2016 Mother’s Day Gift Guide

There’s nothing a mother appreciates more than when you put some thought into their gift. You can never go wrong with classics like flowers or chocolates, but something more personal is usually better. Whether you’re buying for your mom, your wife or another important woman in your life, think about their interests and what would best bring a smile to their face. Some moms also love gadgets that make their lives easier, so keep that in mind as well. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started.

Bialetti Cookware

bialetti

The legacy of the Bialetti brand may be firmly rooted in the success of the Moka Express, the world-renowned stovetop coffeemaker, but the Italian company’s range of products extend throughout the kitchen with cookware, bakeware and other accessories. There are more than a dozen different lines of cookware alone (including sets made from terracotta, ceramic and granite), but of the samples provided to us, the Simply Italian and Sapphire collections were our favorites. The former is an affordable but efficient selection of pots and pans featuring an easy-to-clean PFOA-free nonstick interior that requires less oil for those obsessed about healthy cooking, while the latter boasts an ultra-durable Nanotec nonstick coating and a hard-anodized construction that can be used with all cooktops (including induction) and ovens up to 400º F. The Simply Italian line is great if you’re on a budget, but we really liked the Sapphire Executive Collection due to the fact that, although it’s about twice as expensive per item, it’s still pretty affordable for such high-quality cookware.

Fitbit Alta

fitbit_2

If your mom is into fitness, she’ll probably love this stylish fitness tracker from Fitbit. It’s available in a wide variety of colors, and it’s a great gadget to track daily progress for all types of health and fitness measurements, like steps, distance, calories burned and how long/how well you sleep. The new Fitbit Alta is an upgrade on the popular Flex model that adds an OLED tap display, so you can track all of the aforementioned stats as well as receive call, text and calendar notifications when synced with your smartphone. Additionally, you can personalize the tracker with interchangeable metal, leather and classic bands that will look great whether you’re at home, work or the gym.

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2015 Mother’s Day Gift Guide

There’s nothing a mother appreciates more than when you put some thought into their gift. You can never go wrong with classics like flowers or chocolates, but something more personal is usually better. Whether you’re buying for your mom, your wife or another important woman in your life, think about their interests and what would best bring a smile to their face.

Some moms also love gadgets that make their lives easier, so keep that in mind as well. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started.

Vivitar LifeCam

lifecam

For mothers with an active or busy lifestyle, the new Vivitar LifeCam ensures they’ll never miss another important moment again. It’s a wearable camcorder that boasts 1920x1080p HD video quality, a fixed lens with a 160-degree field of view, and the ability to capture photos and record live or time-lapsed video. The device is about 3 inches long, so it’s small enough to carry around without worrying about losing it, and comes with seven different accessory mounts for hands-free recording. There’s a head mount and bike mount for adventure-seekers who partake in outdoor activities like mountain climbing, snowboarding and cycling; a tripod mount for getting more professional shots; a clip mount for wearing it on the go; and suction, magnet and desktop mounts for a variety of everyday uses. In addition to a MicroSD card slot for saving your photos and videos, the LifeCam includes an HDMI port for HDTV playback and connects via a built-in iOS and Android app to sync, view and share your media on any mobile device.

Soundfreaq Sound Rise Speaker

We loved this compact, minimalistic wireless bedroom speaker so much that after testing it, we promptly unplugged our current iHome unit and replaced it with the Soundfreaq Sound Rise. Featuring Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and a USB power port in the back for charging, this cube-shaped speaker also operates as a dual alarm clock with weekday/weekend settings, as well as an FM radio with the option for six presets. That means you can wake up to whatever your connected device may be streaming (like iTunes music or Pandora), your favorite FM radio station or the built-in chime sound. Though the audio quality won’t blow you away, it’s more than adequate for everyday use, while the simple design fits nicely with just about any décor. The Sound Rise is available in black and wood tone, but there’s also a limited edition floral print appropriately called Flower Freaq that most women will absolutely love.

soundfreaq

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