GoKawiilLook, I love a Kindle, but if you want to get the best e-reader for your buck, the answer is actually a Kobo. My favorite is the Kobo Libra Colour that's cheaper than the Kindle Colorsoft and can also double as a digital notebook if you add on the $70 stylus. I also prefer Kobo's annotating options; you can write right on the pages, instead of in weird pop-up margins and boxes only on Kindle. Kobo also has its own page-turner remote now, which I love to pair with a pillow stand holder so I can lean back and relax without holding up my e-reader at all while I read. I gave a similar pillow stand to my mom, and now I can spot her last reading spot easily because that pillow is resting there.
Clear Listening
Courtesy of Apple Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Apple AirPods 4 $129 $99 (23% off) Amazon Photograph: Nena Farrell Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Mujjo Echelon AirPods Pro 2 Case $39 Mujjo
My husband and I got AirPods around the same time. We were late adopters and longtime fans of our Apple corded headphones. The AirPods 4 aren't the WIRED team's favorite for sound, but I'm one of the many people who can't seem to keep other earbuds in her ears, so Apple's tip-free design is the best fit for me, though that means you aren't getting good noise canceling. I got my first set for Christmas from my siblings this year, and originally I stuck some pretty stickers on my case to tell the difference between my case and my husband's. I've since upgraded to this stylish case from Mujjo, which makes it easy to see which case is mine and clip it onto my keys. It's a nice accessory if your mom already has AirPods but struggles to keep track of them, or is looking for an easier way to differentiate hers from the other members of the house.
Gamer Gear
When the workday comes to an end, you can find me parked on the couch with my Nintendo Switch. I recently upgraded to a Nintendo Switch 2 ($449) so I could finally buy and play Pokopia ($70), since it's exclusive to the new console, and I've already clocked an obscene amount of hours on the game. It's similar to Animal Crossing, but imagine it's all Pokémon instead of random animal people. It has a chokehold on me, similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons did in 2020, and there have been multiple times when I'm still awake playing when my son has a midnight wake-up or an accident. (You could say it's helping me be ready to parent.) I really like the feel of the new Joy-Cons, too, especially with the included Joy-Con 2 Grip. If you're not looking to upgrade her console just yet but need a Switch-friendly cozy game for her, Stardew Valley has another big update in the works and only costs $15.
Her Google Calendar IRL
My latest favorite family planning gadget is a digital wall calendar. These handy devices take the Google Calendar I live by (and just about any other digital calendar, too, if your mom isn't a Google girl) and put it on a physical device I can quickly tap into without needing to grab my phone or bark at Alexa. The Skylight Calendar 2 is my favorite because it not only includes to-do lists, meal planning, and a recipe book but also doubles as a digital photo frame. That means it displays cute photos of my family most of the time, and then, with a simple tap, it opens the calendar or whatever page I was last on to show me what's on my family's schedule. It does have a subscription fee, though, to get the digital photo frame feature and a few other options too, like meal planning. But I think it's well worth it to get so many features in a single device.
Photo Spotlight
As a mom, I take a lot of photos of my family. A lot. And sometimes it feels like all those great photos of my son's milestones go to my camera roll and photo storage to die. There are two solutions I love for this that are incredibly giftable: a digital photo frame she can instantly upload images to, and a printed photo book where you can take the best of the best and put them at her fingertips. I have and love both for different reasons. I love the digital photo frame to add all the photos from a fun weekend at the San Diego Zoo or Los Angeles Renaissance Pleasure Faire for me to relive again and again, but I also love being able to pull a photo book from the bookshelf and relive a specific moment I know is waiting there for me. Aura makes my favorite digital photo frames (followed by Skylight and the Calendar 2 if you want a multipurpose device, but Aura has no subscription fee if you only want photos), while Mixbook has been a favorite of mine for a while when it comes to printing photos, and has great starting prices for its photo books.
... continue reading