Best Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mom!

The woman who sacrificed her beauty sleep for you, quiet dinners, her career, weekends in Vegas with her still-single girlfriends, all because she had to unbuckle car seats, unfold complicated strollers, and change your dirty diaper in the fitting room. This mom deserves a medal for years of endurance, but the Olympics are still months away so let's do a little shopping in the meantime for the mom in your life. 

The Mod Mom: For the fashionista, whose fashion ensembles get more likes on Pinterest than the six kittens cuddled in a basket, head over to Kate Spade at Fashion Island to buy her one of their newest Palm Beach poolside inspired handbags. There are many to choose from ranging from $198-$498. 

The I Need My Cup of Coffee Before I Can Talk to You Mom: Is your mom still using paper coffee filters? Not only is that passe, but mom needs to get green. Bloomingdale's Home Store (Fashion Island), Macy's Home (Mission Viejo Place) or Costco in Laguna Niguel has the Keurig Coffee Maker where a cup of coffee is just a small pod away. The one touch system is so easy to use your mom will feel like an instant rocket scientist ... drinking her instant coffee. 

The Let's Do Brunch Mom: The Mother's Day staple -- take your mom to brunch. You could spoil your mom and take her to or The Ritz Carlton in Dana Point for an elegant brunch or you could bring it down to earth a bit. Ocean view restaurant has a delicious brunch with morning margaritas for the madre in your life. serves authentic creole and southern cuisine with a New Orleans style jazz band for entertainment. 

The You Never Call Mom: Maybe it's because her cell phone is so outdated that the signal it is trying to reach is from 1992. Turn your mom into a techie this year by investing in an iPhone at the Apple store. She'll be so busy playing Words with Friends that she won't even notice that you haven't called for three days. 

The Exercise Like Crazy to Still Keep Her 20-Year Old Body Mom: Mom's too busy to grab Starbucks with you because she's running the 5K down PCH. Give mom a little zen in her life with a gift certificate to YogaWorks with studios in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo. Classes run every day, all day long and feature a blend of yoga, pilates and bar classes. 

The I Want To Smell Better Than All My Friends Mom: It's always a competition among friends to look better, but how much botox can one woman get? Smelling good is most important and before your mom turns into that baby powder old lady smell, head on over to You can customize fragrances for your mom with the help of the "bartender" there who will help you mix oils for the perfect smelling mother. If that's not your style, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus has a large selection of designer fragrances.

The 50 Shades of Grey Mom: It's all the craze and if you think your mom isn't reading it then check her Kindle. Step into the pretty boutique for a gift certificate for your mom. If you think your mom wouldn't blush at a needs-to-be-charged-for-30-minutes-before-using gift, then talk to CJ, the owner, and she will put together a special Mother's Day package for you. 

The My Child is Better Than Your Child Mom: The easiest way to handle this type of mom is buy her a Porsche from the Power Porsche Newport Beach dealership, however what will really make the OC moms jealous is take your mom out for a Mom Day. "What? Your Child Took you out in Public?" That's right. Start off with a light liquid breakfast at Starbucks (aka caffeine fix), then to the Spa (Spa Gregories in Newport, Burke Williams in Mission Viejo) for a full body wrap, massage and mini facial. Lunch is served seaside at the with a few mommy martinis and then time for a movie (Dark Shadows to relive her TV-watching youth) at Island Cinemas, the luxury theater where you can snack on popcorn, beer and macaroni and cheese at the same time. 

The Hurry Up! Dinner is Ready Mom: Remember when mom used to prepare all of those delicious home-cooked meals? Or was that the live-in maid? Anyways, Williams-Sonoma has Mother's Day all wrapped up in a dutch oven. From waffle makers and deep fryers to slow cookers and dinner plates with roosters on them, the South Coast Plaza and Newport Coast boutiques are stocked up for the mom holiday with all the tools for your mom to cook a meal for you. That's the gift that keeps on giving. 

The Don't Spend All Your Money on Me Mom: In case the credit card declined at the Porsche dealership, why not give a gift that comes from your colorful imagination. Paint a canvas, create a card, make the perfect dinner, take your mom for a walk on the beach and collect seashells in a mason jar, spend the day at Sherman Library or taking in botanical beauty, or write your mom a heartfelt poem. Create moments with your mom that she will remember forever. This sounds like a Kay Jewelers commercial, but hey! Kay's got something there. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing Orange County moms!