Gift Guide for mom

I don’t know about you but I seriously struggle with holiday and birthday gift shopping. Especially at this point in my life. I just feel like my mom has everything she needs and I have no clever ideas for gifts. Soon my little one will make her lots of crafts that we’ll send as gifts, but until then, I still have to come up with fabulous, meaningful gifts for her. Over the last year, she has actually asked me for gifts from the shop I run, Handmade Palestine. So this blog post is meant as a “Best and Most Meaningful Holiday Gift Ideas for Mom” but really I’m cheating a bit by telling you what my mom loved most so you can give these things to your mom too!

Important comment here is that I have a mom who NEVER asks for anything. She doesn’t ask me to vaccuum, or do dishes, or make dinner, or fetch the hammer, or pull weeds. She’s a silent-servant type. Always taking care of everyone and everything. So it was a HUGE surprise the first time she asked me to get her anything from the shop.

Sterling Silver Jewelry - especially the single leaf necklace 

It started with a necklace. I don’t really remember my mom wearing necklaces so it struck me as an odd request, but she was firmly a gold-hoop-earrings woman from as far back as I can remember and she wore family rings, so I guess she could only accessorize her neck with a new style. Anyway, she told me the sterling silver olive leaf jewelry from Silver Zaytouna was so gorgeous and intricate, and she wanted a necklace. But since my mom is a serve-others-sort-of-mom, she admitted that she wanted to help me promote the jewelry in our shop and thought she could help me sell some. God bless my mom!

This is her in the lovely necklace! 

Olive wood kitchen utensils

Then she asked for some kitchen utensils. The thing is she’s really already got a lot and they are all shoved in an old crock on her counter so I didn’t see how she was going to really fit anymore. Then she whispered to me that she was going to hide them in a drawer so my father didn’t use, and ruin, them. I laughed so hard. These were the ones she chose.

Have you read Morgan's article on the top 5 handicrafts minimalists should have?

Keffiyeh scarf for all seasons

She always eyed the keffiyehs but never took one from me because she thought she wouldn’t really use it. She’s practical like that.

Read more here about the history of the keffiyeh

Christmas decorations - You must 

Instead, she asked for some of our felt Christmas ornaments and decorations from this amazing organization called Ma’an lil Hayyat which works with folks with special needs in Bethlehem. This handmade felt from local wool is felted as part of the income generation program to give the folks who participate a chance to make some money. Their designs are lovely but my favorite thing as a new-ish mom is how well their Christmas nativities hold up in the playful hands of my 2 year old. Actually, I’ll just write another blog about Christmas decor that can withstand young kids because that is a seriously challenging task! For now, back to my mom...these are the felt holiday pieces she loves most.

So if I had known LAST Christmas that she would want these handicrafts throughout this year, I would have been able to give her an awesome package of Christmas gifts. Here’s the good news: you can use her wish list for your mom! Check out our Holiday Gifts for Moms here.