10 Mother’s Day gift ideas for the geeky Mom

When my manager suggested we create a geek Mother’s Day gift guide, the project naturally fell to me. You see, I am a self-professed geek–and I’m also a mom. As such, I do feel quite qualified to offer you some Mother’s Day gift suggestions :-). I did my best to select things that I’d either love to own, or already do and would highly recommend. Here it goes:

1. Fitbit: I recently posted about Dance Walking and while I haven’t quite gone that far, I have been trying to work in more exercise into my daily life. I’ve been following these real-life reviews of the various exercise trackers, but find myself gravitating towards the fitbit. Counting steps is an easy way for me to track my Zumba and the new Activity and Sleep Wristband is pretty attractive.

2. Book dock: RichNeelyDesigns makes these fabulous looking and unique iPhone docks. I just came across these last week and fell instantly in love. Does your mom love Jules Verne? There’s a dock for her. I am a Sherlock fan so pardon my drool over the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle one. While it might be tight to get one sent in time for Sunday, if you’re celebrating late you’re good to go (and file this idea for later because these are COOL).

3. Ballistic iPhone case: I like a case that’s durable and where I don’t worry if I hand my phone off to my 9 or 12 year old. Don’t get me wrong, I love the look of the sexy super-slim skin-like cases, but I just don’t trust myself (or my offspring). I like something durable, but not so bulky I can’t tuck it in my back pocket. Also, a bright colored case is a must for finding it in my purse. Enter the Ballistic Shell Gel case. For me, it fits the bill (and a coworker also has one for her Android and loves it) and their LS series also looks tempting. It’s functional, bright, and the price was right on Amazon.

4. Hulu Plus gift card: This idea is for all the moms of young children…or maybe just children at home, period. This gift card will give her the power to watch some shows on her own time (a Netflix subscription isn’t a bad idea either). Of course, if you live in a TDS TV serving area I’d also recommend ordering that as a gift (seriously!). I’m getting it installed on May 13th and am already looking forward to the Whole-Home DVR. My children and I will battle no more over who gets to record what.

5. Game of Thrones, Dining with Dr. Who cookbooks: Does the mom in your life like to cook and also love Game of Thrones? Do I have some cookbooks for you! Check out the official (and unofficial) cookbooks. How fun are those? Of course, if your mom is a Whovian (Dr. Who fan) she, of course, would love this cookbook instead. Heck, I don’t even like to cook and the Dr. Who one is tempting.

6. Breville tea maker: This thing rocks. My husband bought one for himself after Christmas and we’re both in love. It makes a fantastic cup of tea because the water temperature is right for whatever type of tea you’re brewing. And, now it’s a piece of cake to make more than one cup at a time. We’ll set it up the night before and come morning, a single push of a button brews enough for both of us to put in our to-go mugs.

7. Portable battery charger: My coworker swears by her battery charger because she’s always on the go to her children’s soccer, basketball, and baseball games. She got hers from Gorilla Gadgets. She said she’s not on the only one who loves it—her kids will use it even at home so they don’t have to sit by the wall when their iPods run out of charge. She said, “Now they can relax on the couch, be plugged into the charger and continue on…[whew]”

8. Mountek nGroove Universal CD Slot Mount: I’m a mom who never, ever uses CDs anymore. Instead, I hook my phone into my stereo using the USB connection. The tricky part became though, finding a handy place to have my phone while I drive. Behold the Mountek nGroove. It holds my phone tight, in my car it’s close to eye level, and didn’t require me to permanently modify my dash (or stick something adhesive on it). Note: you can mount this phone holder upside down (as I did) if you have buttons or a screen below that would get blocked by a “normal” installation. Love it!

9. MotionSense Moen Faucet: Okay, this one is a bit spendy, but man, does it look cool. Yes, it’s a faucet but it’s a hands. free. faucet. I’ve got two kids who always seem to have messy hands. The idea of having a faucet they don’t have to touch (and get the handle dirty and germy) sounds like a dream (it’s Jetson’s technology in my own home!). Also, I’ll admit I love the idea that the kids also wouldn’t drip water all around the handle and counter. It just looks tidy and handy—and my sister-in-law confirms this. She got one recently and, the way she talks about it, I’m starting to suspect she loves it as much as her husband ;-).

10. Options Interchangeable Harmony Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set: I like to knit, but my friend Cassandra from Mighty Distractible KNITS. She suggested we include this on the list for all of her fellow knitting geeks. I’ve gotta admit this set looks really fabulous. It would be like one stop-shopping for needles—and they’re gorgeous (if you follow the link you’ll see that they have a swirled pattern on them). A wonderful extravagance for the mom in your life who likes to create with yarn (and can’t you just see this together in a box paired with a gift card for a local yarn store? [swoon]).

Remember, your mom doesn’t have to watch Dr. Who and want to see the new Star Trek movie to “geek out” about something. Think about what her passion is and find something unique and cool to go along with it. If nothing on my list fits give Etsy a try. I really think you can find at least one thing there for any interest, no matter how narrow.

Is there something I need to know about and add to my list? Let me know!