The best gifts for mum for Christmas 2017

We all saw those Public Health England study findings earlier this summer. You know, the ones talking about how 6.3 million adults aged 40-60+ aren’t getting in their 10 minutes of brisk walking and why that sucks for their health. So, when compiling our gift guide for mum this year, we included a few tech pressies that can enhance mum’s health and fitness and help her to relax. 

But it isn’t all wellness tech. Nope, we’ve thrown in some righteous audio tech for hard-rocking mothers, the ultimate piece of tech for unleashing her creativity, and a garden power tool that wouldn’t look out of place on The Walking Dead. 

Oh, and we’ve found the tech Goose to your mum’s Maverick! No idea what we’re talking about? Read on to find out...

• More ideas for Christmas gifts

If your mum is the type to tackle unruly hedges and wayward trees head-on, she may thank you for the gift of a Bosch EasyCut 12 mini chainsaw this Christmas. It delivers precise, clean cuts and enables simple, single-handed sawing.

Thanks to its revolving chain and NanoBlade tech, mum can perform cool, freehand cuts without having to clamp pieces of wood in place first. It’s low-vibration, too, so it won’t cause long-term aggravation to her wrist. 

When she’s done wrestling the garden tree or hedge, mum might enjoy going to town on a piece of MDF in the shed – yep, the EasyCut 12 is perfect for DIY and hobby projects too. Anyone fancy a mum-made bookshelf?

If your mum is less mini chainsaw, more facial pampering tool, wrap up one of the UK’s best-selling facial cleansing brushes for her this Christmas. 

The No 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush is ideal for normal and mature skin types and works with most cream or gel facial cleansers. It has two different speeds, with the highest speed offering a deeper clean – perfect for removing traces of make-up.  

This battery operated brush uses a series of soft bristles to gently exfoliate and cleanse mum’s skin, removing dirt, oil and excess make-up and moisturiser, leaving her face softer and more radiant.

Give your mum’s passion for reading, sketching and painting a high-tech boost with the iPad Pro, one of the best tablets around for unleashing creativity and nailing work on the fly. 

Available with either a 10.5-inch or 12.9-inch retina display, the iPad Pro is powerful enough for mum to set aside her laptop and to instead work/play on a lightweight, portable device. Also, that vibrant retina display, coupled with the iPad Pro’s four-speaker design, will make mum’s favourite TV shows (oh great, another period drama) look and sound better than ever. 

There are dozens of stunning painting, sketching and illustration apps available for mum to buy from the App Store, or she could try the transformative power of digital journaling by writing down and exploring her thoughts in a dedicated Notes app. Don’t forget the Apple Pencil!

For active mums, and those who wish to boost their fitness, who are also keen to learn how to relax better, the Huawei Band Pro 2 is a stellar Christmas gift choice that won’t break your bank. 

You see, the Band Pro 2 has a built-in Breathing Coach to help your mum relax, or to concentrate, by guiding her (via a soothing light) to breathe properly. Through a series of reminders, the Band Pro 2 also encourages mum to practice mindfulness throughout the day. 

On top of this, the Band Pro 2 acts as a Running Coach, with built-in GPS and a Firstbeat system that assess mum’s running style, tailoring a workout to gradually increase her stamina and distance. The band is safe to wear while swimming, and offers all-day heart rate tracking so that she can see the positive effect all that mindful breathing is having on her ticker.

There are some idiot drivers out there, but thankfully your mum isn’t one of them. Still, if she’s been looking into dash cams and how they can enhance her safety on the road - and capture footage of any buffoons who come near - make the Garmin Dash Cam 55 her new wingwoman. 

With action cam looks and a stay-put magnet mount, the Dash Cam 55 is one of the easiest in-car cameras to use despite being packed with tons of features, which includes GPS and smartphone integration with Garmin’s Virb app. 

More importantly, it offers Forward Collision, Lane Departure and Speed Camera warnings, and records 1440p footage. It’s not bad at capturing night-time drive footage, either. Bonus: the Garmin Dash Cam 55 comes with an 8GB microSD card so that mum can start recording on her first drive post-Christmas. 

Just like lighting, scent can have a huge effect on a person’s mood. This Essential Oil Diffuser by InnoGear is lightweight and portable, helping mum to enjoy a variety of calming or energising scents throughout her home. 

The diffuser’s natural outer shell is crafted from bamboo wood, while inside sits a BPA-free container to be filled with water and a few drops of mum’s favourite essential oils. There are a variety of timer settings and mist controls, giving her a range of options depending on how long she wants the diffuser to run. 

