BIRTHDAY GIFTS FOR MOM

In a world where deadlines are king, why not focus on a finish line that’s really worth celebrating? Retirement! They'll keep their eye on the prize with this optimistic ticker that will drive them to accomplish bigger and better things at work. Imagine the sweet silence of no alarm in the wee hours of the morning. Retirement will feel like it’s always right around the corner.

This electric pasta maker mixes and extrudes various shapes of pasta without taking up added counter or drawer space. The eight included interchangeable tips create penne, spaghetti, lasagna, angel hair, fettuccine, tagliatelle, spaghettini, ravioli, and dumplings. Each batch makes up to five servings of fresh homemade pasta. Parts remove for easy cleaning. Includes recipe book and flour and liquid measuring cups, and cleaning tool.

A visual display of a prolific traveler’s cartographic conquests, this map comes alive as they scratch away each region visited. Modern modes of transport have made the world a very small place. Checking into each sovereign nation on earth is within the realm of possibility for anyone with moderate wealth and an abundance of time. Here’s the wall art to help them prove it.

Back in the old days you were really rolling the dice when you chose a hotel. Either you called blindly after skimming the phone book or simply drove all night and hoped you saw a vacancy sign before you ran out of gas and got murdered by a vagrant. A hotels.com gift card is not just a way of picking up the tab for a night’s stay; it’s also the priceless gift of peace of mind.

Go big or go home. Wait, they can do both with these giant yard games! They’ll supersize the fun at backyard parties with these larger than life versions of the games we all played growing up. All sorts of giant games are available including checkers, chess, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Scrabble, Jenga and more.

People say they love camping, but are we 100% sure they don’t just love to eat s’mores? Why not buy them this S’mores Machine so they can enjoy the good parts of roughing it without needing to sleep in a leaky tent afterwards.

Musical genius is not a prerequisite for this delightful sound machine. Whether it’s cranking out an original score or “Born to Be Wild,” the sweet melodies of this tabletop hurdy gurdy will capture the ears and lighten the hearts of all those who gather ’round for a listen. Add this customizable heirloom to the instrument collection and inspire a newfound appreciation for all things classic.

Back when old people were kids, shadow puppeteering was accepted as a legitimate skill. That meant holding your hands in front of a light to create rudimentary animal shapes on the wall, because there was no internet. These candleholders are a serious step up. Just try making a mature cedar with your hands. Ok, stop. It’s not going to happen.

If they didn’t have a germ phobia before, help them develop one before it’s too late. Once you explain how much this vacuum catches that was missed before, they’ll start to notice germs everywhere. Just realize you’ll be hanging out at their house from now on.

For the coffee and donut addicts of the world, it’s hard to believe that anything could improve this heavenly pairing. But that will make it all the more mind-blowing when they realize you have indeed given them something that will take the experience to another level. This truly ingenious piece of kitchen/office-ware provides the perfect platform on which the two elements meet to create the true breakfast of champions. Because if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right.

You could buy them a 17 man band that could live in the corner of their den and serenade them every day, or you could just go with this unique piece of furniture that can play 17 instruments at once. Plus this pneumatically controlled Hootenanny can remember how to play 13,000 songs.

Give these fortune cookies to a friend and tell them you had extra from last night's dinner. Be sure to have the camera rolling when they crack one open and see your bizarre custom message inside. Pick something that no cookie should know about them. Imagine their confusion when they read "You should break up with Mary. She should have been more careful with your Ramones t-shirt" or "Don't forget to get your car inspected. It's been overdue since July."

Pepper is an in-your-face spice, and its essence has nothing to do with subtlety. Here is the perfect vessel for the preeminent seasoning at the table. Let this beautifully crafted ebony grinder tower over the other lowly flavors, including its eternal rival, salt. Any other symbolism we’ll leave up to your imagination.

A virtual cooking class with Gordon Ramsay is a chance to learn from a culinary master without the yelling and food punching you've seen on TV. His MasterClass lessons feature the seven-star Michelin chef in his home kitchen teaching everything from kitchen setup, buying ingredients, prepping, plating, and pairing restaurant quality recipes that wow guests. Crispy duck with red endive and spinach anyone?

They might already have everything the need today, but that could change quickly if they become the unfortunate victim of cyber-theft. RFID chips in modern credit cards make paying easy, but they also have a serious vulnerability - the chip can be scanned by cyber criminals without you even knowing it. All they have to do is walk past you and your card data is captured without them even touching it. It’s a growing concern but luckily there’s an easy solution with RFID blocking cards and wallets.

Make sure that they’re never caught short (of battery, at least) with this pocket-sized power pack that is perfect for their portable devices. This charger harnesses the power of the biggest battery in our solar system so they should never have an excuse for not returning your call.

