The Christmas gifts a mum keeps reaching for are the ones that fit the way she already lives: the fragrance she has worn for years, the bath she runs at the end of the day, the hand cream by the sink, a piece of jewellery to keep, a scent for the room she sits in. Choose one of those and choose it well. Below, five kinds of gift, and the pieces we would choose for each.
What Makes a Good Christmas Gift for Mum?
Think about her routines rather than her wish list. The best gift for a mum adds comfort to something she does anyway, or marks the moment in a way she can keep. Ritual and keepsake are the two threads here.
For a Mum Who Loves Her Fragrance
Many mums have a fragrance they have returned to for years, and a fresh bottle of it is a gift that never misses. If you are choosing something new, How to Choose a Fragrance or Beauty Gift for Someone Else walks through the questions to ask first.
Estée Lauder's White Linen Eau de Parfum opens on citrus and peach over a white floral heart, settling into a woody, amber base, in a clear rectangular bottle with a gold cap. Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps Eau de Toilette comes in a clear glass bottle with a bird-shaped stopper and an illustrated yellow carton. Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum is a floral oriental with vanilla and tonka in its base. For a mum who prefers something light, Alvarez Gomez's Agua de Colonia Concentrada Gift Set brings the house's concentrated cologne together with a deodorant, a bath gel and body care, in a clear zip pouch.
- White Linen Eau de Parfum Spray
- L'Air du Temps Eau de Toilette
- L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum
- Agua de Colonia Concentrada Gift Set
A Bath Ritual for the Evenings
Winter evenings are made for a long bath. Begin with the water, then the wash, then a rich cream while the skin is still warm.
Jeanne Piaubert's Gestuelle d'Eau Aqua-Soft Bath Oil is a milky bath oil to pour into warm running water. Sisley's Eau Du Soir Perfumed Bath and Shower Gel carries the Eau du Soir fragrance into the bath, in a pearl-white bottle with gold accents. To finish, Comfort Zone's Tranquillity Body Cream is a rich cream with shea butter and vegetable oils, in a low round jar, and Clarins' Revitalising Body Cream pairs shea butter with hazel seed oil, scented with citrus, red ginger and jasmine. For a ready-made version of the same idea, see An Evening Ritual at Home: Rituals' Relaxation Sets.
- Gestuelle d'Eau Aqua-Soft Bath Oil
- Eau Du Soir Perfumed Bath and Shower Gel
- Tranquillity Body Cream
- Revitalising Body Cream
Hand Creams: A Small Daily Comfort
A hand cream is a small gift that is used every day, and winter is when hands most want it. A good one lives by the sink, on the bedside table or in a coat pocket.
Roger & Gallet's Rose Hand Cream comes in a 30 ml tube made for a handbag, with shea butter, sweet almond oil and a light rose fragrance. Payot's Rituel Douceur Velvety Nourishing Hand Cream, with shea butter and glycerin, has a velvety feel in a 75 ml floral tube. Annayake's 24H Nourishing Hand Cream is a 75 ml flip-top tube for the desk drawer, with glycerin and sodium hyaluronate in its formula. Sensai's Cellular Performance Intensive Hand Treatment is a light cream with hydrolysed silk and squalane, in a soft pink 100 ml tube.
- Rose Hand Cream
- Rituel Douceur Velvety Nourishing Hand Cream
- 24H Nourishing Hand Cream
- Cellular Performance Intensive Hand Treatment
A Piece of Jewellery or a Watch to Keep
Some gifts are for using; this one is for keeping. Choose a motif that means something to her and a metal she already wears. If you are unsure of her metal, Gold or Silver: How to Choose Your Jewellery Metal will help.
Stroili's Sterling Silver Tree of Life Pendant Necklace is made in 925 sterling silver, with a rolo chain, a lobster clasp and eight marquise-cut cubic zirconia set in the tree; the chain adjusts from 42 to 45 cm. Giovanni Raspini's Silver Pearl Necklace hangs a single cultured pearl from a sterling silver chain, framed with floral silver detailing. Morellato's Gold Heart Pendant is a heart set with clear crystals, in silver plated with a gold finish, on a fine link chain. For a watch she will wear for years, Bulova's Automatic Dress Watch has a 34 mm stainless steel case, Roman numerals and a metal link bracelet, with an automatic movement that winds itself as she wears it; Watch Movements Explained sets out the difference.
- Sterling Silver Tree of Life Pendant Necklace
- Silver Pearl Necklace
- Gold Heart Pendant
- Automatic Dress Watch
Something for the Home
A reed diffuser is a gift for the room she spends her evenings in, and one that asks nothing of her once the reeds are in. Choose a scent close to what she already likes.
Eco Happy's Vanilla Vanilla Reed Diffuser is a simple vanilla scent in a 95 ml square glass bottle. La Casa de los Aromas' Giraffe Chic Reed Diffuser pairs peach and ylang in a 100 ml black glass bottle with pink reeds, in a magenta carton with a giraffe illustration. Cristalinas' Red Reed Diffuser holds 180 ml in a clear faceted glass bottle with long red reeds. Our guide Reed Diffusers: How to Scent a Room Without a Flame explains where to place one.
How to Choose Between Them
Start with what she does every day. If she always wears scent, choose the fragrance. If her evenings are her own, choose the bath. If she is forever washing her hands, choose the hand cream. If you want her to remember this Christmas in particular, choose the jewellery or the watch.
If you choose one thing, choose the gift that fits a ritual she already has, and add a card saying why you chose it.
