8 gifts for your mom that you can (almost) make yourself

As children, in kindergarten and in school, we were taught that the best way to show devotion to your mother was to give her a gift with your own hands. The result was useless objects, almost always ugly and exaggerated with cold glue, although completely unique. But growing up, the market has taught us that mom likes to receive gifts made by others and obtained with money, since love is measured by the zeros on the note.

The truth is that it’s neither, but maybe a mixture of both. A gift will always be invaluable if it contains something we made ourselves, but that effort can be worthless if we don’t have the necessary expertise or materials. Here are some suggestions for getting back to that childish essence but without having to use tempera or popsicle sticks — and not go into debt — to show mom your love for her.

A gift that works perfectly both symbolically and materially. Bringing to life the popular saying “I’ll bake you a cake” combines both the effort and the time required to make the cake — between one and two hours depending on the recipe, not counting the purchase of ingredients — as well as that as the which culturally means: a high act of offering and devotion. Best of all, yes, you can also benefit from this gift: giving a cake is generating the excuse to eat it. That, of course, if that suits you.

Indispensable: a mixing bowl and a baking dish. (In this article, two expert pastry chefs have described the elements needed to make pastries at home. And here, our columnist Álvaro Peralta gives his advice on how to do it without fail).

Everyone has a camera with hundreds of files in their pockets, but few have photos at home they can take and touch. And memories are seldom better activated than when, searching in a drawer for something we are not going to find, we come across a yellowish image from another time. In the lab me you can design your own album, with photos you have on your phone or PC, and they print it in great quality. It takes 10-12 working days.

Build him a what? Yes, a piece of furniture. With your delicate and gentle hands. It’s not easy but it’s not that hard either: follow the instructions and ideas of Italian designer and thinker Enzo Mari — available in his book personal projects? ($10,200 at the Hueders store) —, with some wood planks (starting at $1,990 for three meters at Sodimac), nails and a hammer, we can offer him a chair — like Sedia, whose instructions you can see here and in the video, comfortable and simple.

Breakfast: it has already been proven that it is not the most important meal of the day, but the most important day for your mother, it can be the most symbolic meal. It’s autumn, the mornings are frosty and so nothing will represent love better than a tray saturated with sugars, fats and stimulating concoctions – from strong coffee to a glass of mimosa, why not. If you don’t have the budget to order it at home, you can perfectly do it yourself. What is necessary? No calorie limits, a good pan so eggs and pancakes don’t stick, and a firm, stable surface where nothing spills.

Prices for manicures, like oil and flour, have skyrocketed. To avoid spending too much on a nail salon, roll up your sleeves and give your mom the pleasure of seeing her fingers come to life for an afternoon. If you do not have the tools for the manicure, we recommend a pro version and another more accessible.

Yes, we have already seen that the saying is “to bake a cake”, but the truth is that baking bread is much more difficult. As we tell you in this article, a good bread does not require so many ingredients – just flour, water, yeast and salt – but it does require a lot of resting and fermentation time. A gift that takes patience, planning and, if you have a good hand, lots of flavor. here a recipe by Tadeo Castelvero, the baker of La Popular Pizza y Pan.

Probably one of the things your mum misses most is not seeing you or your siblings – if she lives with you, I hope she’ll always support them – but getting together for tea or a coffee with his friends. Replicate the experience in something by making an even better chai latte than the one served at the mall’s cafeteria. Essential? Milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom.

Although, at this point, what we all need after these days – especially your mother – is a good drink. One like the pisco sour: sweet, sour and strong enough to enjoy it and also to escape for a moment from multiplying infections, multiplying quarantines and life, which we do not know how it will continue. Here is a recipe from Álvaro Peralta and two of his irreplaceable ingredients: pisco and rubber syrup.

*Prices for products in this item are updated as of May 6, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.