Mother’s Day gifts for Mum, Nan or Grandma
A Mother’s Day gift she’ll keep: Mum’s life story, in her own words
A professionally printed hardback book of her life, written by her, one question at a time. For Mum, Nan or Grandma, and for everyone who’ll read it after.
That covers everything: the guided questions, a question emailed each week, Alyson’s personal help, and one premium near-A4 hardback. Extra copies for the family are £50 each.
Nearly A4 · premium hardback · up to 200 pages · printed & bound in the UK
A mum and her daughter with her finished book
See the questions first
Get a free sample of the book and the questions we ask, sent straight to your inbox.
What do you give the mum who has everything?
I get asked this every year. She doesn’t need more flowers, and she has a drawer of candles she’s saving for best. What she doesn’t have is the one thing only she can give: her own story, written down. Where she grew up. Who she was before she was “Mum”. What went through her head the day you were born.
Most mums have never been asked. This is the gift that asks.
Alyson
How it works
You buy the gift
It takes about five minutes. Choose the morning the gift email reaches her, Mothering Sunday if you like, and add your own message.
Mum tells her story
We email her a question each week, or as often as she chooses, and she simply replies with her answer. It goes straight into her book, or she can log in whenever suits her. Most mums start with our Perfect Path, ten of our most popular questions, then pick from over 200 more or add their own. There’s no deadline.
We make her book
She adds her photos and chooses how the book looks. When she’s happy, we print it as a premium hardback and post it to her within 10 to 14 days.
Will it be ready for Mother’s Day?
The gift, on the day
Order any time up to the evening before Mothering Sunday, which is 7 March 2027, and schedule the gift email for that morning. If you’d rather hand her something, print our gift certificate and put it in her card. Nothing has to be finished by the day.
The finished book, on the day
That needs a head start. Most people take three to six months to tell their story, then printing and posting takes 10 to 14 days. To put the finished book in her hands on Mothering Sunday, start it this autumn, or at Christmas at the latest, and aim to approve it by mid-February.
“I’m Alyson, and I run YourStory with my Brother David. I read every story before it goes to print* because this isn’t a factory, it’s a family.” *if you’d like me to
We started YourStory after losing our Dad young and watching our Nana’s memories fade. We know what it means to capture a life while there’s still time.
From families who gave it to their mum
A proper book for Mum’s shelf
Most memory books are the size of a paperback. Hers will be nearly A4, 189mm by 246mm, in full colour. A premium hardback, printed and bound in the UK, up to 200 pages. And with extra copies at £50, each of her children can have one.
What’s included
- A free read-through by Alyson before it goes to print, if you’d like one.
- Complete privacy. No one sees the book unless you choose to share it.
- Easy access, by email or login, whenever and wherever.
- Want to stay involved? Join as an invited storyteller to log in, follow along and add your own memories as the book takes shape.
- A premium hardback, printed and bound in the UK.
- A genuine 30-day money-back guarantee from the day you buy: if she would rather not do it, just email us within 30 days for a full refund.
Unlike US subscription services, there’s no annual fee and no auto-renewal. One payment, printed and bound here in the UK.
Mother’s Day gift ideas that outlast the flowers
If you’re looking for unique Mother’s Day gifts, or a present for a mum who says she doesn’t want anything, the usual list runs out quickly: flowers, chocolates, a candle, a spa voucher. All lovely, and all gone by April. A life story book is a personalised Mother’s Day gift that works the other way round. It starts on the day and keeps going for months, and at the end the whole family has her story to keep. It’s a thoughtful gift for Mum from a son or a daughter, and a lovely one from the grandchildren for Nan or Grandma.
A life story book, or a fill-in journal?
Plenty of people look at a “Mum, tell me your story” journal first. Here’s how they differ.
| Us | Fill-in journal | USA services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How she answers | By email or online, at her own pace | Handwritten, in the book | By email or app |
| Photos | Up to ten with every answer | Stick in, if there’s room | Yes |
| The finished book | Near-A4 hardback, full colour, up to 200 pages | The journal itself | Smaller, black & white as standard |
| Copies for the family | £50 each | One only | Extra cost |
| Printed & bound | In the UK | – | Shipped from the USA |
| Deadline | None | None | 12 months, auto-renewing |
Questions people ask me before buying for their mum
What do you buy a mum who has everything?
Something she can’t buy for herself: her own story, in her own words, in a book the whole family will keep.
Is it too late to order for Mother’s Day?
No. Order up to the evening before and schedule the gift email for Mothering Sunday morning, or print the gift certificate and give it in her card. Nothing has to be finished by the day.
Does it work for Nan or Grandma too?
Yes. The questions work just as well for Nan or Grandma, and her stories go back even further. You and the grandchildren can join as invited storytellers to follow along and add memories of your own.
How is this different from a “Mum, tell me your story” journal?
A journal is blank lines in a paperback: handwritten, few or no photos, and one copy. Here the questions come by email, she answers at her own pace with photos, and the result is a full-colour hardback, with a copy for each of you if you like.
Can my brothers and sisters chip in, and can we each have a copy?
Of course. One person places the order, and you can share the £149 between you however you like. Extra copies of the finished book are £50 each, so everyone can have their own.
Mothering Sunday is a good day to ask
In the UK, Mothering Sunday falls three weeks before Easter, so the date moves each year. In 2027 it’s Sunday 7 March. (In the US and much of the world, Mother’s Day is in May.)
It’s a day for saying thank you, and most of us run out of new ways to say it. Asking about her life says something flowers can’t: that you want to know who she was before she was Mum, and that you want her stories kept.
And it isn’t over on the day. The questions keep coming for as long as she likes, and the conversations they start are often half the gift.
Three of the questions she might be asked
How did you choose your children’s names?
Describe some of the thoughts and feelings you had when you became a parent for the first time.
What was your Mum like when you were a child?
A bit about us
YourStory was born out of a desire to keep our family memories alive. Having lost our Dad young, and witnessed our Nana’s Alzheimer’s journey, we know how it feels to want to preserve a life story before the chance is gone. We’re proud to be a UK based, Sister and Brother run business, here to help you capture the stories that matter while there’s still time to ask.
We donate to the Alzheimer’s Society for every book published.
A Mother’s Day gift that lasts longer than the flowers
One purchase. No subscription, no surprises. The gift reaches her inbox on the morning you choose, and her story unfolds at her own pace.
I wrote more about why this beats flowers and chocolates in Mother’s Day gifts that actually mean something.
Looking for a different occasion? See the 50th, 60th, 70th and 80th birthday life story book pages, or a book for your parents.