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Vancouver Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

April 15, 2023

Wondering what to do for Mother’s Day in Vancouver and what to get mom? Then check out our list of gift ideas and experiences that will make her day special!

For a list of events that happened on the weekend of May 10th to 12th in 2024, click Mother’s Day in Vancouver or see our article about What’s Happening This Weekend.

For a list of places to take mom for a tasty meal, see our article about Vancouver Mother’s Day Brunches.

If you want ideas on experiential gifts to get your mother, continue reading.

What to Get Mom for Mother’s Day

Below are 23 ideas on things to give your mom (or grandmother, mother-in-law, or some other special person in your life). Some of the ideas are great for moms to do with their adult children. Others are fun for moms and grandmas to do with little kids. A couple of the ideas are tangible gifts, but most are experiences.

Places to Visit on or Before Mother’s Day

Here are some things you can do with your mother either on the Mother’s Day weekend (Mother’s Day in 2025 is Sunday, May 11th) or just before:

Take mom to the Kilby Historic Site for an Afternoon Tea event on Mother’s Day. It’s a beautiful and interesting place to spend the day.
Check out a show at the Improv Centre at Granville Island. The theatre hosts live comedy shows most days of the week. There’s usually at least one special show with a Mother’s Day theme as well.
The films at FlyOver Canada are lots of fun. In addition to the regular multi-dimensional film that take you all across Canada, there is Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies. For Mother’s Day, tell mom you’ll take her on a trip across Canada or the Rocky Mountains!
Treat your mother to brunch at one of Vancouver’s Best Brunch Buffet Venues. There are some great places to choose from (assuming they aren’t already all booked up).

Tickets to Buy and Future Places to Take Her

The following are places and events you can buy mom tickets for now and then take her to on a later date in May or this summer. The first list is of events happening later in May. The second is of events taking place in the summer.

Upcoming Things to Do With Mom in May

Treat your mother and the family to tickets to the Royal Canadian International Circus. In 2025 there are shows in Surrey from May 8th to 11th (which includes the Mother’s Day Weekend). The circus also has shows in Richmond from May 15th to 19th (which includes the May Day Long Weekend). (TIP: Use the promo code VANSBESTPLACES when buying your tickets online and you’ll get a 2-for-1 deal on general admission!)
Buy tickets to the All British Field Meet at VanDusen Garden. The car show features hundreds of classic and vintage British vehicle. If mom likes collectible cars, or beautiful gardens, she’ll love this event (and you will too)!
Buy mom and the family tickets to the Cloverdale Rodeo which took place this year on the May Long Weekend. In addition to the rodeo shows, there are also amusement rides, concerts and other family-friendly things to see and do.

Places to Take Mom in the Summer

Treat mom to an evening of live Jazz at the Odlum Brown Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival. Buy your tickets now for the concerts which take place between July 24th and 27th in 2025.
Get your mother tickets to see a play at Bard on the Beach or Theatre Under the Stars. If she likes Shakespeare, she’ll love Bard. And if she like musicals, she’ll like the TUTS shows at Stanley Park.

Other Special Experiences for Mom

Below is a list of experiential gifts you can give your mother. The first list is of places and activities in the City of Vancouver. The second is a list of activities elsewhere in the Lower Mainland and further afield.

Experiential Gifts in the City of Vancouver

Go on a guided walking tour with Forbidden Vancouver. There are tours in Gastown, the West End, Stanley Park and elsewhere in downtown Vancouver. The tours are both very interesting and a lot of fun.
Play an outdoor adventure game with Vancouver Mysteries. There are in-person games in downtown Vancouver as well as online games hosted by a live person that you can play from anywhere in the world.
Sign up for a walking tour with Vancouver’s Historical Chinatown Tours and enjoy Chinese dumplings while you’re there.
Go to a local museum or attraction. Interesting ones include Britannia Mine Museum in the Sea to Sky region (which is beautiful). Or, if you use the promo code BESTVANCOUVER, you can save 25% on admission to the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
Book a room at a downtown Vancouver hotel. It can be for yourself, or your mom, or the whole family. TIP: If you book the hotel through the website StayVancouverHotels.com you can get your choice of a variety of different perks including tickets for different free activities.

Things to Do Elsewhere in the Region

Go to a Local Farmers Market, buy some fresh produce and picnic ingredients, and then go enjoy the day with your mom and other family members at a nearby park. Farmers markets that are open on Sundays this time of year include ones in Ambleside, Coquitlam, Kitsilano, Steveston and White Rock. There are lots of markets on Saturdays too.
If your mom lives in Victoria, go visit her there. Or, if you live in Victoria and she lives in the Lower Mainland, invite her to Victoria for a holiday. There is no better place to be in Canada on the Victoria Day long weekend than in Victoria, especially if you like parades. The Victoria Day Parade is Canada’s biggest and it takes place on Monday, May 19th in 2025.
Spend the day with mom at a local farm attraction, like at Maan Farms in Abbotsford. The farm has awesome kid-friendly things to do. Maan Farms also has award-winning wines. Other farms that usually have special Mother’s Day activities include Greendale Acres in Chilliwack and Taves Family Farms in Abbotsford. The Abbotsford Tulip Festival at Lakeland Flowers might also still be happening, as might the Harrison Tulip Festival, depending on the weather and growing conditions in mid-May.
Treat mom and the family to a day of adventure on the ropes courses and ziplines at WildPlay in Maple Ridge. That’s an experience she definitely won’t forget! It’s so much fun! (TIP: Use the promo code VBP15 and save 15% on the attraction’s adventures.)