117 Short Mother's Day Instagram Captions to Show Her the Love Today

Today is the day! Mother's Day 2023 is finally here, and it's time to show your mom how much you love and appreciate her. You might make her favorite brunch dishes to make her feel extra special (don't forget to clean up the kitchen) or plan a Mother's Day activity for the two of you like a tea party or flower arranging.

No matter what you do, it's always special to affirm Mom and all she means to you with the written word. One way to do that: Find one of your favorite photos with your mom—perhaps a recent occasion when you were both all dressed up or a fun throwback to your childhood—to share on Instagram. But how do you write a Mother's Day caption? We're here to help with 114 Mother's Day captions below.

Whether a song lyric or quote captures your relationship just right, you're sure to find the words you are looking for. Some are funny, some are cute, and all are one line to keep things short and sweet. Really, all can apply to grandmothers, mothers, stepmothers, and anyone who is like a mom to you. Oh, and we have mother-daughter quotes and mother-son quotes too if you want to check out even more options!

Whatever phrasing you choose, you're sure to make your mom smile real big as she reads the caption itself and all the more so for how it reminds her of the bond you two share. And now for those Mother's Day captions...

One-Word Captions for Mom

• Star
• Everything
• Love
• xoxo
• Best
• Perfect
• Hero
• Icon
• Queen
• Supportive
• Beloved
• Forgiving
• Beautiful
• Wonderful
• Inspiration

Funny Mother's Day Captions

• Who needs a gift when you have me as a daughter?
• Cheers to the woman who gave up wine for nine months, just for me.
• "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." — Chinese Proverb
• Mom, I'm sorry for all the times I didn't take the chicken out of the freezer. I get it now.
• You're not a regular mom, you're a cool mom!
• Nothing is really lost until your mom can’t find it.
• Thank you for giving me life. And thank you for not taking it back during my teenage years.
• Mom, I forgive you for replacing me with cats.
• Don't you think it's funny that you're still my mother? You deserve to have been promoted by now!
• I love how we don’t have to say out loud that I’m your favorite child.
• My Mother's Day gift to you is apologizing for ages 12-17. Sorry I was terrible.
• You raised a legend, Mom. You must be so proud.
• Love you loads, Mom! Speaking of... can you do my laundry?
• Mothers are a gift to humanity. End of story.
• Mom—you’re definitely one of my favorite parents.
• Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out!
• I still can't fold a fitted sheet, but you did a good job.
• Thanks for always loving me, even through all of my awkward phases.
• If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way your mom told you to in the beginning.
• You're not bossy, you are "aggressively helpful."
• In a surprising turn of events, my mother was right. About everything.
  
• Everything I learned about being awesome, I learned from my mom.
• Omg! My mom was right about everything. There, I said it!
• She wore Mom jeans before it was cool.
• Which three magic words solve a dad's problems? "Ask your mother." He promises not to say that on Mother's Day!

First Mother's Day Captions

• I can't believe how much my life has changed.
• Welcome to the mom club!
• But first...sleep.
• And then my life turned upside-down, in the best way!
• Thank you for making me a mom.
• New year, new mom!
• You are everything we wished for.
• So worth the sleepless nights.
• Spending Mother's Day snuggling.
• Send coffee!

Cute Mother's Day Captions

• Mom, I got all my best qualities from you. Aren't we lucky that you had enough for both of us?
• Life doesn’t come with a manual—it comes with a mother.
• Mother (noun): One person who does the work of twenty. For free. See also: Saint, Wonder Woman.
• Thanks for giving me all the best things in life: your love, your care, and your cooking.
• A mom is the greatest teacher, cheapest therapist, and bestest friend.
• When people tell me I'm turning into my mother, I take it as a compliment.
• There aren't enough flowers in the world to show you how much you mean to me.
• Mothers hold their children’s hands for a while, but their hearts forever.
• Mom: A title just above Queen.
• Not always eye to eye, but always heart to heart.
• (A clean) home is where your mom is.
• I love my mom to the moon and back.
• Mom, I turned out awesome because of you.
• A mother’s work is never done—but today, you deserve a rest.
• Who needs a superhero when I have you as a mom?
• Thanks for teaching me about the glass ceiling—and then showing me how to swing a hammer.
• Behind every great woman is an even better mother.
• Home is wherever Mom is.
• Keep calm and call Mom.
• The Lorelai to my Rory.
• No matter how old she is, sometimes a girl just needs her mom.
• Mothers are like buttons, they hold everything together!

