Mother's Day and Father's Day Gifts: Personalised Ideas for Mum and Dad

Mothering Sunday in spring and Father's Day in June are the two dates in the British calendar when "the thought that counts" really does count. Here is a guide to both: where they come from, when they fall and personalised ideas that go beyond the "World's Best" mug (though there is a place for that too).

Mothering Sunday: an older tradition than you think

The British Mother's Day is not the same as the American one. Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday, so it moves between early March and early April. Its roots are in the custom of returning to one's "mother church" for a service in mid-Lent; over time it became a day when young people in domestic service were allowed home to see their families, often carrying flowers picked on the way or a simnel cake. The modern celebration was revived in the early twentieth century and merged with the American idea of a day for mothers.

Gifts for Mum

• Jewellery: a bracelet with each child's birthstone, an engraved locket, a necklace with initials.
• Photo gifts: a framed family picture, a printed photo cube, a calendar with grandchildren.
• For the garden: a personalised trug, a hanging sign, engraved tools.
• Treats: a tea tin with her favourite blend, a sweet jar filled with the sweets she loved as a child.

Read more in our guide to personalised gifts for her.

Eyes down: the mum who loves bingo

If your mum's idea of a great night out involves a dabber and a "two little ducks, twenty-two", a bingo outing makes a brilliant Mothering Sunday treat. Bingo halls became a British institution after the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 legalised commercial bingo, and by the 1960s converted cinemas up and down the country were packed with players. Today's clubs mix traditional ninety-ball games with food, drink and live entertainment, and a group booking with sisters, aunts and daughters turns into a proper family event. Wrap it with a personalised dabber pouch or a lucky charm on a keyring. For a grander day, the Cheltenham Festival falls in March too, sometimes in the same week as Mothering Sunday; our Cheltenham and Grand National guide has race-day gift ideas for mums who love the jumps.

Father's Day: the third Sunday in June

Father's Day in the UK follows the American date, the third Sunday in June. It is a younger tradition than Mothering Sunday, popularised in Britain mostly after the Second World War, and it has always been a little more lighthearted: socks, jokes and barbecue aprons are almost compulsory.

Gifts for Dad

• Engraved classics: cufflinks, a wallet, a money clip, a pen, a watch.
• For the drinker: whisky tumblers, an engraved tankard, a personalised beer glass, a decanter.
• For the cook: a chopping board with his name, a "BBQ King" apron, a spice set.
• For the golfer: personalised golf balls, an engraved pitch-mark tool, a towel with initials.

See also our full guide to personalised gifts for him.

Royal Ascot, the Derby and the June flutter

Father's Day lands in the middle of the flat-racing summer. The Derby is run at Epsom at the start of June, and Royal Ascot, five days of racing in the presence of the royal family, is usually held in the middle of the month, often in Father's Day week itself. For a dad who likes a flutter, that coincidence is a gift: tickets to one of the days, a printed racecard with his name on the cover, and a small "betting float" in an envelope labelled "for the Gold Cup". If the day out is not possible, a Saturday afternoon in front of the racing with his favourite drink in an engraved glass is the home version. A day at the races also needs the right kit: our guide to engraved hip flasks and the racecourse covers dress codes, enclosures and what you can and cannot take through the gate.

Gifts from the children

Gifts made or chosen by children always win, whatever the price: a handprint printed on a mug, a drawing reproduced on a cushion, a card written in wobbly letters. Our printing guide explains how to turn a child's drawing into a print that looks crisp.

Written by the Ribbon & Tag editors.