Technologies

13 Mother’s Day Gifts for When You Can’t Be There in Person

Don’t let distance deter you from celebrating your mom on Mother’s Day. Here are some of the best gifts to give your mom when you can’t be in person.

Mother’s Day is the one day of the year dedicated to the woman who dedicates all her time to you, so make sure to celebrate her this year, even from oceans away. If you don’t live close enough to be there in person for Mother’s Day, there are still so many thoughtful gifts at your disposal to make your mom feel special. It might not be the same as physically being there, but it goes a long way towards letting your mom (or Grandma) know how much she means to you.

Sure, there are the old standbys like flowers and cards, but how about a sweet gift for the sentimental mom, or something practical that will make your mom’s life easier? To help you find just the right gift for your long-distance mom, we’ve created a list of the best Mother’s Day gifts for when you can’t be there in person. These thoughtful and unique gifts will demonstrate your love can truly go the distance.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Disney Plus

For the mom who’s a kid at heart

If your mother loves Disney but hasn’t tried Disney Plus yet, give her the gift that keeps on giving: all the Disney she can watch. Your mom can watch popular shows like The Mandalorian and finally see what all the fuss is about with Encanto. We rated Disney Plus as the best streaming service for kids at heart, so if your mom loves nostalgia and wants to stay on top of the latest releases, she’ll love Disney Plus.

$80 at Disney Plus

Mixbook

For the sentimental mom

When you can’t be with your mother in person, a personalized photo book of all of your moments with her can fill in the gap. Mixbook, one of CNET’s best photo books, allows you to create the ultimate gift by uploading photographs from your phone, computer or social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, and from there build your book, calendar and more with just a few steps.

See at Mixbook

The Sill

The Sill «Easy Care» Bundle

For the plant-loving mom

The Sill is a plant marketplace with a wide variety of fantastic plant choices for plant parents of all kinds. The Easy Care bundle is the best present for a mom who enjoys plants, but prefers a low-maintenance option. In this bundle, she’ll get the pet-friendly peperomia obtusifolia and a drought- and low-light-tolerant ZZ plant.What’s more, as one of CNET’s best places to buy plants online, your mother will adore this present’s quality.

$60 at The Sill

Amazon

Kindle Paperwhite

For reading on the go

The Kindle Paperwhite is our best all-around ebook reader for a reason. It features warm light settings, a longer battery life and is completely waterproof. For a better viewing experience, this edition of the Kindle Paperwhite sports a 6.8-inch display, perfect for a virtual book club.

$140 at Amazon

$140 at Target

$140 at Best Buy

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Cuddle Clones

A cuddly reminder of her favorite pet

If you have a mother who adores her pets, consider getting her a plush animal to provide a constant reminder of her affection. You begin the Cuddle Clones process with the pet’s name, then you follow up with the type of pet and finally the breed. After that, you go through a sequence of simple questions and picture uploads, and voila your mom will have a fuzzy version of her pet in eight weeks.

See at Cuddle Clones

Amazon

ArtPix 3D Crystal Photo

A 3D photo to treasure

This ArtPix 3D Photo Crystal is another cool way to preserve a special picture, but in 3D. This is accomplished through the use of laser engraving that brings any photograph to life. You can fully customize this gift by font, size, background and more. And this present can be enhanced even further by including a base and LED lights, but the crystal itself is plenty to convey your affection.

$80 at Amazon

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Homesick

Homesick ‘Thank You Mom’ Candle

Fancy candles are a mom staple

There are a variety of ways to express gratitude to your mother, but a candle (together with a handwritten letter) is a wonderful touch. This candle is 13.75 ounces and will burn for around 60 to 80 hours. Created with a natural soy wax blend that includes notes of bergamot, lavender, sage, jasmine and other fragrant aromas this candle will brighten her day.

$38 at Macy’s

Etsy

Handwriting Bracelet

A personalized bracelet will make her day

Does your mom love jewelry and keep all your old handwritten papers from childhood? Why not combine her two loves with this customizable, handmade bracelet made from gold, rose gold or silver. Once you decide how you want it engraved, you can write the message and choose an image matching the way you want it to look.

$42 at Etsy

Uncommon Goods

Long Distance Friendship Lamp

A sweet way to let Mom know you’re thinking of her

If you want to let your mom know you’re thinking of her in real time, this is the gift for her. No matter where you are, this lamp will work like a charm by lighting up and transmitting a colorful glow to her when you touch it.

$125 at Uncommon Goods

Amazon

Eufy RoboVac 25C

Make Mom’s life a whole lot easier

The Eufy RoboVac 25C is rated CNET’s best affordable robot vacuum. It has a powerful suction that is effective on both hardwood and carpeted floors. Pet hair and other little dust piles are easily picked up by it. And while it isn’t the most advanced robot vacuum, it is more than enough to allow your mother to relax while something else cleans up the mess.