Song Lyrics for Mother's Day Captions

• "You saw the best there was in me. Lifted me up when I couldn't reach. You gave me faith 'cause you believed. I'm everything I am because you loved me." — Celine Dion
  
• "I'll be your shoulder when you need someone to lean on. Be your shelter when you need someone to see you through. I'll be there to carry you." — Reba McEntire
• "You've given me everything that I will need to make it through this crazy thing called life." — Carrie Underwood
• "Dear mama, don’t you know I love you? Dear mama, place no one above you." — Tupac
• "Wish we didn't live so far from each other. I'm just sitting here, thinking 'bout the time that's slipping. And missing my mother." — Kacey Musgraves
• "So, mother, I thank you, for all you've done and still do; You got me, I got you, together we always pull through." — Christina Aguilera
• "You taught me everything; Everything you've given me I'll always keep it inside; You're the driving force in my life." — Boyz II Men
• "You taught me strength, and you gave me guidance. Whenever faith was lost you were there to find it." — Ashanti
• "And if it's a funny old world, mama, where a little boy's wishes come true, well I got a few in my pocket and a special one just for you." — Bruce Springsteen
• "I know you were on my side even when I was wrong; And I love you for giving me your eyes, staying back and watching me shine." — Taylor Swift
• "So, mother, I thank you, for all you've done and still do; You got me, I got you, together we always pull through." — Christina Aguilera
• "I only love my bed and my mama, I'm sorry." — Drake
  
• "I never thought you would become the friend I never had." — The Spice Girls
  
• "You might have a mom, she might be the bomb, but ain't nobody got a mom like mine." — Meghan Trainor
  
• "I admire you for the strength you've instilled in me." — Justin Bieber
• "The only thing I ever had was you, it's true, and even when the times got hard you were there to let us know that we'd get through." — Good Charlotte

Quotes for Mother's Day Captions

• "It's not easy being a mother. If it were, fathers would do it." — The Golden Girls
• "Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." — Erich Fromm
• "My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters." — Michelle Obama
• "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all." — Oliver Wendell Holmes
• "When you look into your mother's eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth." — Mitch Albom
• "There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one." — Jill Churchill
• "A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else's." — Princess Diana
• "There is no role in life that I swore essential than that of motherhood." — Elder M. Russell Ballard
• "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." — Abraham Lincoln
• "Where you lead, I will follow." — Carole King
• "I love you a thousand yellow daisies." — Gilmore Girls
• "When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." — Erma Bombeck
• "Call your mother. Tell her you love her. Remember you're the only person who knows what her heart sounds like from the inside." — Rachel Wolchin
• "A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." — Agatha Christie
• "Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." —Marion C. Garretty
• "A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." — Tenneva Jordan
  
• "The best place to cry is on a mother's arms." — Jodi Picoult
  

Mother's Day Captions for Stepmoms

• Motherhood requires love, not DNA.
• First, you completed my dad's life. Then, you added more love to mine.
• However motherhood comes to you, it's a miracle.
• You didn't give me the gift of life, but life gave me the gift of you.
• Thanks for always "stepping" up.
• You're not a spare mom—you're an extra blessing.
• "Little souls find their way to you, whether they're from your womb or someone else's." — Sheryl Crow
• We may not be related by blood, but we're connected by love.
• Not "step," just family.
• This is no Cinderella story.
• "Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." — Oprah
• Of all the evil stepmothers in the world, I'm glad I got you. 😉

Kelly O'Sullivan

Senior Editor

Kelly O’Sullivan is the senior editor for The Pioneer Woman and manages the website’s social channels, in addition to overseeing content strategy and news.