Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide: Miscellaneous Items

On April 21, 2010 by Tricia

Whether you are a mom making a wish list or you are shopping for your mom, grandma, wife, etc. you will want to take a peak at the ultimate Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide from THE Once A Month Mom – the owner and founder of Once a Month Meals, Tricia. She’s had the opportunity to test and review numerous products in her own kitchen and has a long list of favorites to share. Today we will share some miscellaneous kitchen items that make great gifts.

Disclosure: My opinions of these products are my own. I have tested all of them out in some way, shape or form. I also didn’t choose to put in items to the gift guide that I didn’t think that moms would find of use in the kitchen or would be good quality. I wouldn’t want to steer you wrong on Mother’s Day.

I will use a star system to differentiate products, i.e. 1*, 2**, 3***.

* – I didn’t receive the product for free as part of the review, I either owned it already or I reviewed it and sent it back to the company.

** – I got the item to review and to keep.

*** – I received the item to review and keep and received one to give away to a reader (see the Mother’s Day Gift Guide guidelines for entering). This giveaway is now closed.

There are so many great things for helping mom around the kitchen it is hard to find a category for them all. Thus the hodge-podge category. Not to say that you don’t need these items or that mom won’t just go gaga over them, but they didn’t fit neatly into another category for me!

Kitchen Gift Guide: Electronics

Litl**

This web book is super cool and has a TON of uses for in the kitchen. Especially, for Once A Month Mom’s. Once a Month Meals cooks have a lot of recipe cards and resources that are found on the web. On any given day I am consulting my computer or my iPhone to access a recipe, idea or resource while I am in the kitchen. This web book is nice because the hinge is designed so that it doesn’t just sit at a 90-degree angle, you can actually fold the keyboard behind it so that it is standing like an open book. How cool is that? You wouldn’t even have to print out all of your Once a Month Meals recipe cards. Well, that is, if you could keep the screen from getting all sticky when you cook! Just make sure it is in a safe place. It also has a new recipes channel that provides quick and easy access to more than 50,000 recipes from Bakespace.com. The information is also stored on a server and not on a hard drive, so if you would happen to have a mishap in the kitchen you don’t have to worry about losing your information. There is a backup! It is very easy to use. I even handed it to my mother (let’s just say she isn’t the most computer savvy person I have ever met), and she used it just fine. It isn’t complicated at all. Another plus.

Twitter: litl

Facebook Fan Page: litl

CEIVA Frames***

Digital frames have been around for years now. And you might think I have jumped off the deep end putting a digital picture frame on my kitchen Mother’s Day gift guide. But you haven’t heard what the CEIVA frame can do! The CEIVA frames come with a PicturePlan bundled with each frame. Through this service, the frame automatically displays photos sent from computers or camera phones. Members invite their friends and family to send photos from anywhere – for free. Once downloaded, CEIVA’s blue light indicates that photos have arrived. Additional features include photo customization, gallery cards, free CEIVA Channels like Flower a Day and photo sharing applications for the iPhone, Facebook, Picasa and more. CEIVA Connected Photo Frames include one year of PicturePlan service and the unlimited PicturePlan Lifetime Warranty. Given that I love to take pictures of food, I can send those to my CEIVA as well. And all my friends can as well! How fun!

Twitter: ceiva

Facebook Fan Page: CEIVA

CP Docks***

Is mom always misplacing her keys? Do your kitchen counters look like an electronics boutique instead of a culinary workstation? I don’t know who might have problems like this. *Cough* *Cough*. This is another brilliant idea! I’m pretty sure a mom had to have invented this! Or maybe it was just a cook tired of getting flour all over their electronics. At any rate, it is pure brilliance if you ask me. I can’t tell you how many times my phone is charging on the kitchen counter so that I don’t miss calls while I am cooking. Now I don’t have to worry about spilling on it! I know this is an extremely practical gift but I am certain that the disorganized mom in your life would be appreciative. Maybe even pair it with the IDOX below so that she can still see her recipes on her phone while it charges!

IDox Traveler Case for iPhone***

This is an iPhone Travel Case, but better yet, it doubles as a stand for your iPhone. What a great gift for in the kitchen. Just today I was working on an adaption of a recipe for an upcoming post. I needed to see the online instructions as I was cooking. I simply set my iPhone in the IDox Traveler Case and set it on the counter. It was easy to see the recipe without having to touch it and pick it up with my messy dirty hands. I also decided to use the case for, well, traveling. I snapped my phone into it and took it with me to the grocery store.

I was a bit taken aback by the size of it at first. I honestly, didn’t like it. BUT I found it MUCH easier to locate my phone in my purse when I needed it. I didn’t have to worry about clumsily dropping it as I was navigating my iPhone grocery list. And I didn’t have to worry about my son playing with the volume buttons while we were standing in line. So I was a bit surprised at how useful this product was. And surprisingly (to me), I’m going to keep using it for all it’s intended purposes, not just for the kitchen!

Twitter: idox360

Facebook Fan Page: idox360

Kitchen Gift Guide: Other

Gift Card Girlfriend***

The Gift Card Girlfriend is your one shop idea shop for giving gift cards guilt-free. A gift card doesn’t have to be impersonal or your last ditch effort. It can be as thoughtful as an actual product. The key is to make it personal to mom. The Gift Card Girlfriend has TONS of ideas for whatever the occasion. I am sure she can help you figure out your gifting dilemmas. For a Once A Month Mom, get her a gift card to the cooking store so she can stock up on some big pots or storage devices. Then have each of the kids write down their favorite mom dish, why they like it so much, and say why their mom is the world’s best cook. Dad should add a note of his own as well. You could bundle it with a new apron or cookbook!

Twitter: gcgirlfriend

Facebook Fan Page: Gift Card Girlfriend

Skin Authority***

You might be asking how skin care goes along with cooking. It does! I know I am always surprised about the dryness or oiliness of my skin after cooking an entire day. Depending on the season, my skin reacts one way or the other. My hands get really dry and chapped too from all that hand washing. And let’s face it, we moms don’t do a very good job taking care of ourselves most days. We need to do better. And how better to help mom out in this area then to give her the tools for caring for herself.

Twitter: skin_authority

Facebook Fan Page: Skin Authority

Designs by Lolita “Sangria”***

They have an amazing line of gifts for every occasion. I was able to review the wine glass, and it is so cute. It even comes with a recipe on the bottom. I got to looking through all of their wine glasses and they are super cute! Really, if you can’t find one that will fit the mom in your life, you haven’t looked hard enough! They also have martini glasses, pilsner, and hot beverage glasses. Make mom a gift basket with a hot beverage mug, the mug cookbook or one of the coffees! It is a gift package that is sure to please. The combination options are endless!

Twitter: designsbylolita

Facebook Fan Page: Designs By Lolita

Once a Month Meals Membership

This is a great gift for one mom to give to another mom. It is the gift of time, efficiency, and organization in the kitchen! It is the gift of a freezer full of meals. Choose a monthly or yearly membership. Remember that a membership is great for the mom who loves to create her own menus as it allows her to use our swappable menus in menu builder. Check out some more ideas for membership gift baskets here.