Just like you wouldn’t send a samurai into battle with a pocket knife, you shouldn’t let a serious home chef attack his foodstuffs with some dull old blade off the shelves of Walmart. Bob Kramer is a certified Master Bladesmith, and the only one to specialize solely in making kitchen cutlery. In other words, this is a “next level” set of knives, one that any culinary artist would be thrilled to dice their carrots with.

Give the gift of beautiful views, bucket-list achievements, and especially if they’re afraid of heights, hours of entertainment for you. It veers away from cruel since it’s completely safe, but you’ll definitely get your money’s worth watching them rotate between admiring the splendor and clutching the basket while praying in four languages. Especially since they only speak one.

Polaroids may be dead, but the people who like to use them aren’t. Not all of them anyway. There’s something especially gratifying about holding a tangible photograph, especially in a world dominated by virtual commodities where everything is becoming digital. Having an instant printer on hand means they don’t have to wait for a photo printing company to print their photos from the cloud and mail them by horseback or whatever. And we all know that nobody has time to wait for a horse these days. Oh, and we should also mention: these look way better than Polaroids.

For some people, food is so much more satisfying when they make it themselves. But that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t like a little help every once in a while. This electric tomato press, developed in Turin, Italy by kitchen supply manufacturer Tre Spade, makes it easy to make tomato puree. It even separates the puree from the seeds, pulp, and skins. This means they can make authentic pasta sauce out of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, but without having to worry about overworking their soft, dainty little hands.

As much as we love old people, we can’t stop laughing at how often they lose things. But alas, we really should take some pity on them. How many times can one person lose their reading glasses before they find that their sanity has vanished along with them? These portable, foldable reading glasses are the answer that elderly folk everywhere have been waiting for, whether they know it or not. Now if you can only find something to help them stop losing their keys…

It’s finally happening. The robot revolution has begun. And they’re starting with our floors. Making them all clean and spotless, so we feel inferior at our own vacuuming ability, perhaps we even slip on their shininess. And oh, how they’ll laugh. Resistance is futile, you might as well embrace it, and start gifting them to all your friends.

If you're stuck on a gift idea, don’t overlook the obvious - everyone needs to eat. You could cook for them, or treat them to a fancy restaurant, but why not bring the experience of fine dining into the home? Hiring a professional private chef will make for a unique and memorable evening. Not only do they get to eat amazing food prepared right in their kitchen with their own equipment, they will learn the nuances of culinary excellence from a seasoned expert.

The great conundrum of losing your glasses has always been that you’ve lost the one thing that you need to find the thing you’ve lost. That is, until technology stepped in. Now, through the magic of bluetooth, there’s one more layer of foolproof assistance to undo the errors of human carelessness. That is, until they lose their phone too. At that point, the only answer is super-gluing their belongings to their body. Even idiot-proofing has its limits.

People weren’t joking when they said this coffee is the sh#t. The undeniably rich, full-bodied flavor produced by these rare beans has redefined the food chain and flipped the coffee industry on its head. Perhaps one of the most imaginative adaptations of the farm-to-table movement, this coffee product is redefining waste management.

Try as they might, those frozen cocktails they’re always making in the blender never quite come out right. It’s not because they got the recipe wrong (although by the fourth batch, that’s a good bet too) - it’s because the’ve been using the wrong tools. You wouldn’t let them try to cross a lake in their car, would you? So why are you letting them try to make frozen drinks in a blender? Making a proper beach cocktail first and foremost requires using the right contraption: a specialized frozen drink maker. It’s a small investment for the gallons of glorious delight it will produce.

Kitchen gadgets like this potato peeler make great gifts since they're the type of thing that people won't normally justify buying for themselves, even though it would be super useful and sorta fun. So they they peel away manually like some sort of dungeon dwelling prisoner. With this hands-free electric peeler they'll be looking for excuses to peel potatoes, apples, cucumbers, eggplants, limes, kiwis and anything else they decide to put in there. Get creative, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Kombucha is the ancient art of making tea into something half the people who try it will love and the other half will vomit back onto your carpet. The people who love it are objectively correct, because it makes you live forever (almost). Anyone who has fallen head over heels for it will do the same for you if you buy them this homebrew kit.

Traveling together can be a bonding experience. But if you’re going to be seen together, isn’t it time they lose that 1970s mustard colored softshell leather suitcase? Come on, you can be honest — it’s a little embarrassing. So help them join the 21st century with a decent luggage set. But on the other hand, maybe you’re not interested in traveling together at all. Maybe a new luggage set is just a nice way of saying, “Would you please go somewhere far away for a while?” It’s great for that too.

