How to Celebrate Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a global holiday that takes place on different days in spring depending on where you live. In most countries, Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May. It can be difficult deciding what to do to celebrate your mom on Mother’s Day. The key is to consider what she would want most, and then plan to make the day a special one for her.

Part 1

Giving a Card

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   Don’t leave it to the last minute. This goes for all of your Mother’s Day plans. Leaving the card to the last minute may wind up with you just picking whatever cards are available, or hastily putting one together.
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   Decide whether you want to buy or make a card. Both options are fine as long as you put thought into them. If your lack of thought is obvious, it could hurt your mom’s feelings.
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   Put in the effort. If you buy a card, take the time to find one that really expresses your feelings about your mom. If you make a card, use good-quality materials to ensure that the card looks nice.

   • A popular way to make cards is to buy nice card stock (thicker, often colored paper) and decorate it. Many craft shops sell card sets so that you don’t need to pick out every little piece for the card.
   • If you have a printer, you can design a card using free online design sites or whatever applications you have installed on your computer.
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   Decide what you want to say. What is it that you love about your mom? Is she funny? Is she supportive? Maybe she’s not around much, but when she is, she makes it count by giving you all her attention.

   • Whatever it is that makes your mom special to you, articulate it in your card. If you’re struggling to figure out what to say, try making a list of things you love and/or respect about your mom.
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   Tailor your message to your mom’s tastes. Is your mom more into humor than overly lovey cards? Or maybe she loves super mushy cards. Once you know what you want to say, tailor it to your mom’s tastes.

   • For example, you want to thank your mom for being so supportive to you this past year while you finished school. Since she loves mushy cards, you could write, “Thank you for being so loving and supportive. I am so grateful to have you in my life. I don’t know what I would do without you. You are my sunshine!” Your card could even have a sun on the front of it.
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   Write a draft of what you want to say. Before writing in the card, write a draft of what you want to say on a piece of paper. Doing this will show you how many words will fit on the card, and will help you figure out exactly what you want to say.
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   Write your message inside the card. Once you've figured out what you want to write, and you’ve practised it on a piece of paper, you’re ready to write it in the card. Be sure to use a good-quality pen that won’t run out halfway through your message.
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   Put the card in an envelope and seal it. Write your mom’s name on the front of the envelope. The card is ready to be given to your mom! If you want you can also decorate the envelope with some stickers or drawings.

Part 2

Giving a Gift

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   Think about your mom as a person. What are some of her favorite things? What does she like to do? Show your mother you know her by choosing a thoughtful gift that she’s sure to like.

   • If you really have no clue what to get her, flowers and chocolates are a popular choice.
   • Another popular choice is to get your mom a gift certificate to her favorite store.
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   Consult your family and friends. If you’re unsure of what to get for your mom, don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Ask your siblings and father, or even your mom’s friends and close relatives for ideas on what she might like for Mother’s Day.

   • It’s also a good idea to ask friends and family just in case they’re also getting your mom a present. That way you can make sure your gifts don’t overlap. You can even go in on a gift together!
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   Make her a photo collage. If your mom is into arts and crafts you can make her a collage of family photos. Choose photos that highlight her role as a mother. These will likely include you and any siblings you have.

   • You could start with a photo of just your mom in the middle of the collage, and then surround her with photos of you and any other members of your family.
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   Make her a playlist of her favorite songs. If she loves music, make your mom a CD or a playlist of songs you know she’ll love. Make the playlist a combination of songs she loves and new songs she doesn’t know. That way, part of the gift will be the discovery of new songs and artists.

   • If she has a good sense of humor and/or loves dancing, you might even make a funny dance routine to go along with one of the songs.
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   Give her some coupons. This is a great gift if you’re still living at home and don’t have any money. Examples include free babysitting (if you’re older with younger siblings) and doing the dishes.

   • You can make the coupons as simple or fancy as you like, for example, using craft materials or printing them off from a text document the computer.
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   Cook for (or with) your mom. Surprise your mom with breakfast — maybe even in bed. If she loves baking, find a cookie or cake recipe she hasn’t tried before and spend the afternoon baking together.^[1]

   • Plan the day’s meals out in advance so that your mother doesn't have to cook at all that day if she doesn’t want to. Even if she loves cooking, she might appreciate a day off.
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   Pamper your mom. If you have a bit of money to spend, treat your mom to a day at the spa. A less expensive option is to book her in for a free makeover at a beauty shop and then give her a gift certificate to that shop.^[2]

   • Another fun pampering option is to have a girls’ day together. Go to the spa, get manicures and pedicures, or go get makeovers together.
   • If you’re very short on money, pamper your mom at home by buying her a nice face mask from the drug store and drawing her a bath with nice oils, suds, or Epsom salts in it. You can make the bathroom feel more like a spa by lighting candles and playing soft music in there.
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   Clean the house. A lot of moms work hard to keep the house clean and the family fed. On Mother’s Day, give your mom a break by doing all the cleaning that day. Clean up after each meal, and clean up whenever else it may be needed.

