just the thing for a quick refresher before heading out.
Ice masks are a form of cryotherapy, where you use low temperatures for healing purposes. When your face is swollen, it indicates that fluid is trapped in the tissue there. Masks like this one leverage the cold and pressure to help that fluid return to your lymphatic system to be circulated like normal.
This mask is also microwave safe, if you'd prefer to go the heated rout as opposed to cooling.
2. LifeAround2Angels Bath Bombs
The LifeAround2Angels set is the highest-rated bath bomb we've tested. Not only do these inexpensive additives provide plenty of fizzy frothiness, fun and bright colors, and ingredients to keep you moisturized; they also feature nice fragrances without overpowering your olfactory system.
You can buy these bath bombs in gift sets of four, eight, or twelve, though you stand to save the most by buying in bulk.
Our tester loved how these bath bombs left their skin feeling soft, and everything washed down the drain without staining the tub or leaving behind any messy residue.
These bath bombs are a perfect gift for any mom who enjoys a relaxing bath. And there might even be extras left over for you to enjoy a soak yourself.
3. Allure Beauty Box
If you're looking to get your favorite mom a variety pack of makeup and skincare products, the Allure Beauty Box is a great entry point. You can currently buy three months of the beauty box at just $10 for the first box (with coupon code FLASH10) and $25 for subsequent boxes.
The box is one of the higher-rated beauty subscription boxes we've tested. It contains eight full-size and sample-size makeup and skincare products from brands that range from high-end to indie. There's an included pamphlet that outlines why each editor loves each product they chose and provides tips on how to best use it.
While we loved the variety included in each box, one of the best parts is that a single full-size product included in this box costs more than the monthly subscription, which makes this kit an excellent value—a rare quality for a subscription boxes like this.
$10 for the first month's box with coupon code
4. Yankee Candle 22-Ounce Vanilla Cupcake Scented Candle
You can't go wrong with a great scented candle—especially one that smells like cupcakes!
We've reviewed Yankee candles in the past and found they're one of the best bets in the business. Their scents are powerful—even before you light the wick—without being completely overpowering. The smells tend to linger for quite a long time as well, even after the candle was extinguished. These candles can really transform your home's entire smell, and the results are incredibly cozy.
Our reviewer thought the scent from the candle she was reviewing was extra homey, and prompted her husband to pop his head in the room to see if something was baking.
There's a reason Yankee Candle has been serving Boston and beyond continuously since 1969. To this day, they're one of the best destinations for a high-quality scented candle at a reasonable price.
5. Dash Mini Waffle Maker
This is one of those gifts you can buy to make your favorite mom breakfast in bed for a perfect start to Mother's Day—and then maybe later you can also benefit from easy access to mini waffles.
The Dash mini waffle maker isn't just a cute novelty, it's also one of the better waffle makers we've reviewed. Its small size helps it preheat and bakes quickly, allowing users to quickly cook a short stack.
This waffle maker is also dead-simple to use: There are no settings, just an LED to let you know when the preheating and cooking is done. This makes it perfect for moms who aren't the best chefs, or who want to help teach their kids how to cook a simple breakfast.
This tiny waffle maker comes in one of 20 different colors or patterns, some of which print fun shapes onto the waffles.
6. Totally Bamboo Kauai Cutting Board
If your favorite mom loves to cook, this is the cutting board to get: The Totally Bamboo Kauai is the best we've tested.
This has the best feel and balance of all the cutting boards we used, heavy enough to pass our stability and balance tests, but remains light enough to easily reposition and clean.
While it's true that some bamboos are harder than wooden cutting boards, we didn't see any excess dulling during our testing. As an added benefit, because bamboo grows much faster than wood and this bamboo board can last just as long with proper upkeep, it's actually a better choice for any environmentally-conscious moms out there.
7. Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker
If your favorite mom needs coffee to get going in the morning, this Takeya cold brew coffee maker is a perfect gift.
This coffee maker has been our highest-rated pick for a while now, for several good reasons.
First of all, it's incredibly intuitive to use: You just add grounds to its reusable filter, stick that into the canister, pour water over top and put everything in the fridge to steep.
Secondly, the Takeya cold brew coffee maker is also simple to clean, both by hand or in the dishwasher. Most importantly, this coffee maker is one of the best values we've found for its price.
While this coffee maker uses plastic instead of glass or metal, we found it still produces better coffee than its peers.
8. Apple EarPods Headphones with Lightning Connector
If your favorite mom enjoys walking, hiking, cycling, or tends to do chores while listening to an accompanying playlist or podcast on her iPhone, she could use a quality-built pair of headphones.
