Mother's Day 2012 Gift Guide

Technology can make a perfect Mother's Day gift, whether it's filling a need or pampering her. Here are seven great ways to show how much you care.

Belkin Chef Stand + Stylus

If mom likes to spend time cooking, she'll love the Belkin Chef Stand + Stylus. It will let her consult recipes and operate her tablet without getting it dirty. The stand and stylus will work with any tablet and can be washed with mild soap and water.
Price: $29.23 on Amazon.com

Design Her Own Shoes Gift Card

Not only will mom have lots of fun designing her own shoes on the Shoes of Prey site, she'll receive a beautiful custom-made pair of shoes in about 5-6 weeks. She'll start with one of 16 basic shoe designs and then choose toe, back, decoration, heel and height options. Or she can customize one of the 177 pre-made designs, a feature I love. For materials, the selection includes cotton, leather, patent, pony, suede, glitter, snake, fish, silk and sequins. Shoes come size 31 - 49 and you can select narrow and wide widths.
Price: Starts at $165 plus shipping on ShoesofPrey.com

Zero1 VooMote Zapper

Any mom with an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad will enjoy gaining control of the family TV. When she plugs the VooMote Zapper into her iOS device, it turns into a universal remote. After selecting the TV, cable/satellite/FiOS box and any other components in her home theater system, she'll be ready to take charge.
Price: $69.00 on Amazon.com

B&N Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight

Mom can read anywhere with this eReader. Its e-ink display works well in bright sunlight and a built-in light makes it possible to read late at night with the lights off so she won't disturb hubby. With the light on, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight lasts a whole month before needing a charge or two months with the light off.
Price: $139 on BarnesandNoble.com

Striiv Activity Monitor

If mom is looking to become more active, Striiv makes it fun and rewarding. This key-chain pedometer not only tracks your movements, it delivers bonuses and game rewards to help motivate her. For example, for every step she takes, her movements could power activities on an enchanted virtual island or cause Striiv to make a donation on her behalf toward providing clean drinking water. 
Price: $99.95 on Amazon.com

Sony DPF-WA700 7-inch Wi-Fi Picture Frame

This is the perfect solution for mom's desk, night table or anywhere she'll enjoy seeing photos and videos of the kids. She'll get wireless updates of your latest photos from Sony's PlayMemories site, Facebook and email.  In addition, the Wi-Fi enabled photo frame can play Internet-based radio and pull in the weather from AccuWeather.com. The 7-inch touchscreen (800 x 480) frame has 1GB of internal storage, which holds up to 1,000 photos.
Price:  $159.79 on Amazon.com

Nikon Coolpix AW100  

A rugged 16MP MOS camera that’s waterproof down to 33 feet, freeze-proof down to 14 degrees F, shock-proof from 5 feet, dust-proof – in a word, family-proof. Mom will get a 5x zoom lens (28-140mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization, Full HD 1080p video, a 3-inch display, a digital compass and built-in GPS with maps, so she can pinpoint the spots chronicled in photos. Comes in orange, blue and black. For more camera options, check out our Digital Camera Buying Guide.
Price: $291.01 on Amazon.com

Assiyah Dagane Osman holds her son, Minhaj Gedi
Farah, about two months after he was admitted to the
IRC stabilization center in Hagadera camp, Dadaab, Kenya.

Rescue Gift

If you want to avoid the consumerism, give a donation in mom's name to the International Rescue Committee to benefit mothers in need. Choose from options like Emergency Care for a Child, A Safe Delivery and Maternal Health Care, among others. Mom will receive a personalized print or digital card to let her know how her Rescue Gift is making a difference.
Price: Gifts start at $18 on Gift.Rescue.org