Take a friend back to their glory days on the streets of Hong Kong with this authentic bubble waffle maker. All they have to do is fill this bad boy with their favorite waffle batter, close the lid, and within a few minutes they’ve got their very own homemade version of one of the world’s most iconic street foods. Add in a stockpile of cheap batter and a few cases of whipped cream, and this could literally keep them alive for years.

As much as we hate to mention, and we don’t advise you do, they’re not spring chickens anymore and Ben and Jerry probably aren’t the best of people for them to be around. They’ve probably realized this already, so give them a helping hand with their new healthy lifestyle with this marvelous little yogurt maker which will let them create some delicious and nutritious snacks to help make that break up a little easier.

Much like with the mummies of old Egypt, dehydrating food is a very handy way to make it last longer. But you have to do it just right — simply leaving fruit, vegetables, and meat out on the kitchen table is not the answer (as so many people have found out the hard way). Thankfully, the inventors of the electric food dehydrator have done all the learning and thinking for the rest of us, so now all we have to do is load it up and turn a dial. Mmm, beef jerky.

With the current rate of the earth’s soil depletion, we’ll soon count on our furniture to feed us. That was surely the inspiration behind this LED-powered indoor garden side table. Thanks to Miracle-Gro, hydroponic cultivation has never been easier or more convenient. This advancement in indoor growing technology has already spawned a new lifestyle movement, known as the “living room vegan.” It’s also helping to change the meaning of the phrase “home-grown.”

This clay roasting pan made in Germany cooks a chicken to crispy perfection whether in an oven or a grill. Suitable for a chicken up to 10 lbs., the bird is best inverted and placed over the pan’s central spike, which evenly cooks the chicken from the inside. The vertical position allows an oven’s heat to circulate around the bird without the need for turning, which also allows its dark and white meat to cook evenly (without trussing) while also allowing juices to constantly baste the breast. The pan’s 8-cup capacity provides generous room for caramelizing vegetables as they roast beneath the chicken. Dishwasher-safe after cooling.

Nothing makes your luggage stand out against all the other schmucks’ tattered old raggedy bags like a shiny brass luggage tag. The perfect gift for the sophisticated globetrotter who likes to travel in style. Use up to five lines of text to list their name, address, phone number, favorite superhero, spirit animal, most embarrassing moment — whatever they (or you) want to permanently engrave. The most distinguished way to keep the grubby little hands of the unwashed masses off their personal belongings at the airport.

Born out of our 100-year old family-owned restaurant supply business, Made In designs products to the exacting standards of the world's best chefs. They source high-quality raw materials and collaborate with multigenerational makers to create pieces that will last a lifetime. Made In Cookware is not only designed to the specifications of the world's best chefs; it is also used in their restaurants on a nightly basis. They can also be found in hundreds of thousands of home kitchens.

Something plants have always wondered: why do people hang pictures of them on the wall, when they could put real ones there? Ask no more, green ones, because inside this stylish frame, you're living works of art. This modern shelf (in two sizes) will keep houseplants or kitchen herbs thriving, even when there's not much natural light. Your kitchen garden can hang right above the counter, or use the smaller, vertically oriented version for a single fern or aloe, to make a cozy bathroom nightlight.

Since the dawn of time, chaos, terror, and death have periodically rained down from the sky. Only the lucky were spared. But now we have weather radios, so you can go inside instead of dying. This one also conveniently charges your phone so the next hurricane doesn’t have to interrupt your game of angry birds.

This convection bread maker with 16 pre-programmed menu options makes creating a bakery-fresh loaf as simple as adding ingredients and pressing a button. With options that include gluten-free and low-carb varieties—as well as a unique crispy crust setting—filling your home with the heavenly aroma of baked bread has never been easier. A push-button selector lets home bakers adjust the crust for a lightly browned, tender bite to the dark, chewy texture that’s the hallmark of artisanal varieties. Offering impressive versatility, this machine bakes over 100 combinations of bread, dough, cake and jams, and more.

Ember's patented technology allows you to precisely set the temperature of your hot beverage, so you can enjoy it from the first sip to the last drop. Ember's award-winning design is thoughtfully crafted using premium materials for a modern, sleek appearance. Travel mugs and other sizes and styles are available. Ideal for coffee and tea.

If you know someone who has ever tried to drain the pasta water from the pot using a fork to hold back the noodles, this gift is just what they need to quit their habit of pulling those noodles out of the dirty sink and pretending like nothing happened when they inevitably spill over. They'll wonder how they ever lived without this simple tool, and will silently thank you every time they don't have to wash a bulky colander after dinner, or wonder if that green speck in their pasta is actually parsley.

Chop an onion in one easy push with no crying? Who wouldn’t prefer to dice their onions this way? Probably someone who likes to season their food with tears. Or maybe someone who likes to be the object of pity. For the rest of us, who have plenty of salt in the pantry, perfectly uniform pieces of onion await, and no one asking you if you're alright. This heavy-duty food chopper also makes quick work of potatoes, carrots, cheeses, and more.

