The Best Gifts for Long-Distance Moms

If she prefers to watch her shows on planes, this bendy foam phone stand is easy to pack and surprisingly useful for video calls and selfies, too.

Remind her of that special trip she took to visit you in the city with this candle from Homesick — or pick another state-inspired scent that’ll trigger happy memories you two have shared.

As all real crossword fans know, the Wednesday puzzle hits that sweet spot of being neither too tricky nor too simple to solve over a morning cup of coffee. Which makes for a fun collaborative experience if you two tend to text each other clues.

Kaweco Sport made our top 100 best pens list for a reason: It writes smoothly and feels satisfyingly chunky in the hand. While a fountain pen would make for a more traditional gift, this more versatile ballpoint will suit moms of all calligraphy levels.

If Mom lives far away from not only you but your own kids, this grandparent-approved “paper time capsule” with back-and-forth prompts will make the pen-pal process easy so she can keep in touch with her grandchildren.

Strategist writer Jeremy Rellosa got this motion-sensor bird feeder (which snaps pictures and videos of visiting cardinals and swallows) for his parents as a Christmas gift last year, and it has been a hit — to the extent that his family group chat has “started to feature more updates about birds than humans,” he says.

If you recently moved back to your own place after spending much of the past year back home, there’s a chance Mom is feeling tender about becoming an empty nester again. This (cool enough for summer) weighted blanket from our guide of the best ones to give should help replicate a good old hug year-round.

Whether she’s missing you or simply worried about the world at large, this soothing lavender-scented stick (which Strategist contributor and mom Sara Gaynes Levy dubbed “Ambien without the side effects”) will help her get some rest and relaxation.

This very giftable Bundt pan is a favorite of chef Vallery Lomas, who calls it not only beautiful but also “well constructed and reliable.”

If she has been complaining about April showers and windy days, this fitted, durable jacket is suitable for everything from “hiking, backpacking, and travel” to “everyday use,” according to outdoors expert Holly Johnson. Its lightweight material also makes it super-easy to stuff in a bag should the sun come out.

If Mom loves her wide-open spaces but has the anxiety of an East Coaster when it comes to kindling a fire, the BioLite FirePit was built, in the words of contributor James Lynch, to “make even the most inept fire builder look like Prometheus himself.” According to Lynch, it’s compact, easy to use, and easy to clean, with “basically no smoke,” meaning Mom can comfortably enjoy a night of stargazing around it without smelling like a smokehouse.

While her days are longer and brighter up there this time of year, the northern state is known to have more dark days in a row than any other. To help, contributor Alison Freer told us about this neat-looking lamp. She has been “turning it on and basking in its light from about 7 to 8 a.m. every morning” while sipping coffee and reading emails, and finds “that it’s exactly like sitting outside with your face turned toward the full morning sun.”

That famous dry heat is on its way to her front door, but Weleda’s nourishing Skin Food — a Strategist staple we write about again and again — will help her beat it by softening skin from head to toe (it works just as well on the face as it does on the body as it does on the feet). It’s so effective that Sweetbitter author Stephanie Danler told us she keeps separate tubes in her bedroom, car, and purse.

A cooler would be a great gift to make those summer spells on her porch longer and loungier, whether she’s drinking Champagne or sweet tea. Reviewers praise this sleek stainless-steel cooler for the way it “cools down warm wine fast, and makes cool wine colder.”

For moms on the road, these expert-recommended chairs have all the bells and whistles you could ever need when setting up at the RV park. As a bonus, there’s one for Dad, too.

Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla and her mom both swear by this ’80s mud mask from Italian princess-founded skin-care company Borghese. Basically a luxe Tuscan vacation in a jar, one application of this thick green goop will leave all complexions “shiny, smooth, and better than they looked before,” says Pardilla.

New York features editor Katy Schneider uses this sleek storage belt from Nike to turn errands into an aerobic workout, and it’s ideal for moms on the go, too.

Because she deserves a break, here’s a plant baby that doesn’t require too much nurturing.

This fluffy, doughnut-shaped dog bed comes recommended by several members of the Strategist team, including senior writer Liza Corsillo, whose dog, Uli, “spends hours snoozing on it every day.”