Zero Waste Mother’s Day Gifts: 3 DIY Last Minute Gift Ideas

Looking to have a zero waste Mother’s Day? If you’re anything like me, you sometimes wait until the last second to buy or DIY a gift. But that doesn’t mean it has to be wasteful, or any less from the heart! To me, the best type of gift is the one you give while thinking about the other person. What will they like? What will they appreciate most? Personally, I know from previous holidays my mom loves my DIYs, so I can’t go wrong making her something. If your mom is the same way, then you’re in luck. Today I’m sharing three zero waste Mother’s Day gifts you can whip up last minute. Not only are they really fun, easy DIYs, but they will definitely communicate your love for your mom. These are also great gifts to hand out to aunts or grandmothers as well. Especially since you can just double the ingredients to make a bigger batch. All of the ingredients I used to make these gifts I already had on hand in my home, so it was completely zero waste and budget friendly. You’ll probably have most of the ingredients needed in your home already to make these, but if you don’t, get creative and find a substitute! For example, lets say you don’t have dried rose petals – that’s okay. Omit them or use something in place of it, like lavender buds, dried hibiscus petals or dried calendula petals. The possibilities are endless. Without further ado, here are three zero waste mother’s day gifts you can whip up last minute.

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I really love how these gifts turned out. I put a lot of time and effort into them, and I know my mom will really appreciate them. Please use these three gifts as inspiration for your own creations! The best part is they’re plastic free, all natural, and filled with love.

The dried rose petals I used in this recipe I’ve been saving for a rainy day (funny, since today it actually rained). I grew a miniature rose plant on my windowsill a few years ago and the petals were so fragrant even after they dried. I had to save them, so I kept them in a little sachet, knowing I’d use them for something. Turns out, this was their destiny and I’m not mad about it.

My mom works very hard – she’s a dental assistant and is on her feet all the time. Sometimes she forgets to spoil herself, and often times she complains her body aches after a long day at work. I know she’ll appreciate these bath salts and that it’ll encourage her to take a nice, soothing bath. I know baths tend to waste water, but my mom almost never take baths (and as for me, I think the last one I took was what, two years ago?). So this will be a rare treat for her.

It literally took me a minute to whip this up. If you have all the ingredients on hand, it’s super easy. You can also change it up and go with another theme entirely. Does your mom prefer mint? Use peppermint essential oil and dried mint leaves. Lavender? Lavender essential oil and lavender buds. You get the idea.

Store it in a cute glass jar with an air-tight seal and it’s ready for mamma!

To use: Tell your mom to add one generous tablespoon or two to her bath water. And remind her to compost the rose petals at the end of the bath!

It should be illegal for zero waste Mother’s Day gifts to smell this good. If you’d like to give your mom something that smells like a batch of freshly baked brownies, this will do the trick. I had to stop myself from smelling this every time I opened it – but of course I didn’t because it’s scent is addicting.

If your mom loves all things chocolate, she will definitely appreciate this gift, one hundred percent. Out of all three DIYs on this list, this one is probably the easiest to whip up because you more than likely have all the ingredients in your pantry already.

It’ll take about one minute to make, I promise. Totally worth it too. Store it in a cute glass jar and you’re all set to go.

1. Add the coconut oil (make sure it’s melted), brown sugar and cocoa powder to a bowl. Stir together using a spoon until combined well. Store in the container of your choice.

Lavender is one of my mom’s favorite scents. Understandably so, it soothes the soul and promotes relaxation. Lavender can be used for so many different things too, but I really love making lavender water. It’s simple to make, and is pretty much just like making tea.

The only annoying part was getting the lavender buds off the stem – it’s a manual process, so you’ll definitely have to set aside some time for that. It took me about 20 minutes to get all the buds off a handful of lavender stems. Due to that alone, I’d say this lavender water isn’t the most time efficient gift on this list.

You also have to let the lavender steep in the water, so if you’re in a hurry, this may not be the best DIY for you. However, if you’ve got some time, it’s still worthy of being dubbed a great last minute gift (you can literally make it the day prior to mother’s day).

To keep things even more time efficient, consider grabbing some lavender buds at your local bulk food store. Assuming they sell them package free and de-stemmed, it’ll take a lot of the hassle out of this DIY. Still, this is definitely one of my favorite zero waste mother’s day gifts on this list! Very satisfying to make, and it smells oh so pretty.

I recommend using a spritz bottle for storing this DIY, or a little swingtop glass bottle like mine.

To use: Your mom can use this lavender water in several ways but my favorite by far is as a facial toner. Just tell your mom to apply some on to her face every night after removing her makeup and cleansing her face. It works as a fantastic ant-septic and anti-inflammatory agent. You can even pair this DIY gift with some reusable facial rounds to help her keep application waste free. Or, if you have a spray glass container, filter the lavender water into that and tell her to just spritz some directly onto her face in the morning and evening. It smells great and can even be used as a room freshener or linen spray, if she so desires.

Whatever you decide to gift your mom, you can conceal your gifts in a number of ways.

You can also put your gifts into a cute mini wicker basket and tie a bow on it. Just get creative!

In the photos, you can see I made some little cardboard cutouts shaped like hearts – I intend on using those as gift tags or putting them directly into/onto the homemade card I’ll be making my mom.

The best part about the cardboard hearts? They’re compostable (and super adorable). I just cut them out of old cardboard boxes I had lying around.

Need more inspo? Here are a few other ideas to consider this Mother’s Day.

1. Treat your mom out to a restaurant that serves food with silverware and actual plates.
2. Go grab coffee to-stay at your mom’s favorite local coffee shop.
3. Invite your mom over for dinner and cook a healthy, low-waste meal for her.
4. Gift your mom some plastic-free, pesticide-free flowers.
5. Treat your mom out to a manicure.
6. Take a walk in the park with your mother and chat the day away.
7. Pack lunch for a picnic together.
8. Bake your mom something delicious (extra points if it’s something you two used to bake together).
9. Give her a call, if she’s too far away.
10. Tell her you love her.
11. Make her a homemade card.
12. If you’re good at drawing or painting, create her portrait.
13. Take her to the movies.
14. Make her some zero waste lip balm.
15. Spend time with her – it’s the best gift you can give.

For more zero waste beauty tips and tricks, check out my zero waste makeup remover or my zero waste skin care routine.

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