Gift Guide for Work-at-Home Moms

Want a suggestion for what to get the WAHM in your life? Here is my gift guide for work-at-home moms.

I have been a work at home mom for a while now, working from the couch, from the kitchen table, from the floor of the bathroom, and occasionally from my actual home office (which doubles as a very messy laundry/storage area). As a work-at-home mom, I know what gifts I would like this holiday season.

So here is my gift guide for work-at-home moms:

(or really work-at-work mom, stay-at-home mom, any-kind-of mom gift guide, because we all could use a little of this).

And, if you are a work-at-home mom, feel free to pass this list along to your loved ones as a not-so-subtle hint at what you want this year.

1. A quiet space to work

There are so many distractions in the work at home mom’s life. Give her a quiet space to work for just a few hours, and she will be eternally grateful. And she will likely accomplish more in that hour than she did in a week in her single, kid-free life!

If that isn’t an option, try to make the space you do have a little quieter for her. A set of noise cancelling headphones or a long trip to the park with the kids would work!

2. A kid-free day

Take the kids off her hands for a few hours (or even a few minutes). Give her time to herself to catch up with friends, to relax, to run errands with a freedom that only kid-free moms know.

If taking the kids out of the house all day isn’t an option, try the next best thing. Give her some time away with a night in a hotel. Maybe she wants a romantic evening, maybe she wants a girls’ wine night, or maybe she just wants a night alone to binge Netflix and sleep in with no little feet in her neck.

3. A nap

Give her an hour or so to just close her eyes and rest. Without noise, without interruption, and without guilt. If that isn’t possible, how about a trip to the spa or some black out curtains and those noise cancelling headphones? And of course, get the kids out of the house.

4. Time to herself

Give her an hour or so of just alone time. Let her watch an episode or two of her favorite Netflix show, or scroll Instagram, or get her nails done, or really anything. Alone. Take the kids to the park, take them to the movies, take them to grandma’s. Just take them somewhere so she can have a few hours to herself, alone. She is craving this, trust me.

Do you see a theme here? Maybe I should have titled this post “take the kids out of the house for Christmas” or “All I want for Christmas is you…to take the kids to the park!”

5. An extra few hours in the day

She can’t get it all done. The to-do list keeps getting longer and the house keeps getting messier. An extra hour or two every day might not conquer that list, but it will sure help.

While you likely can’t add any hours to your WAHM’s day, you can certainly free up some of her time by delegating some of her responsibilities. Either run a few errands for her, or get her a service. Hire a housecleaner, or sign up for a grocery shopping service like Instacart (here’s $10 off) or Shipt (here’s $50 off). Get a meal prep service like Plated or Blue Apron. Anything that will take a few things off her plate will likely be appreciated.

This time of year can get so stressful. We are more likely to feel working mom burnout, and are likely looking for a simpler Christmas, free from chaos and more stuff. Most of us have most of what we need, and a lot of what we want. Give the work-at-home mom in your life a way to relax and recharge. She will certainly love you for it.

I know I would. Hint, hint…