The 27 Best (Non-Clichéd) Gifts for Mums

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The low and no–alcohol market has blown up in recent years (sounds dangerous!) with brands catering to the growing number of people looking to curb their alcohol consumption. For those not looking to totally turn their back on G&Ts, Quarter Gin lets you have it both ways: with a gin that is – you guessed it – a quarter of the strength of the regular spirit. This, of course, means you can have four times as many.

£107

With the sleek white trainer tend going absolutely nowhere, might we recommend a fresh pair as a gift that will be gratefully recceived by the woman in your life. This off-white model, from Barcelona-based trainer brand SAYE, are made using bio-based and recycled materials, are vegan, and are produced with half the carbon footprint of standard trainers. Everyone's a winner.

Sometimes jewellery can be at its most useful when it is understated, wearable, and goes with anything, like this pretty beaded bracelet from Danish jewellery brand Anni Lu.

We don’t know why stripes are cheering but they just are – especially when they’re in classic candy-cane/sweetie bag colours like Marni’s fun but elegant tote (with the all-important shoulder strap).

Chef Charity Morgan’s celebrity clients have included NFL players and pop stars (she did the catering at Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth’s wedding), and what she doesn’t know about harnessing the power of plants isn’t worth knowing, and isn’t in this book.

A slouchy-but-not-too-slouchy 100 per cent organic cotton sweatshirt by très desirable Parisian brand Casablanca, that features a silhouette of a woman playing tennis without a care in the world (and kids presumably in Mini Club Med).

There are lots of books about motherhood around, but not many have captured the strangeness, the sadnesses, the joys and – yes, the immense amounts of bodily fluids involved – quite like this lyrical, moving debut novel set in the final stages of World War II, about two women and the pregnancy that binds them.

Every marbled-resin product by Australia's Dinosaur Designs comes out a little bit differently, though the candy-floss pink of this delightful dessert bowl is sure to look good in any variation.

Are these indoor shoes? Are these outdoor shoes? Do you really want warm arches and cold toes? Yes, yes, and thrice yes! Birkenstock's comfy, cosy shearling-lined Arizona sandals are truly a shoe for all seasons.

It's not every mother who will go for a snake-print laptop case like this 13" one by Italian brand Seletti, in conjunction with Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari's TOILETPAPER, but those who do - we salute you.

The sssssounds of the ssssssea are celebrated in these ultra-cute bread plates designed by Luke Edward Hall for Italian manufacturer Ginori 1735, inspired by Neptune and his wife Salacia of whom, quite frankly, we should hear more!

It’s strange how eating by candlelight just adds a little… something. (Also, it doesn’t have to be dinner: candle-lit Weetabix can also be a treat.) These twisted dinner candles from Hay make it even more festive.

There are some beauty products that are discussed in secret circles and hushed tones, such is the reputation they build. Olaplex's Hair Perfector No. 3 is one such product, which repairs and strengthens with magical results. If you know, you know.

Chances are you've spent SOME TIME in your home over the past couple of years, so if you do have an itch for interior design right now, this beautiful monograph by the London-based Swedish designer Beata Heuman provides plenty of joyful, colourful, eclectic inspiration.

Not only is a gua sha a lovely looking object (reminiscent of a shuriken, but friendlier), it’s also a sculpting and lifting tool for the face used in traditional Chinese medicine that helps revitalise the skin and relieve stress.

Sure it's called a birthday cake, but show us the by-law that says you can't order one of Lily Vanili's staggeringly pretty vanilla sponges on any other day of the year, just because. Also, if it makes anyone feel better about anything, it is officially a "half" cake (though that's kind of a double bluff as it's actually double height but we call that a double result).

First up: candles are ALWAYS welcome. The beauty of this vegan one is that not only does it smell nice – rose petal, caladium leaf and wild ripened blackberry – it also comes in a jazzy glass pot that recalls a Nineties nightclub. Have it!  

Why does all gardening ephemera have to come in horrible racing green plastic? Guess what: it doesn’t! This Scandinavian-inspired watering can is attractive enough to have pride of place by a prized prayer plant.

The beauty of a throw is that it can add a pop of colour to your sofa in an effortless way, while hiding any other pops of colour (splodges of Ella’s Kitchen The Green One, for example) that you didn’t intend.

The bright, contemporary bouquets assembled by Iona and Romy who run Peckham-based florists Sage are rightly the toast of the fashion world, but they’ll also make one just for you, and can now deliver nationwide. (Prices start from £40 for London delivery.)