Only go for practical gifts if you have a solid, best-friend-type relationship with your mom. Chances are if you look forward to spending time with your mom, she’ll know you bought her that vacuum because you know her current one is too heavy and hurts her back. But if your relationship is strained, you'll avoid more headaches if you just go with jewelry or something flashy.
Classic options, like silk pillowcases and beauty subscription boxes, make an appearance in this list, but we've also included new and exciting gift ideas for the mother figure you want to surprise. Some of our favorite unexpected finds: a knit weighted blanket in a moody eggplant color, a limited-edition Champagne bottle, and gift sets where everything included is actually useful.  
I have a small, simple one-zone home, where the thermostat controls only the furnace. Last winter, I bought several different top-rated smart thermostats and installed and tested them one at a time. The Nest was the one I kept. It's a snap to set up and it delivers on the features I wanted: Scheduled temperature adjustment, appealing aesthetics, an intuitive interface and absolute control via iPhone. Add in smart speaker support, and Mom can adjust the temperature from bed during those cold winter nights. Read our Nest Learning Thermostat Third Generation review. 
Our best Christmas gifts for Mom aren't just beautiful and fun to look at—they're practical too. We've got at-home massagers to keep her feeling good, diffusers to keep her air fresh and clean, fresh herb "growhouses" perfect as gardening gift ideas, and warm blankets galore to keep happy and warm all season long. If you are, in fact, in the mood for something a bit more fanciful (or delicious—say, a homemade food gift?) we can help you out there too. A chocolate-filled gift basket, a hot-sauce subscription, and even a wine delivery service (the perfect wine lover gift!) are just a few of the coolest "just for fun" ideas on our list. Pressed for time? You can always check out our favorite last-minute presents and DIY gifts, most of which can be ordered or made just days before Christmas. We have you covered, because whatever type of Mom you have, we know she is someone that will appreciate anything you give her just because it came from you.

The hottest trend in house scent is reed diffusers, and the ladies on your list will appreciate your insight. The Voluspa Fragrant Oil Reed Diffuser in Santiago Huckleberry is a reliable present.
For the mom who’s curious about her ethnic origins or family background, a DNA testing kit makes a great, informative gift. Our favorite is AncestryDNA, which presents test results in a clearer manner than other services and places its ancestry information in a useful historical context. We do urge you to spend a few moments reading the privacy section in our guide, though, since using even the best DNA testing service involves data and privacy risks. A secondary caution: People occasionally discover dark family secrets. If that wouldn’t shatter your mom’s world, though, we think the ancestral findings are compelling enough to justify the risk.
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