Sustainable DIY Mother's Day Gift Ideas

This Mother's Day, show your love for Mother Earth as well as your own mother, or the mother of your children. Make sure you can enjoy a more sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly Net Zero Mother's Day this year. To inspire you, here are our top five sustainable DIY Mother's Day gift ideas:

Gift Experiences Rather Than Things

Mother's Day does not need to be about giving tangible things bought in a store. One great way to reduce your impact on the planet is to consider how you might be able to gift experiences rather than things.  

Spending time together is often far more important than giving gifts. Give the gift of your time and make memories with your mum this Mother's Day. If you are able, and live close by, invite her round to simply spend some time together. Or head out to enjoy an activity together in a beautiful natural setting. A hike or bike ride and a lovely picnic, for example, might be a great gift to give. 

You might also choose another activity that she enjoys. It might be as simple as a visit to a pick-your own farm, for example, or to a favourite local store. Or you might try something new together and get your hearts racing. As long as you think about what she really enjoys, choosing an activity to experience together could be a great way to spend the day. 

Give the Gift of Spare Time

Many mothers are always run off their feet. So if you live nearby (or are trying to treat the mother of your own young children) you could consider giving her the gift of spare time by taking some of her workload off her hands. 

Net Zero's sustainable cleaning tools could help you, for example, in sustainably cleaning a home from top to bottom. Cleaning and getting the place sparkling fresh while she is out could be a wonderful way to show how much you care. Or perhaps you could simply allow her to have a rest, or run her a bath with sustainable beauty products, while you get the dinner on, or watch the kids for a while. 

(This is not to say that you should not be taking on your share the rest of the time – but making an extra special effort this Mother's Day could be a lovely thing to do.)

Sustainable Foody Mother's Day Gifts

Speaking of dinner – food related gifts can often go down very well. Of course, if you live close by or in the same home as the mother in question, making a sustainable Mother's Day meal could be an excellent gift. 

You should try to choose fresh, local, sustainable and ideally organic ingredients – and there are bonus points if you have actually managed to grow your own. 

Other food related gifts (especially those made with home-grown produce) can also go down very well. Think about making baked goods, preserves, or other treats that she would appreciate. Try to seek out her favourite foods, and tailor your gifts to her taste buds. 

Gift Living Plants and Seeds For Mother's Day

Another great idea this Mother's Day involves gifting plants (perhaps even those you've grown yourself from seed). This is a lot more meaningful than buying some blooms from the store – and of course gifting living plants is a far more eco-friendly and sustainable option too. If she really loves roses, for example, the gift of a rose shrub could be a much better gift than cut blooms that will only last a matter of days. 

If she's a keen gardener herself, gifting a beautiful tree or flowering shrub, or even some seeds for home growing, could be a thoughtful and caring gift. Just be sure to choose an option she can grow indoors, or which will be a suitable choice for her particular garden. 

Other Mother's Day Gifts To Grow

If you grow your own, you will know that a garden can offer more than just food. A great garden has many yields, and you can use these to create a range of wonderful DIY gifts. 

You might, for example, if you grow your own herbs and flowers, make infused oils, sustainable soaps, bath bombs, bath salts, body scrubs, facial cleansers or toners, or other natural beauty products for her to enjoy. 

You could also make gift baskets or jars filled with a range of beneficial herbs – culinary mixes for a keen cook, for example, or a medicinal mix to show that you care about her health. 

Another idea involves using natural materials from plants growing in your garden. Make something with wood from garden trees, make a basket with branches, or craft some jewellery or a piece of art for her home with seeds, leaves, dried flowers etc..

Upcycling Ideas for Mother's Day

Finally, why not consider upcycling something old rather than buying something new. Just because something is not brand new, that does not mean it need be an inferior gift. You could upcycle almost anything – from furniture, to household items, to old clothes, to create amazing presents that your mother will love. 

Think about creating DIY gifts that she can really use. Upcycle an old chest of drawers, for example, either to fit in with the décor in her home, or perhaps to use for vertical growing in her garden. Make her a new handbag or grocery bag from old clothing that might otherwise have been thrown away. Or make household items like rugs or cushions that she will like. 

And upcycle when it comes to wrapping too. Use old glass jars, or other kitchen items to make a beautiful wrapping for edible gifts, for example. Wrap with old fabrics. Or recycle cardboard or old magazines to make your own gift boxes for smaller items. 

These ideas are, of course, just the beginning. But they should have inspired you and given you a starting point for a more sustainable Mother's Day this year.