A gift for parents: ideas to delight mum and dad

Mum and dad often have their own taste, which can make it tricky to find a gift that suits them both. The solution is rarely to hit two completely different interests. It lies in finding something they share: the table they sit at, the sofa they relax on, or the coffee they drink together in the morning.

Here you'll find concrete gift ideas that mum and dad can enjoy together, whether the occasion is Christmas, a birthday, an anniversary or simply a thank you.

The short answer

A gift that works for two people with different tastes should ideally be usable in a shared context. That's why something for the home or the table often wins over something that only suits one of them. Think about what mum and dad do together: drink morning coffee, sit in the sofa in the evening, or lay the table when guests come round. The gift can take that habit as its starting point and make it a little finer.

If you'd rather give something individual to each of them, take a look at Gift for mum and Gifts for dad and combine them in one shared parcel. If you need an overview of several ideas at once, Gift ideas is a good place to start.

Shared gifts for the home

Gifts for the home have the advantage of staying put and being used again and again, instead of disappearing into a drawer. The shop has, among other things, candlesticks, vases, jugs and blankets, which are easy to give to two people at the same time.

• Candlesticks set the mood at the dinner table when mum and dad have guests or just want to make an ordinary evening a little more festive.
• A vase or a jug is something they can use every day, without it requiring anything special of them.
• A blanket for two is a gift that almost invites them to sit down together on the sofa in the evening.

See the selection of Candlesticks and Blankets, if you want to find something concrete to go on with.

Gifts for the table

The table is often the place where mum and dad actually meet during the day, which makes it a good starting point for a joint gift. A serving platter can be used when there are guests, but also for an ordinary Sunday with brunch or fruit on the table. In the shop, you'll find, among others, Citron platter, Østers platter and Appelsin platter, all in ceramic from &Klevering, as well as Skaldyr platter in ceramic from Caja Company.

Cups are another option that speak directly to the Sunday coffee. Mor cup and Far cup in ceramic from Bloomingville can stand side by side in the cupboard as a little everyday reminder of the gift, and Regnbue cup in stoneware from Bloomingville MINI can add an extra colourful touch to the table.

Find more inspiration under Serving platters.

The personal touch

Sometimes it's not the thing itself, but the story behind it, that makes a gift something special. A card with a personal message, a photo motif, or a gift that plays on a shared interest can make a big difference, even when the gift itself is simple.

If mum and dad have a sense of humour for animals, a salt and pepper set like Mops, Gravhund or Marsvin in stoneware from Quail could be a fun touch on the table that also says a little something about your family. If you'd rather spend a cosy evening together, jigsaw puzzles and puzzle calendars from ViSSEVASSE are great for exactly that, and you'll find them under Jigsaw puzzles.

If you want to give mum a little personal detail alongside the joint gift, an Aventurosa necklace from Goio Galore could be the extra touch that shows you've also thought of her as an individual.

If you're several siblings

If several siblings are giving a gift to your parents together, you can join forces and increase the size of the gift, so you can give something a bit bigger than you'd be able to alone. This applies whether you choose a physical gift or a gift card.

Dims Studio has gifts in the price ranges 1 to 200 DKK, 200 to 400 DKK, 400 to 600 DKK, 600 to 800 DKK, 800 to 1000 DKK and 1000 to 1500 DKK, so there's room for both the small thought and the bigger joint gift. If you're in doubt about what suits your budget, a gift card from Dims Studio could be a solution. It's available in the amounts 100 DKK, 175 DKK, 250 DKK, 400 DKK, 500 DKK, 600 DKK, 1000 DKK and 1200 DKK, so you can put in the amount you've agreed on and let mum and dad choose for themselves.

For which occasions

A joint gift for parents suits several different occasions, and that can help decide how personal or practical the gift should be.

• Christmas: here there's often time to unwrap something a bit bigger, and a gift for the home or the table fits nicely into the Christmas cosiness.
• Birthday: especially round birthdays can carry a gift where several siblings join forces, while an ordinary birthday can be kept simpler.
• Anniversary: a wedding anniversary is an obvious occasion for something that symbolises that you're celebrating something mum and dad have built together over time.
• Thank you: sometimes the occasion is simply to say thank you, and here a smaller but well-chosen gift can make just as much of an impression as a big one.

Summary

A good gift for parents is rarely the most expensive or the most surprising one. It's the one that fits in with what mum and dad already share, and that stays in use long after the gift has been unwrapped.

Read also

• Gift for Mum: The best ideas she'll actually love
• Gift for Dad: Ideas he didn't know he wanted
• How much should you spend on a gift? Rules and advice
• Gift wrap and wrapping: Make the gift complete