So, you blew it. Well, technically you haven’t blown it yet, but with Mother’s Day sneaking up this Sunday, you better get a move on. Luckily, thanks to the Internet, you still have plenty of time to extend your reign as World’s Greatest Kid—no frantic trip to the mall required. Here are four web-enabled ways to stay in Mom’s good graces for another year.
1. Hire a home makeover
If you want to go big, you can take a page out of Ashton Kutcher’s book and give your mom the home she’s always deserved. The actor-turned-investor used Houzz, one of the firms he has backed, to hire workers to renovate his mother’s house in grand fashion. Not in the cards? For a more modest version, hire a TaskRabbit to tackle some of your mom’s home’s nagging issues. From clearing out weeds to cleaning out the garage, these helpers can tackle all the projects you keep forgetting to help her out with.
Another option: Let her escape the house altogether by booking a couple nights at a nearby AirBnB. Even if it’s just a staycation in her home city, the change of scenery will let her take a break from the hectic nature of every day life.
2. Give her a ride
OpenTable isn’t just for impressing your dates with hard-to-book tables. The reservation app is also essential for snagging last-minute Mother’s Day brunch reservations. To make the afternoon feel extra-special, have an Uber pick her up and chauffeur her to the meal. You don’t have to be on-site to request the trip, since the service lets you request a ride for someone else. The ride service company is running Mom’s Day specials in several cities, so check your local site. In Los Angeles, for instance, moms who take an Uber to certain spas and manicure shops will get special discounts.
3. Make her the queen of all media
Don’t have time to get your 11th hour gift shipped before Sunday? The smart thing to do is to set mom up with some subscriptions. If you’re a paid Spotify user, converting your account to a family plan is no trouble at all, and attaching your mom’s username to yours will make it cost 50% less than a full membership. If she’s more of a reader than a rocker, Oyster, a subscription e-book service, will let you give a month or more of reading to your mother. NextIssue offers a similar service, but for digital magazines rather than books. The service includes more than 140 publications and works on a phone or tablet.
4. Provide some retail therapy
For frequent shoppers, an Amazon Prime membership, is a perfect, no-brainer gift. The $99 service includes free two-day shipping, streaming video and music, unlimited photo storage, and the Kindle lending library. Or, if your mom is a real bargain hunter, promise to pay for her membership to Jet when it launches this summer. A shopping club like Costco, but built for online commerce, Jet promises to underprice anyone online, and early reports say it’s living up to its promise.
For moms who wouldn’t actually go to the trouble of buying something for themselves, try a subscription gift service. A membership to Birchbox is a good place to start. For $10 per month or $110 a year, the service will send sample-sized products right to your mother’s door, tailored to her tastes.
