5 Unconventional Gifts To Get For Your Mum This Mother’s Day

Gift vouchers, gift hampers, shoes, clothing, jewellery, a day at the spa – if you have already gotten these and some other related gifts for your mum previously on Mother’s Day, you could be running out of gift ideas on what to get her this year.

But fret not, because we have come up with some pretty unconventional gifts that will benefit your mummy dearest in the long-run. With these unusual gift ideas, you don’t have to worry about paying cut-throat prices to get your mum a gift to show your appreciation.

Here are five unconventional gift ideas that your mum will thank you for:

1. An investment portfolio

It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, and you would have planned for a bouquet of flowers, a card, and an exclusive dinner. Or you can choose to travel down a more non-traditional route and give your mum a gift that continues to provide – an investment portfolio.

Mothers often give up career opportunities to raise their children, losing out on potentially higher salaries in the long run. Giving your mum her own investments can empower her to feel like she is in financial control again.

If that sounds good, consider investing into shares, in a unit trust fund or gold under her name.

This also works for working mums, who may be afraid to start investing due to fear of losses or lack of knowledge.

You can choose to get dividend shares for her, for the continuous income she can potentially get annually. Or you can choose to invest a lump sum in unit trust investment such as bonds. It can come in handy in her old age or for times of emergency or she can use the accumulated returns several years later to sponsor herself a deserving vacation to a faraway land.

Besides shares, unit trusts or gold, there are various investments that you can invest into for just RM1,000.

2. Cleaning services

A mother takes care of the home, 24 hours, seven days a week, and 365 days a year, which includes cleaning, cooking and doing laundry, all while trying to cater to everyone’s need.

Perhaps the best gift to your mum this year is to lighten her work load so she can finally put her feet up and let her hair down.

Get part-time cleaning service to do all the house cleaning services, from sweeping and mopping, to laundry and ironing. For some four hours, you will only need to pay RM70. If you get a weekly cleaning service for her, that would come up to RM240 a month. Not a huge price for your mum’s time.

3. Supplementary credit card

If your mum loves shopping, the best gift for her would probably be a supplementary credit card.

This is not just more convenient for her shopping experience, it is also safer than carrying around cash when she is out and about. If you are worried about the credit card bills, you can always set an affordable monthly limit on the supplementary card.

With your mum’s purchases, you will be able to increase your cash back or accumulate more rewards points. The perfect cards for your mother would most probably be shopping credit cards as they give you high cash back for groceries and other retail spend, and also attractive discounts at selected merchants.

4. Short course/training/workshop

Learning never stops. Many mothers put their needs for self-improvement second when they were raising their child, so now it’s time to show your appreciation.

Pay for a short course that you know your mother will enjoy. If she likes floral arrangement, you can sign her up for a workshop to learn that, or perhaps a baking class so she can bake some yummy goodies for the family.

For career mummies, you can consider signing her up for workshops or courses that will help her advance in her career. Some of the courses are communications, marketing, or leadership courses. These professional courses can come up to a few thousand ringgit, so you can consider sharing the cost with your siblings.

Alternatively, you can sign her up for fun courses like baking, flower arrangement, dance lessons, or even nail art classes. These courses can help non-working mothers earn some extra cash in their free time.

5. Comedy club

Sharing a laugh with your mother is not just fun, but it can create beautiful memories that both of you will cherish forever.

Get her to put on her best dress and the highest heels, then take her to a comedy club to laugh her head off.

Being a mother is perhaps one of the toughest jobs of all, and you might find it equally difficult to match up with a Mother’s Day gift that reflects your heartfelt love and appreciation. Fortunately, you can always tweak these unconventional gifts to fit your finances.

This Mother’s Day, rather than giving her something that lasts only for a day, take this opportunity to indulge her with some unconventional gifts that will make her life a little easier and brighter.

Remember, it’s the thought, effort and care you put into what you do for your mother that matters more than what you spend!

This article was first published in May 2016 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.