Ah, Mother’s Day. The magical one day a year when the focus is suppose to be on you.
While some children and/or spouses/partners undoubtedly do a fabulous job of pulling off the “perfect” day for mom, the one where you’re treated like a queen and surrounded by all the things you love, stories suggest that this is not the norm.
Over-priced Mother’s Day brunches in crowded restaurants, expensive Hallmark cards with generic sentiments, and last minute gifts purchased because “we’ve got to get her something,” leave no one feeling all warm and fuzzy about celebrating mom’s special day.
Let’s face it, while the “spa day” gift certificate sounds heavenly, the industry is making a killing off of those that are purchased during this time, but remain unused by busy moms who never got around to it before the one year expiration date.
If Mother’s Day has been a less than blissful experience for you in the past, it’s time to take charge and organize things the way you’re used to doing.
Although we’ve been conditioned to think we can only show our love for mom on Mother’s Day through buying her things, truth is most moms will feel much better about enjoying an experience with their family, rather than receiving a tangible item.
So whether your children actively seek your input (or are too young to organize the day themselves), or whether you have to gently suggest what would make the day perfect for you, here are five ideas that everyone can walk away feeling good about.
1. Take a Day Trip
Pick somewhere not more than an hour or so away, pack up the car, and make a day of it.
This could be a favorite spot you’ve visited before, or one that you’ve always thought sounded nice but never got around to.
It may include sightseeing, a picnic lunch, window shopping, or taking in some attraction the location is known for.
Take pictures, reminisce, and create a memorable day that you can talk about for years to come.
2. Plant Flowers
Planting flowers is a great activity because this is the perfect time of the year to plant, and it’s an activity that even the youngest children can help with.
The flowers then serve as a season-long (or permanent) reminder of your special day.
As they grow and bloom you can remind your children of how much fun you had with them on that day, and how special the flowers are to you.
If you’re a gardener, this could also be a good day to plant some of your favorites in the garden.
When the produce is ready for your table, you can share stories about the fun you had planting together that day.
3. Do a Service Project
If you have a charity or cause that’s special to you, this is a good day to donate your time or money to that charity.
It will make you feel good, but is also a great opportunity to teach your children about giving back.
If the cause closest to your heart is one where you can’t actively do much more than make a monetary donation, this will still work.
Just take some time during the day to talk to your children about why the cause is so special to you, show them the charity's website, look for real stories of how people are helped by the organization.
Work together to come up with the amount of donation you’d like made in your name to the charity.
If possible, figure out exactly what impact this donation will have. Many groups have information about the number of meals a certain amount provides, the number of animals an amount will save, or just generally how many people they can serve with a specific dollar amount.
4. Make a Memory Jar
This idea originated as a good activity for a child to do alone and present to you as a gift, but it’s easily made into a fun and meaningful family project.
You’ll need an empty mason jar and some colorful paper cut up into small pieces.
Sit around the table together and talk about good memories you share. You or your child can write each memory on a slip of paper and put it in the memory jar.
There are no right or wrong answers here. Everyone gets to write anything that makes them smile.
You can also decorate the jar if you want.
You then keep the jar sitting out and can pull out a memory whenever you want. It could be daily, when you’re having a hard day, when another family member needs a pick-me-up, or completely at random.
5. Make a Coupon Book
This is another fun project that your older, more resourceful child might do without you and present to you as her gift.
It’s also a great project for you to suggest as something that would ”make mom really happy on Mother’s Day.”
For this one you’ll need colored paper cut into coupon size, really any size you want, and some markers.
Both you and your children can think of things mom would love to have a coupon for. Depending on your child’s age, you can write out the coupons, he can do it, or everyone can take part.
Make the coupons useful and specific to your family. One free vacuum of the whole house, a back rub, 20 minutes of silent time when no child talks.
Your child can make dinner, or simply clean up after dinner. You can have a movie night where you get to pick the movie and the children make the popcorn.
Again, there’s no right or wrong to this one, it’s whatever you and your kids come up with that mom would like to have, do, or not do.
You’ll find each of these ideas more satisfying than a more traditional Mother’s Day filled with store bought flowers and candies. And, chances are your children and spouse/partner will greatly appreciate your input on what will make your Mother’s Day perfect.
From owner Cheryl Jacobs and all the team here at KidsPartyCharacters.com, we wish you a Mother’s Day filled with love and happiness. And we look forward to making your mom life easier at your child’s next party.
Visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com to see how you can leave the hard work to us while you sit back and enjoy your child’s party. Also connect with us here on Facebook for party ideas and inspiration.
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