A safety net for the mechanically impaired, AAA is a one-of-a-kind grease monkey support network that can be relied upon to rescue them at any time of day or night. Because deep down inside, you know that for every happy ending, there’s a 1990 Camaro on the side of the road somewhere with a skeleton in the front seat.

If they don't already have a marinade injector it would make a perfect gift. And if they do, tell them to throw that junk away - this one is way nicer. Initially, the novice may wonder why they need a marinade injector. Of course, if they knew why they needed one they would, in fact, already have one. But they'll learn. And it will be a delicious process. And soon you'll reap the benefits when you're invited over for dinner and vodka infused watermelon.

This waffle maker creates fluffy, edible, interlocking bricks for making your own batter-based structures. It bakes 10 short bricks, two long bricks, and two individual bricks simultaneously that can then be stacked easily when removed for building waffle-based houses, huts, or cabins. Made from die-cast aluminum with a food-grade, non-stick coating, it accepts one’s preferred batter. Cleans with paper towels or soft cloth.

Their toothbrush cleans their mouth, but then what cleans their toothbrush? How have you not been thinking about this? If you don’t have one of these, your mouth and your toothbrush are just playing volleyball with all that crap that comes off your teeth. Life is gross enough without walking around with a bacteria factory in your face.

Having to get out of bed to retrieve your favorite stuff is the deepest kind of bummer. And since not everyone has the money to afford a full-time servant, many people are forced to suffer the indignity of placing their bare feet upon the cold, hard floor. This bedside shelf is an ingenious answer to that problem, especially for top bunk dwellers and anyone else for whom a bedside table is not an option. An attractive, eco-friendly, and minimalist way to make sure they have all of their doo-dads, gadgets, and consumables within arm’s reach the moment they wake up.

Nothing gets the ol’ blood pumping like a good old fashioned murder mystery. The only problem is that once you’ve been through a few of them, you start running out of friends. CosyKiller is the perfect answer to this problem. Once a month, the subscriber gets a box full of various clues surrounding a fictitious murder, and over the course of the year they try to solve the puzzle of who committed the crime. It’s like getting to be a high-profile murder detective for a year, but with no real-world consequences if they blow it.

Everyone, from Elon Musk to your next door neighbor, is straight-up terrified of the robot takeover, envisioning all kinds of post-apocalyptic horrors being visited upon us by our own creations. But then one of them offers to mow the lawn and everyone’s like, “Well, they can’t be that bad.” And it’s true - there might be a few bad apples coming down the assembly line, but you won’t find any in the lawn mower category. Just helpful, friendly, sort-of-intelligent mini landscapers who just want you to give them a place to lay low and recharge in between jobs. Nothing to be scared of here.

A trip to the spa promotes relaxation, relieves stress, and contributes to their general wellbeing. It also gets them off your back for a few hours. This is what people call a win-win situation. Ship them off to a place of rest and rejuvenation. You’ll both be glad you did.

Technology has been an ongoing boon to music makers and music lovers alike, but the downside is that anyone with a personal music collection has had a rough time keeping up over the last forty years or so. A 7-in-1 music player (AM, FM, CD, vinyl, cassette, bluetooth, and auxiliary in) allows them to get some use out of all that accumulated music without needing a room full of stereo equipment.

If the last thing they need is another “thing”, then the best possible gift is to take a trip together. Whether it’s a short day-trip to the beach, a weekend in Vegas, or a vacation overseas, travel creates memories that will last forever, long after their gizmos have become obsolete, their doodads have broken down, and their whatchamacallums have faded into obscurity.

What’s the point of moving or traveling if you’re going to do the same things you’ve always done when you get there? Give this anywhere travel guide to someone who’s going away and needs some ideas on how to battle boredom. Cards feature prompts that suggest activities they probably wouldn’t think of if left to their own devices.

Buy them a couple tickets to a great event or show as a little test. Will they give the extra ticket to you? You just gave them this very thoughtful gift, after all. Or do they keep them both. In which case, maybe they just get a box of chocolates from the drug store next time.

Air travel can be pretty uncomfortable, especially if you're crammed in an economy seat like most working folks. When the stress is mounting, the kid starts crying, and the pilot announces that they'll be arriving behind schedule, at least there is booze. These cocktail kits will help them find their happy place when they feel like popping that emergency exit and bailing out.

Happy couple decides to go on vacation, finds quaint lodging belonging to complete stranger for a price that seems too good to be true. In the movies, they get hacked to pieces. So here’s one way you can be happy that real life never ends up like the movies. In real life, they just have a great time and never stay in a hotel again.