The 26 Best Mother’s Day Gifts You Can Do Together

Under$25

A simple deck of playing cards can help you fill up hours of quality time, and this one is outfitted with a cat for the king and a mouse for the queen. (Pair it with apersonalized Catbird cygnet ringto make it extra special.) Choose two-day delivery for $7 to receive it before Mother’s Day.

These infusion kits have two activities baked in — the infusing and the cocktail making. I imagine theRose Ceremony kit, which pairs best with vodka and gin, would also pair nicely with a bouquet of roses (hint, hint).

In the realm oftwo-player games,Codenamesis best for people who like to cooperate rather than compete. To put it simply, Scott Cooper, owner ofBlue Highway Games, says, “Players make associations between words as they cooperate to identify targets with a limited number of guesses.”

If you want to plan an at-home spa night together, it’s hard to go wrong with ourBest in Class face mask, which is hydrating, soothing, nonirritating, and affordable. (Though if she has clogged or oily skin, we recommend thispurifying clay maskthat absorbs excess oil, kills bacteria, and reduces inflammation.)

Conquering the hardest crossword puzzles of the week is easier with a partner.

If a family holiday isn’t complete without aScrabblecompetition,Bananagramswill give her the chance to show off her word-game skills on the go.

Under$50

Le Puzz’s assortment of non-boring puzzles come recommended by editor-in-chief ofNew YorkTimes“Cooking” Emily Weinstein, along with several Strategist writers and editors. While puzzling side by side isn’texactlyalone time, it can certainly feel like it.

The two-pack means both of you get one, so you can compare and combine the photos in a scrapbook at the end. (Here aresome of our favorite scrapbooking supplieswhile you’re at it.)

I think it’s safe to say that building this Lego orchid would be easier than taking care of a real one.

Use this watercolor set on a relaxing Saturday morning or a tipsy Saturday evening. ArtistAshley Longshoresays “it has one of the widest ranges of colors and the best pigmentation.”

Since theseeye masks are reusable, you’ll be able to use them for spa nights for years to come. Just apply your favoriteeye creamor serum and let the masks do the rest. (Just don’t forget to grab one for yourself too.)

You can personalize this recipe journal with her name and favorite color. After that, it’s up to you whether you’d like to work together to fill the book with recipes gradually or in one fell swoop. (For something less on the nose, Papier also makes recipe journals dotted withbreakfast goodiesandvegetables.)

Under$100

We’ve long recommended Brightland’s olive oil as an idealgift for home cooks, but this set is perfect for the mom who’s an artist both on paper and the plate. Along with two blank bottles filled with olive oil that Strategist senior writer Emma Wartzman describes as “bold and robust” and “smooth and grassy,” the kit includes acrylic paint, paintbrushes, and label stickers to decorate.

Whether or not your mom knows every word of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” making friendship bracelets, à la what you’d see on a Taylor Swift tour, is a therapeutic way to spend time together. This bead box from Susan Alexandra includes a variety of love-themed beads and everything else you need to make necklaces and bracelets galore.

[Editor’s note: Susan Alexandra shipping can take two to three weeks, but it still makes a great gift — get her flowers now and let her know it’s on the way.]

ICYMI: AeroGarden is, in fact,notgoing out of business. That means you two can use the brand’s indoor garden to grow basil, parsley, and any other herb you’d like to have on hand.

In recent years, we’ve noticed more and more fancy Jell-O brands cropping up, and Gelée is leading the pack. This gift box, which includes three flavors — Passion, Guava, and Piña Coco — has two activities in one: the cooking and the eating. (And FWIW, Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla says the guava flavor reminds her of the refreshing guava juice she drank as a kid.)

Under$200

If she has been relying on her friends’ pickleball sets, it’s time to get her some paddles of her own. Better yet, it means she can finally show you how good her backhand is.

While searching for gifts, I tried to steer clear of the gadgets that will take up her counter space, but Strategist writer Kitty Guo swears this hot-chocolate machine, which makes hot chocolate that’s “smooth and velvety with a just-right sweetness and a delightful foam on top,” is worth it. “Whenever I’m considering a potential present, I like to ask myself: Is it luxe, frivolous, and/or delightful? The Velvetiser is all three,” she argues.

[Editor’s note: This should arrive on time with free shipping, but select priority shipping for $8.50 to guarantee it.]

If you’ve received more than a few texts from her with links to articles about the perils of gel manicures, you and your mom will appreciate this gel-alternative nail polish starter kit. Instead of the usual UV light you’d see during an appointment at the nail salon,Manucurist polish“cures under a UV-minimizing LED light and a superfast removal process that doesn’t require any soaking or drilling,” according to Jolie De Feis, a licensed aesthetician (and Strategist contributor) who put it to the test.

[Editor’s note: This manicure kit arrives after Mother’s Day, but it makes a great gift to do together after the celebration.]

If your summer plans involve relaxing by the water together, these matching pool floats are ideal for tanning at the beach or in the pool. Since they’re designed like a pool chair, you’ll both be able to read your books without fear of getting them wet.

We recommend this kit for slightly more advanced or ambitious beginnerknitterswho want to knit their own sweaters. I’d recommend buying two so you can take on the project side by side.

Over$200

If your mom is serious about family movie nights, consider our favoritemini-projector, which our tech writer, Jordan McMahon, says is “portable enough to carry from place to place in a bag while still packing enough pixels to produce a great image no matter the setting.”

Every time I visit my mom, it’s a time to step up my mahjong skills. If your mom is mahj-curious, I recommend gifting her these trendy mahjong tiles that will have all the other moms oohing and aahing when she’s not playing with the rest of the family.

[Editor’s note: This mahjong set arrives just slightly after Mother’s Day.]

If she has counter space to spare and a loyalty to soft serve that not even a scoop from Van Leeuwen can shake,Ninja’s newest soft-serve machinewill certainly hit the spot. It comes with over 30 recipes that you can try together. Will you re-create McDonald’s vanilla soft serve or 16 Handles’s Euro Tart first? Only time will tell.

If your budget is big enough for two of these, you can start your mornings with paddleboard yoga. If not, you can bond while testing your shared balance.