Mother's Day Gifting: Is Mum a Meryl, Diane, Susan or Sally?
A method-gifting guide for the woman who raised you, shaped you and still critiques your dishwasher-loading technique
It's always struck me as peculiar that come Mother's Day, we try to pigeonhole the women who raised us into quaint little archetypes. The gardener. The baker. The candle-stick bather who needs another vanilla-scented excuse to soak. It's all very charming, but it's also wildly insufficient.
And yet, every May, we're handed gift guides that compress the entire emotional and logistical complexity of motherhood into a handful of cheerful categories. But mothers are far too nuanced for narrow cliches that reduce her rather than reflect her.
After all, a mother is a woman who has entire storylines beyond the mess, magic and unpredictable mayhem of being someone's mum — and somehow manages to keep them all going, slotted between school pick-ups, dentist visits and netball tournaments. Mothers are multi-tasking, multi-hyphenates: worrier-optimists, disciplinarian-confidants, chef-therapists, chauffer-stylists.
So, maybe the question we should be asking ourselves isn't "What would she like?" but rather, "Who would play her in the movie?"
Which is why I've put together a different kind of gift guide. One that honours mums as the sprawling, cinematic forces of nature they really are.
And where better to find that spirit than in the women who collectively raised a generation.
From the steel-wrapped tenderness of Sally Field and the bittersweet bravado of Susan Sarandon to Diane Keaton's ability to make catastrophising chic in cashmere and the many maternal shades of Meryl Streep, if Hollywood taught us anything, it's that there's no such thing as a perfect mum, but there are unforgettable ones.
After all, Mums aren't just the main character. They're the whole plot. Their gifts should reflect that.
If Mum's a Diane
A Diane mum is the human equivalent of a beautiful yet slightly chaotic linen closet where everything appears to be under control, but the whole system could unravel with one wrong pull on a pillowslip. She's got a story behind every cardigan and an "I told you so" behind every glass of chardonnay. From Father of the Bride to The Family Stone and Something's Gotta Give, Diane mums specialise in soft landings and hard truths. Gift accordingly. Channel her Something's Gotta Give era with cream cable knits for spontaneous monologues, a vase for hydrangeas and a handsome leather journal for drafting farmer's market lists and perfect sentences.
Gifts from left to right: Iris & Wool Quirindi cable knit, Bared Snuggling slippers in Oatmilk, Country Road Australian Made Neroli & Orange Hand Care Duet, Antico Fiore Vase available at Mayfield, Oroton Fife A5 notebook
If Mum's a Susan
From Stepmom to Little Women and every maternal role in between, Susan mums are built for the big feelings. With a stubborn loyalty and a specialty for practical tenderness, Susan mums don't traffic in subtlety or rush through the hard parts. They want you to sit down, open up, and stay put until you figure it out together. Like Susan in Stepmon, they also believe in home-cooked honesty and that heavy emotions are best processed under the comfort of a patchwork quilt and the forgiving glow of lamplight.
Gifts from left to right: Sage & Claire Roshni patchwork bedcover, Aretae Clara photo frame, Provinvcial Home Living Martha table lamp, Openook large rope basket from Big W, Sussan Check Flannelette Pyjama Set.
If Mum's a Meryl
There are mothers, and then there are Meryls. With a matriarchal résumé spanning Mamma Mia, It's Complicated, The Hours, The Devil Wears Prada (and many, many more), Meryl mums can charm an entire Greek island, manage a bakery and a love triangle, edit a Manhattan magazine and still have time to ask why you look so tired. For gifting purposes, we're focusing on It's Complicated Meryl: linen-clad, sun-dappled, effortlessly domestic. The kind of woman who inspects her heirloom tomatoes at sunrise and serves them twelve hours later in a tart.
Gifts from left to right: H&M stripe shirt, Lack of Colours Inca sunhat, Kmart tiered acacia stand, Alexander Mills chrome pepper mill from Aretae Papier recipe journal from Natural Supply Co, La Casa Soho bowl.
If Mum's a Sally
Sally mums love ferociously and hug hard. They don't just show up — they storm the gates, stick around, and offer unsolicited, although ultimately correct, opinions. From Steel Magnolias to Mrs Doubtfire and Forrest Gump, Sally mums are emotional first responders: resilient, loud, unwavering, occasionally exhausting and serving up just enough guilt to make you call more often. They mean well. They mean everything. Gift her something to suit her Steel Magnolias spirit: sentimental on the surface, indestructible underneath — or something that makes her feel pretty, polished and with more voluminous hair.
Gifts from left to right: Heatherly Alice bedhead, Kitsch Recycled Plastic XL Thermal Rollers from Mecca, Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Cologne, Essie nailpolish from Chemist Warehouse, Francesca pearl bracelet.