$96 at Walmart

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Amazon

Oxo Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker

For the coffee-loving mama

2020

Making coffee should be as simple as possible, but to accomplish it properly, you’ll need the perfect coffee maker. The Editors’ Choice winner, the Oxo Brew eight-cup coffee maker, is our favorite drip brewer. This machine will make your mother a cup that will rival any coffee shop. The Oxo Brew has a single-cup filter basket, precision settings for better water temperature, a double-wall vacuum and it’s small enough to fit on your mother’s kitchen counter.

Read our Oxo 8 Cup Coffee Maker review.

$199 at Amazon

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the million roses

The Million Roses

Long lasting florals to show your long lasting love

Show your mom how much you love her with a box of long-lasting roses. These real roses can last for up to three years! Although they can be pricey, these beautiful flowers are well worth the money. They come in a variety of colors and bouquet sizes.

$103 at The Million Roses

On Holiday

On Holiday Pickleball Set

For the active mom

Give your mom the gift of America’s favorite pastime — that’s right, a custom pickleball set. On Holiday’s custom pickleball set is great for any active mom or mom looking for a new hobby. For $144, you can pick two paddles, a set of balls and a bag. All of the paddles have unique designs, so you can pick the one that best suits your mom’s personality.

$144 at On Holiday Pickleball

More for Mother’s Day

Technologies

Waymo’s Driverless Vehicles Are Hitting Tokyo Streets. Here’s Everything to Know About the Robotaxi Service

Here’s where Waymo’s self-driving vehicles are available now — and where they’re arriving soon.

Technologies

Amazon Scrubs Wednesday Rocket Launch for Its Starlink Satellite Service Rival

The weather hampers Project Kuiper’s launch, and no new date has been scheduled for its first full-scale satellite launch.

Amazon will soon launch 27 low-Earth orbit satellites as part of its Project Kuiper. The original launch window was set for Wednesday between 7 and 9 p.m. ET (4 to 6 p.m. PT), but poor weather forced the rocket launch to be scrubbed for the day.

«Weather is observed and forecast NO GO for liftoff within the remaining launch window at Cape Canaveral this evening, according to Launch Weather Officer Brian Belson,» United Launch Alliance said in its live updates Wednesday night. «The stubborn cumulus clouds and persistent winds make liftoff not possible within the available window.»

There’s no word yet on when it’ll be rescheduled, but there’s a mission page for updates on the launch and plans to livestream the takeoff. You can watch the rocket launch live on that page or YouTube.

The launch mission, KA-01 or Kuiper Atlas 1, will be on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

It’ll be a big step forward for the project, which Amazon announced in 2019 with promises of a $10 billion investment. Now the company is poised to enter the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon’s plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year.

More competition will improve internet services

The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other companies such as Viasat, Hughesnet, Eutelsat and China’s SpaceSail, could mean more internet service availability in far-flung and rural areas with limited broadband options. Though Starlink is the leader in space, some of these other companies are continuing to launch satellites and working to deploy high-speed internet in more markets, such as Brazil. With more players in the market, that could mean faster and cheaper internet in more areas, although whether that actually bears out for consumers remains to be seen.

Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research and adjunct professor at the Department of Computer Science at USC, said Amazon is well poised to compete with Starlink. «Amazon has made extensive launch agreements with major providers such as ULA, Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX itself, positioning Kuiper as a major challenger due to its expansive infrastructure and significant resources.»

He said, «While Starlink currently enjoys clear market leadership, it faces increasing competition from well-capitalized and strategically agile competitors, specifically from China, suggesting the market will become considerably more competitive in the near future.»

So far, Eslamimehr said, Amazon’s satellite efforts have been promising and successful, at least in the prototype stages. The company has also been testing Amazon Web Services in space. «These developments collectively underscore Amazon’s robust entry into the satellite internet market and reflect positive early momentum in its overall space strategy.»

Beyond how it fares against Starlink and other companies, the Amazon satellite launches are significant in other ways. Eslamimehr said, «Project Kuiper isn’t just about competition; it’s positioned as a critical step toward closing the global digital divide, promising to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.»

Correction, April 4: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the USC professor and Quandary Peak Research executive vice president. His name is Mahdi Eslamimehr.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 10, #199

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 199, for April 10.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. But if you’re tuned in to a specific tournament happening this week, the blue category should be easy for you. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Whoops!

Green group hint: Hut-hut!

Blue group hint: Fore!

Purple group hint: More than two.