The role of mothers in shaping their daughters’ and sons’ lives is unsurpassed. Mothers teach us to love, be strong, be confident, persist, live life to its fullest, and be the best we can be. Mother’s Day is just around the corner. So, this year give her a gift from your heart and your undivided time to make it a special day she’ll treasure.
Mother’s Day Brunch: Serve your mom a scrumptious breakfast or take her out for Mother’s Day brunch. If you prepare it yourself, the following menu will be sure to please: fruit salad, juice, waffles or pancakes with her favorite blueberry or strawberry topping, Canadian bacon or fresh sausage, omelets or eggs Benedict, homemade hash browns, and coffee cake or Danishes. Also, don’t forget the freshly cut flowers for the table centerpiece.
Spring Blooms: What better way to spend a spring day than together in your mother’s garden? Pick up her favorite annuals and perennials: begonias, petunias, violets, morning glories, poppies, marigolds, snapdragons, or mums. Then enjoy a relaxing day together, planting and sprucing up her flower garden and catching up on old times.
Family Portrait: If your family is like most, you’re well overdue for an updated family portrait. What better time to have it done than on Mother’s Day? Schedule to have your family’s picture taken at a studio, or hire a photographer for a photo shoot in the park. Coordinate with family members in advance on the formality and color scheme, so outfits don’t clash. Inform your mother how to dress for her special day, but keep the specific reason a surprise.
Memories with Mom: Give your mom a keepsake that’ll be dear to her heart. Purchase Mothers & Daughters: A Record Book About Us to fill out and share with her. Or create your own memory book with a scrapbook or journal. Include photos and memories about special times the two of you have had together, the most important things you remember about your mother from your childhood, how she has inspired you, and the times you look forward to in the future.
The Main Event: Surprise your mother with tickets to an event she’s been dying to see: the ballet, a concert, play or musical, the opera, a favorite sporting event, a comedy show, or dinner theater. Be sure to tell her you have something special planned (but not what), so she’ll be all yours for the day.
Photo by Noriko Cooper | Dreamstime.com
Train Excursion: Spring is the perfect time to tour the countryside. Take a train ride with your mom, and enjoy the vivid colors of spring, blue skies, beautiful blossoms, and other scenic sights.
The Power of Poetry: You don’t need to be a poet to write a special verse for your mother. In your poem, share what it was like growing up with her, how she influenced your life, or tell her just what she means to you. Then print it on stationery, and matte and frame it.
A Little Pampering: Mothers spend many years pampering their children, giving bubble baths, washing hair, and caring for them when they’re ill. Give your mother a special treat, a gift certificate for pampering at the spa where she can enjoy a Swedish massage, hair design, a sea spa manicure and pedicure, or a soothing facial.
Weekend Getaway: Put together a weekend package designed especially for your mom. Choose a city that offers excellent shopping, art museums and cultural centers, or even a quaint historic town with neat shops, cafes, and parks. Leave the dates for the getaway open so she can make the trip at her convenience, or so the two of you can make plans together.
Keep it Simple: Plan a relaxing day together, enjoying the outdoors. Head to a nearby park where you can meander along nature trails reminiscing or take a scenic bike ride.
Especially for Mothers: Buy a book for and about moms. Consider one of the following:
• Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me by Maya Angelou
• I Love You, Mom by Amylee Weeks
• Why a Daughter Needs a Mom by Gregory E. Lang
• Why a Son Needs a Mom by Gregory E. Lang
• Mothersongs: Poems For, By, and About Mothers by Sandra M. Gilbert et al.
• Mom, I Wrote a Book About You by M.H. Clark
• Real Poems for Real Moms: From a Mother in the Trenches to Another by Rachel S. Donahue
• Mom, Tell Me Your Story: Keepsake Journal by Susan Branch
• You Are One Amazing Lady: Special Thoughts to Share With a Truly Wonderful Woman by Douglas Pagels
• Dear Mother: The Hot Mess of Motherhood by Bunmi Laditan
Kimberly Blaker is a freelance writer. She also owns an online bookshop, Sage Rare & Collectible Books, specializing in out-of-print, scarce, signed, and first editions; fine bindings; ephemera, and more at sagerarebooks.com.