   • If you treat your mom to a day at the spa or a makeover, surprise her when she gets home by cleaning up the house.^[3]
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   Have an adventure together. Pretend you’re tourists in your own city: go to a museum, take a walk in a forest or park, or see whatever other sights your city has to offer.^[4] Present your mom with a few different options or a sample itinerary in the morning, and let her choose.

   • If you’re doing this one, make sure you have all the details of each option worked out, including prices and hours of operations for any buildings such as museums or aquariums, for example.
   • As Mother’s Day falls on a Sunday, you want to make sure that your plans for an adventure aren’t foiled by unanticipated closing hours.
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    Spend quality time together. One of the best ways to show your mom how much you appreciate her is to spend quality time with her. This could be having an adventure or taking a class together, or simply grabbing a hot drink to go from a local cafe and then going for a long walk together.

    • Other examples of quality time include popping popcorn and having a movie or TV series marathon together, or if your mom is into shopping, hitting all the city’s best vintage and antique stores.
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    Make contact. The single most important thing to do on Mother’s Day is to let your mother know that you love and appreciate her. If you can’t be there in person to celebrate your mom, give her a call.

    • If you’re living overseas, you can also send a card, but a phone call is even more important. If you have an Internet connection and a computer, phone, or tablet with a camera, you can even video chat your mom for free using an app like Skype or Google+ Hangouts.
    • Chocolate and flower delivery services are also popular. You can order specific arrangements of both flowers and chocolates online and have them delivered to your mom on Mother’s Day. For that matter, you can also just order her a gift at an online retailer.
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    Don’t blow your budget. There are a lot of things you can do to show your mom you love her without going broke. Set a reasonable budget and stick to it. Your mom wouldn’t want you to spend all your money on her anyway. What’s most important is your love and presence.

    • If you can’t afford to buy her anything, ask her out for a walk or clean up her house for her. Another neat option is to volunteer for a cause that she believes in.^[5]
    • It’s common for people who live far from their families to overcompensate with gifts. If you can’t be with your mom on Mother’s Day, don’t fall into the temptation to spend more than you have.^[6]

Part 3

EditPlanning Mother’s Day

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   Know which day Mother’s Day is. Mother's Day occurs each year on the second Sunday of May in most countries, including the United States, Canada, much of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and India.

   • In the UK and Ireland, however, it occurs on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and most Arab countries celebrate it at the Spring Equinox in March.^[7]
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   Put your mom first. In making plans for Mother’s Day, it’s most important to consider what your mom would like to do. Ensure that whatever plans you make don’t require your mom to do anything. It’s her day to just have fun and relax.

   • Pay attention to the things your mom says throughout the year so that you can surprise her on Mother’s Day. It’s okay to ask her what she’d like to do, but it would be even better to surprise her by showing you’ve been paying attention. You might even note down things she says she’d like in a secret list on your phone or in a notepad.
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   Discuss the day with your other family members. Ensure that your plans and gift ideas work with everyone else’s. The more information you have, the better a decisions you’ll make.

   • Perhaps your older sister was thinking of taking Mom to the waterpark for the day. You could all pitch in and have a fun afternoon together.
   • Maybe Dad heard Mom mention how nice a relaxing day at the spa would be. Again, you can all pitch in together to give her a spa day. You might even split up the chores amongst yourselves so that she comes home from the spa to a clean house.
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   Create a detailed plan for the day. Once you’ve considered your mom and consulted with your family members, put together a detailed plan for Mother’s Day. You might do this in cooperation with your other family members.

   • It’s important to make the plan detailed because you don’t want there to be any stress for your mom that day.
   • For example, if you’re planning to cook a meal, make a grocery list of what you need and write down how long you think it will take to make the meal so that you can have it ready at a suitable time.

Part 4

Considering a Sample Plan

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   Make her breakfast. Plan beforehand so that you have all the right ingredients, and make her breakfast depending on what her favorite breakfast foods are.