While in-hear headphones come in all kinds of qualities and prices, Apple's EarPods have remained one of the best value options for entry-level listeners.
We found these headphones to be remarkable well made despite their bargain bin pricing. They're comfortable, have excellent sound quality for their price, and feature an easy-to-use control pendant for changing volume or seeking a new song.
9. Mzoo Sleep Mask
Moms can always use better, longer sleep—especially when they tend to travel a lot. Whether your favorite mom spends a lot of time on planes, or just likes to sleep in, this sleep mask from Mzoo could help.
Mzoo's sleep mask is our current favorite out of the batch we tested, because it does basically everything perfectly. This mask cups around its user's eyes to avoid creating too much pressure or creasing your lashes and it blocks out a ton of light.
Our tester tends to sleep with her face pressed into her pillow, which you'd think would be uncomfortable when wearing a mask, but she still found the fit completely comfortable.
10. Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story : A Mother's Guided Journal
If you're getting one of your new-mom friends a Mother's Day gift, this adorable book might just melt her heart.
This book gives new moms a perfect way to catalog everything that's happening in her life, to give to their children insight into how things were when they were babies.
This gift can help their kids understand them better as a person, help provide them with a sense of their shared history, and can help outline any challenges that child may face when raising their own kids.
11. Royal Craft Bamboo Charcuterie Board
If your favorite mom is a foodie or loves to entertain, this bamboo charcuterie board is another gift that may come back around to benefit you in the future.
This sturdy bamboo board is one of our favorites. Though not a cutting board, we found it was sturdy enough to serve as one if need be. It won't slip and slide around while guests serve themselves either, thanks to its no-slip tabs.
The board itself is mostly flat, but it does feature some indented spaces for nuts, pretzels, viscous dips—whatever make the most sense. It also features side handles that allow anyone to comfortably carry it around a cocktail party.
The board is available in four different sizes, one of which can expand for even more serving space.
12. Counter Culture coffee subscription
If you were considering the cold brew coffee maker above but were looking for a little something extra for your gift (or if they already have a coffee maker) this subscription to Counter Culture Coffee makes for a great gift.
This is the best coffee subscription service we've tested to date. If you haven't heard of them, Counter Culture is a big name in specialty coffee. Their business spans every part of the business, from wholesale to retail, which allows shoppers to buy some fantastically fresh beans. The company is also transparent about what types of beans go into each blend, including info on their origin, altitude, roasting date, and variety.
One of the reasons we love this subscription service so much is because their offerings are always changing. You can customize the blends you receive based on tasting notes, or instead opt for a single-origin bean they swap out each month.
From $16 per shipment at Counter Culture
13. Chewy Goody Box
If your favorite mom is also a mom to a furry friend, this goody box from Chewy can help make this Mother's Day special for both her and her precious pet.
We tested a version of the Chewy Goody Box for cats, which included a handful of toys (some containing catnip, some without), and three different packages of treats. Some of these items are available for separate purchase if you really like them, but some are Goody Box exclusives.
Our tester found their pet cat just couldn't get enough of the toys, which was surprising, as she expected her cat to have far more fun with the packaging. In terms of the treats, the cat also loved those (but that was far less of a surprise).
Chewy offers several versions of these Goody Boxes on their site, for both dogs and cats.
14. Beam Electronics Car Phone Holder Mount
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you have to use for a while before you truly appreciate them. If your favorite mom is driving around without a car phone holder, this model from Beam Electronics may be the sleeper hit from her Mother's Day haul.
The Beam Electronics mount is one of the best we've found. Its jaws are easy to adjust and grip the phone firmly. The other end affixes to your car's air vents, which should allow users to position it exactly where they want it—just be mindful it needs those vent slats in order to properly install.
Car phone holders are great for keeping your maps app visible and at an arms reach, without needing to juggle both the wheel and your phone. This is especially important if you live in a state with a hands-free law.
15. Masterclass subscription
If your favorite mom has a special interest or loves her hobbies, a Masterclass subscription can serve as a fun excuse for her to pursue those passions.
We love Masterclass as a subscription service. These classes combine TED talks, YouTube instructional videos, and community college courses, allowing users to chase whatever topic is currently capturing their interests—and there's a lot of topics available.
Masterclass covers just about every subject you can think of, from cooking to quantum mechanics, and courses are taught by preeminent figures in their fields. Our reviewer found that even courses he wasn't particularly interested were still well worth a listen, just to hear an expert talk about their area of expertise.
For just $20 a month, you get access for two users to view over 180 available classes, complete with the ability to download and watch later.
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
This article originally appeared on Reviewed: 15 Mother's Day gifts for under $30
