The Best Gifts for Long-Distance Moms

Our senior editor Jen Trolio has been using Aura frames to keep in touch with long-distance family members since 2020, and they’restill bringing her parents joy. You and your siblings can contribute images through an easy-to-use app, keeping mom up-to-date with everyone’s photos.

Travelers in the know won’t board a plane withoutthis fleecy, scarflike travel pillow, nor should your mom.

If she prefers to watch her shows on planes, thisbendy foam phone standis easy to pack and surprisingly useful for video calls and selfies, too.

Remind her of that special trip she took to visit you in the city with this candle from Homesick — or pick another state-inspired scent that’ll trigger happy memories you two have shared.

If your mom keeps in touch with you and the rest of the family via video chat, she deserves the best and easiest-to-use headphones. We’vetested plenty of them, and AirPods are always a safe bet for smartphone use.

Blue-light-blocking glasses are thought to help prevent headaches andmigrainesthat come with too much screen time. If Mom enjoysZoomingand FaceTiming with you, she might appreciate thisstylishtortoiseshell pair of reading glasses that we’ve named the verybest blue-light readersyou can buy, owing to their stylish design and solid frames.

This superlong, ten-foot charging cable is one of our most reliably life-changing gift recommendations, and it means Mom’s Instagram and TikTok sessions will never have to end.

As all real crossword fans know, the Wednesday puzzle hits that sweet spot of being neither too tricky nor too simple to solve over a morning cup of coffee. Which makes for a fun collaborative experience if you two tend to text each other clues.

This Bluetooth printer rescues trapped smartphone photos from the camera roll. I especially like this as a gift for crafter moms who enjoy scrapbooking.

Kaweco Sport made our top100 best pens listfor a reason: It writes smoothly and feels satisfyingly chunky in the hand. While a fountain pen would make for a more traditional gift, this more versatile ballpoint will suit moms of all calligraphy levels.

If Mom lives far away from not only you but your own kids, thisgrandparent-approved“paper time capsule” with back-and-forth prompts will make the pen-pal process easy so she can keep in touch with her grandchildren.

Strategist writer Jeremy Rellosa got this motion-sensor bird feeder (which snaps pictures and videos of visiting cardinals and swallows) for his parents as a Christmas gift last year, and it has been a hit — to the extent that his family group chat has “started to feature more updates about birds than humans,”he says.

If you recently moved back to your own place after spending much of the past year back home, there’s a chance Mom is feeling tender about becoming an empty nester again.This (cool enough for summer) weighted blanket from our guide of thebest ones to giveshould help replicate a good old hug year-round.

A bone-china mug from Italian design house Alessi that’ll make her mornings a little sweeter.

Thesesommelier-approvedall-purpose wineglasses are made with titanium-infused crystal for added durability. And she’ll look forward to clinking them with you next time you visit.

Whether she’s missing you or simply worried about the world at large, this soothing lavender-scented stick (which Strategist contributor and mom Sara Gaynes Levydubbed“Ambien without the side effects”) will help her get some rest and relaxation.

The AeroGarden Sprout comes highly recommended by Strategist writerErin Schwartz, who says this ultracompact indoor garden will nonetheless produce “a prodigious quantity” of basil, parsley, and dill.

This very giftable Bundt pan is a favorite of chefVallery Lomas, who calls it not only beautiful but also “well constructed and reliable.”

Award-winning competitive pitmaster and founder ofGirls Can GrillChristie Vanoversays that“having a good set of heat gloves is so important when grilling or working with live fire,” but she notes it can be challenging to find a pair for petite hands. She’s found that the small-medium option of these Barebones gloves “is ideal for women” with a comfortable fit, good heat protection, and plenty of dexterity for wielding hot tools and trays.

If she has been complaining about April showers and windy days, this fitted, durable jacket is suitable for everything from “hiking, backpacking, and travel” to “everyday use,” according to outdoors expertHolly Johnson.Its lightweight material also makes it super-easy to stuff in a bag should the sun come out.

If Mom loves her wide-open spaces but has the anxiety of an East Coaster when it comes to kindling a fire, the BioLite FirePit was built, in the words of contributorJames Lynch, to “make even the most inept fire builder look like Prometheus himself.” According to Lynch, it’s compact, easy to use, and easy to clean, with “basically no smoke,” meaning Mom can comfortably enjoy a night ofstargazingaround it without smelling like a smokehouse.

While her days are longer and brighter up there this time of year, the northern state is known to have more dark days in a row than any other. To help, contributorAlison Freertold us about this neat-looking lamp. She has been “turning it on and basking in its light from about 7 to 8 a.m. every morning” while sipping coffee and reading emails, and finds “that it’s exactly like sitting outside with your face turned toward the full morning sun.”

That famous dry heat is on its way to her front door, but Weleda’s nourishing Skin Food — a Strategist staple we write aboutagainandagain— will help her beat it by softening skin from head to toe (it works just as well on the face as it does on the body as it does on the feet). It’s so effective thatSweetbitterauthor Stephanie Danler told us she keeps separate tubes in herbedroom, car, and purse.

A cooler would be a great gift to make those summer spells on her porch longer and loungier, whether she’s drinking Champagne or sweet tea. Reviewers praise this sleek stainless-steel cooler for the way it “cools down warm wine fast, and makes cool wine colder.”

For moms on the road, theseexpert-recommendedchairs have all the bells and whistles you could ever need when setting up at the RV park. As a bonus, there’s one for Dad, too.

Strategist writer Ambar Pardillaand her momboth swear by this ’80s mud mask from Italian princess-founded skin-care company Borghese. Basically a luxe Tuscan vacation in a jar, one application of this thick green goop will leave all complexions “shiny, smooth, and better than they looked before,” says Pardilla.

If movie nights were your thing back home, set up a FaceTime date and send her some of this seasoning (whatauthor Jenny Han calls“the secret to movie-theater popcorn at home”) to recreate that AMC experience.

New Yorkfeatures editor Katy Schneider uses this sleek storage belt from Nike toturn errands into an aerobic workout, and it’s ideal for moms on the go, too.

Because she deserves a break, here’s a plant baby that doesn’t require too much nurturing.

This fluffy, doughnut-shapeddog bedcomes recommended by several members of the Strategist team, including senior writerLiza Corsillo, whose dog, Uli, “spends hours snoozing on it every day.”