Today is Mother’s Day, the day set aside to honor those special women, who for all those years, kissed boo-boos, waited up late and provided a shoulder to cry on after getting stood up. True, physical objects can’t really repay all the love and attention she has given you – but gifts are a small token of appreciation and let mom know you’re thinking of her. The gifts on our list are all fun and easy to use — so whether or not your mom is the most tech-savvy person in your house, she’ll definitely like and find a use for one of these great ideas.

The 5 Coolest Tech-Based Mother’s Day Gifts

Parrot Pot Smart Plant Pot – If you’ve ever felt like mom loves her gardenias more than she loves you, this is the gift for her. The Parrot Pot Bluetooth-connected flower pot helps ensure that any plant (or at least any plant that fits inside the battery-powered pot) will stay lush and green. It lets her know if her Aloe, Peace Lily, Spider Plant or any other green leafy thing has enough sunlight, fertilizer and water and sends all that data to an easy-to-read app right on mom’s phone.

Sherox Windshield HUD – Does mom commute often? And does she *sometimes* wind up a bit lost? Then this is the gift for her. The Sherox (which incidentally spells “she rox” — perfect for mom!) 3.5 inch Heads Up Display shows all the most important details about her trip, her vehicle and its surroundings, such as speed and directions. Even cooler, it turns on and off with the car so she doesn’t even need to think about it.

Adero Handbag Organization System – Does mom have a handbag to coordinate with just about every outfit? The Adero Handbag Organization System makes sure that all her important stuff makes it into her bag of choice. All she needs to do is name her bags (I’ll call you “bagtastic”), place a tag on each bag and a taglet on all the things she doesn’t want to forget, (such as keys, phone, sunglasses, etc) and then the app will let her know if she’s forgetting anything.

Ember Coffee Cup – If mom can’t start her day without a cup of joe, there’s the Ember Internet-connected coffee mug. Ember makes lukewarm coffee and burned tongues things of the past as it regulates the drink’s temperature and remembers just how hot or cold mom likes it. Check out their Mother’s Day line of mugs, which will remind mom just how much you value her with every sip.

Wonderboom Bluetooth Shower Speaker – Mom deserves to relax and what better way than to let out her inner diva by belting out “Let it Go” in the shower? For her musical backup, this waterproof and drop-proof shower speaker holds a 10-hour battery charge and can be paired with another Wonderboom speaker to create total surround sound. Applause all around.

The Problem with Internet-Connected Devices

The good news is that mom is bound to love one of these items and they are so useful that you might even consider getting one or two of them for yourself. There’s just one catch and we’d be remiss if we didn’t give you a fair warning — all the fun present ideas above are IoT devices – or internet-connected devices, which can pose serious IoT security risks if you’re not mindful of their capabilities. With each new internet-connected device you bring into your home, (or to mom’s house) you may just be opening your loved ones up to privacy and security threats if you haven’t properly secured them.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t get the latest and greatest IoT gadget — but it does mean that you need to be aware of how to secure these new devices. So here’s an idea – get mom just what you think she’d love – yeah, that awesome flower pot sounds about right – just do her a favor and attach the following note to the gift box:

Dear Mom,

_Thank you for everything, always. For your love, your guidance, your patience. I hope you love your new ____. It’s going to be a whole lot of fun, but since it’s a device that connects to the internet, there are a few things you should know when setting it up and using it:
_

_1 – Make sure to change the default password to one that’s secure. It shouldn’t contain any words found in the dictionary and should be a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers and special characters.
_

2 – Turn off universal plug and play (UPnP) – Ask (insert name of that cousin who works in computers) _how to do that if you need help. It’s an important step because that’s how devices communicate with each other and you can be tracked if it’s on.
_

3 – Get the latest firmware updates – Do that by checking your device manufacturer’s website every three months to see if they have released any patches for things that went wrong. Sure, this is a bit of a drag but set yourself a Google calendar reminder and it shouldn’t be so bad.

Mom, I’m telling you this because you have always done everything you can to protect me and now it’s my turn to help you.

Love,

(Fill in your name here)

Now mom has all the information she needs to keep safe — and all you need to do now is pick the perfect gift for her! While we’re on the topic, you may want to get her a subscription to the all-new Reason Premium Antivirus, which will help keep her digital life even more secured. Great security habits + a powerful protection solution means that mom can enjoy her new IoT toys and all her online activities with peace of mind. So get shopping and have a happy and secure Mother’s Day from everyone at Reason Cybersecurity.