Adopted ultrasonic tech ensures this essential oil diffuser is quiet during use, so it won’t disturb mum’s yoga or meditation session. Seven soothing LED lights add a mood lighting element, helping her to unwind further after a stressful day.

When it comes to noise-cancelling headphones, Bose’s QuietComfort QC35 cans are hard to beat. And now Bose has released a new version of its famous headphones, just in time for you to help your mum carve out a little peace and quiet this Christmas. 

The wireless Bose QC35 II feature Google Assistant built-in, enabling mum to use voice commands to play music and receive calls from her smartphone without having to pick up her handset – ace if she’s pottering in the garden and has mucky hands. 

These headphones are also engineered with best-in-class noise cancellation tech, which continuously measures, compares and reacts to outside noise, helping mum to drown out even the noisiest household, cafe or workplace to better enjoy whatever she’s listening to.

Does your mum grow her own fruit and veg? Does she enjoy turning those (or store bought) fruits, veggies and other ingredients into delicious homemade soups, dips, purees and sauces? Then elevate her kitchen game this Christmas with Smeg’s gorgeous 50s-style HBF02 Hand Blender.

Designed with an ergonomic, anti-slip grip, this vintage stunner is comfortable enough for mammoth blending sessions. Speed controls sit at the top of the handle, putting the 700W blender’s powerful Turbo function at mum’s fingertips. 

Available in Red, Cream, Blue and Black, the Smeg HBF02 Hand Blender comes with a range of accessories for chopping and blending hard fruits and vegetables, and for whipping cream and beating egg whites into fluffy peaks. Mum, Mary Berry’s got nothing on you!

Walking and hiking is a fantastic way to keep fit and enjoy the outdoors, but if your mum’s existing boots have seen better days, upgrade her to Merrell’s brand new Chameleon 7 Mid GTX. 

These mid hiking boots are ultra durable and feature a series of Vibram TC5+ pods on the sole to add extra grip without adding weight. They’ll help mum feel more stable on a variety of terrains, boosting her confidence when exploring the outdoors, and they look damn stylish.

A traditional lace closure and bellows tongue hugs the feet tightly, but a nubuck and mesh upper ensures breathability all-day long. 

Thanks to Dualit, your mum doesn’t have to choose between either a new kettle or a coffee machine – the Polish Classic Capsule Machine brews both at the touch of a button. 

Compatible with Dualit and Nespresso capsules, this elegant, polished stainless steel drinks maker won’t force mum to give up her favourite coffee capsules. It’s also compatible with Dualit’s Fine Tea capsules, including English Breakfast, Peppermint and Green Tea, and has a temperature boost function if mum prefers an extra piping hot cuppa.

Back to coffee and the Dualit Polished Classic Capsule Machine features an adjustable cup shelf, pandering to a range of drink sizes, and is programmed to dispense the correct volume of barista style espresso (35ml), lungo (70ml) or tea (180ml) at the touch of a button. Get it up and running for mum on Christmas Day so that she can enjoy the Queen’s Speech with a fresh cuppa.

Think about all the awesome Christmas presents mum has bought you over the years. Right. Now if you have the cash to spare, and your mum is properly into her music and radio, Ruark’s gorgeous new R7 MkIII Radiogram is the ideal show-stopper gift for her this year.

Fitted with a multi-format CD player, the high-definition Bluetooth, multi-room ready, DAB and FM radio-toting R7 MkIII - with built-in Spotify Connect, we hasten to add - has everything mum needs to listen to her favourite tunes or radio shows.

The Ruark R7 MkIII is available in Rich Walnut Veneer or Soft Grey. Whichever finish you pick, thanks to this luxury gift your mum will have a stunning new centrepiece for her living room that will last years.

Want more? Here’s some other great gift ideas for mum for Christmas 2017:

• Cath Kidston Queen’s Guard Ladies Watch 
• HTC U11
• Ion 8 Ultimate Sports Water Bottle
• Kobo Aura H20 Edition 2 
• HoMedics STRETCH Back Stretching Mat 
• Meural Digital Canvas
• Saucony Liberty ISO
• HUMAX FVP-5000T Freeview Play Recorder
• InCase NoviConnected Hubless Travel Roller
• Remington Pro-Luxe Heated Rollers
• Click & Grow The Smart Garden 9
• Stance Socks Holiday Gift Set
• KitSound Voice One Smart Speaker
• PING Lucia Softshell Ladies Vest
• 3Doodler Create 3D Printing Pen
• ZOS Halo Wine Preserver
• Revelstoke Warm Baselayer Shirt Turtle Neck Women
• Tech Throw Travel Blanket
• Easy Karaoke Machine