   • A fun breakfast idea would be to do a French-themed breakfast with French music, coffee, crepes, and lots of toppings. Nutella and strawberries are a popular sweet filing, and sautéed veggies and cheese are a popular savoury filling.^[8]
   • Remember that you’ll need to get up before your mom so that you can surprise her with breakfast.
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   Eat breakfast with her. Don’t just make her breakfast and then walk away. Make it a family event. Sit down and enjoy the meal together, unless she wants a quiet moment to read the paper or watch her favorite show, in which case, let her do that.
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   Give her your gifts. If you’ve purchased any gifts for your mom, breakfast is a good time to give them to her. Note that you needn’t buy her any physical gifts if you’re short on money. The acts of making her breakfast and planning out a day to celebrate her are gifts too!
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   Clean up. Your mom shouldn’t have to lift a finger today. Tell her to sit and relax or do whatever she wants while you clean up. This step applies to the whole day.
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   Give her time to get ready. Whatever you have planned for the rest of the day — whether it be a walk, a trip to the spa, or a coffee date — make sure that you schedule at least 60 to 90 minutes for your mom to get ready.

   • The last thing you want to do on Mother’s Day is make your mom feel rushed or stressed, so be sure to give her ample time to get ready for anything you have planned.
   • If your mom usually takes longer to get ready, give her that time, even if it’s 2 hours or more!
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   Go for a walk somewhere nice. Get a drink to go from a local cafe and then go for a walk. Walk around the seawall or a forest trail if you have those, or even just a nice neighbourhood.

   • If you don’t drive, try to choose somewhere that doesn’t require your mom to drive you there. If she’s okay with driving, that’s fine, but ideally you don’t want your mom to have to do anything today except enjoy it.
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   Have a family get-together later in the day. Schedule a late lunch/early dinner with your family. Invite friends and family over to help celebrate Mother’s Day. If you can, arrange with a family member to set the up the get-together while you're out with your mom so that it’s a surprise.

   • If you are inviting a lot of people over, make it a potluck, so that everyone brings something to eat along with them. Organize it so that some people bring appetizers, others bring salads and main courses, and others bring desserts.
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   Relax and enjoy the company. Once you get home with your mom from your walk, just relax and enjoy the food and the company of your family and friends. If you want you can bring out a party game ( Charades is a popular choice) and/or put on a nice playlist.

   • Creating a nice atmosphere for the party will make it even better. Clean the house, light some candles, put some flowers in a vase on the table — do things that make the house look festive.
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   Give your mom some quiet time to end the night. Once the party is done, tell your mom that you’ll clean up and encourage her to do whatever she wants. The key is to make sure that the end of her da is relaxing.

   • Maybe she’ll have a cup of tea and talk to you as you clean, or maybe she’ll go have a bath or sit on the couch and watch her favorite show.
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    Say goodnight. End the day with telling your mom how much you love her and reiterating how grateful you are to have her in your life.

Tips

• Is a woman in your life pregnant? She can still celebrate Mother's Day. Order fresh flowers and attach a sweet note, or give her a keepsake baby item — perhaps a sterling silver "Mom" keychain or another small token. Avoid doing this if there is any risk of the baby not going full-term.
• If your mother has passed away but you’d still like to mark the day, consider donating money or time to an organization that helps women and children.
• Make your mom feel special by paying her sincere compliments.
• Tears aren't always a bad thing! On Mother's Day especially, when her children are giving her their praise and thanks, Mom can get very emotional. Let her cry, give her a big hug, and tell her how much you love her.
• Put your mom first in all of your decisions on Mother’s Day. For example, don’t selfishly try to keep her to yourself when you know that she’d like to spend time with the whole family.
• For those of you whose mother has passed away, consider visiting a nursing home with some flowers and spending time with an elderly woman who may not have any family visiting her on Mother’s Day.
• If you’re having trouble figuring out what to write inside your Mother’s Day card, you can do an online search for messages to write inside Mother’s Day cards (or any cards, for that matter).

Warnings

• Don’t fight with your family members on Mother’s Day, even if they’re being inconsiderate. If one of your siblings has made plans for Mom without including you, ask to be involved, or just plan another Mother’s Day celebration for another day. Your mom will likely still appreciate it.
• Don't be selfish and make Mother’s Day about you. If there’s something you’ve been wanting your mom to help you with, Mother’s Day is not the day to ask for it. Put aside your needs for one day and focus on your mom.
• Avoid bringing up past issues with your mom on Mother’s Day. She may not have been the best mother in the past, but it’s not the time to talk to her about it. Try to focus on the good times, for example, when she supported you or made a situation better.
• Don’t leave your card, gift(s), and Mother’s Day plans to the last minute. Show your mom how much you care by taking the time to plan out a great day for her.