A Day Just for Mom: Mother’s Day Celebrations, Gifts, and Excursions She’ll Love

“I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” —Mitch Albom

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 the gift of your heart and time and make it a special day she’ll treasure.

Mother’s Day Brunch

Serve your mom a tasty breakfast or take her out for Mother’s Day brunch. If you prepare it yourself, the following menu will be sure to please: A mixed fruit salad, waffles, or pancakes with her favorite topping. Add turkey bacon, a low-fat alternative, and whip up a cheese omelet or eggs benedict for protein. Include crunchy homemade hash browns to bring back memories of Mother’s Day with her mom. Don’t forget the sweets, coffee cake or Danishes. For that added touch of color, fresh 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 native plants to attract pollinators to her garden oasis; Gregg’s Mistflower, Lantana, Coreopsis, Butterfly bush, and Esperanza, to name a few. Bring in some compost to give the soil nutrients, and enjoy a relaxing day together, digging in the soil, planting, and making new memories.

Mom Memories

Give your mom a keepsake that’ll be dear to her heart. Create a unique memory book with a scrapbook or journal. Add photos and notes of the lovely 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.

A Special Date

Surprise your mother with tickets to an event she wants to see: the ballet, a concert, a play, a musical, the opera, a comedy show, or a dinner theater. Tell her you have something special planned (but not what), so she’ll be all yours for the day.

Train Excursion or Weekend Drive

Spring is the perfect time to tour the countryside. Take a train ride or drive at your leisure with mom, and enjoy the vivid colors of spring, blue skies, beautiful blossoms, and other scenic sights.

A Little Pampering

Mothers spend many years pampering their children giving bubble baths, washing their hair, and caring for them when they’re ill. Give your mom a treat, a gift certificate for pampering at the spa, where she can enjoy a relaxing massage, a mani-pedi, or a refreshing facial.

Family Portrait

If your family is like most, you’re well overdue for an updated family portrait. Tell everyone but Mom to arrive dressed for an “impromptu” photoshoot. Many family members have close friends who will “pop in.” Designate the friend as the “cell phone photographer.”

Surprise mom with, “Let’s take a picture, Mom!” She will be thrilled to have a keepsake to remember her beautiful day with family and friends. Take more than the smile kind. Play with serious and goofy shots. Be creative and position the camera in various ways, vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Everyone will get a kick out of posing and seeing the finished photos. Be sure to take several copies of each, so you have plenty to choose from. You can then share via email and text with everyone in the picture.

Weekend Getaway

Put together a weekend package designed especially for your mom. Choose a city with excellent shopping, art museums, cultural centers, or even a quaint historic town with unique shops, cafes, parks, and charming hotels. 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.

You and Mom

Plan a relaxing day together, enjoying the outdoors. Head to a nearby park to meander along nature trails, reminiscing. Have a leisurely picnic you prepared just for her, or exercise together by taking a scenic bike ride.

The Power of Poetry

You don’t need to be a poet to compose an original verse; your mom will love it because it came from your heart and was written just for her. You can write about what it was like growing up with her and how she influenced your life. Or tell her what she means to you. Then print it on stationery, matte, and frame it.

Especially for Mothers

Buy a book for and about moms. Every time she reads the words, she will think of you. Consider giving mom one of the following:

• Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me by Maya Angelou Click Here to read her touching poem. BUY HERE.
• Real Poems for Real Moms: From a Mother in the Trenches to Another By Rachel S. Donahue. BUY HERE.
• Mom’s Story: A memory and Keepsake Journal for My Family by Korie Herold. BUY HERE.
• Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason. BUY HERE.
• Listen To Your Mother: What She Said Then, What We’re Saying Now by Ann Imig. BUY HERE.