Guide to the Best Mother's Day - Despite COVID19
Mother's Day is right around the corner and I would like to offer some of my ideas on what to do to make this Mother's Day Special despite having to keep social distancing!
MOTHER’S DAY IDEAS
Mother’s Day does not have to be about being pampered (although it is nice) – but more about celebrating being a mom! Being a mom is hard – being a mom during this pandemic – calls on a strength inside you that you never knew you had, but guess what - you are doing it and doing it well - and Mother’s Day is the perfect day to celebrate that victory! Here are some memorable ways for you to commemorate another year of motherhood.
1. PLAN
Do not expect your children to remember it is Mother’s Day and don’t feel guilty for reminding them! Especially if you are a single mother. It is okay to remind them. Mother’s Day is also a special day for them. Children’s hearts are so full and amazing, and they will want to celebrate. If they are young, tell them the meaning of Mother’s Day and be honest about what you want to do for YOUR Mother’s Day. Help set them up for success, but also know even the best laid plans can be foiled, so also prepare yourself to just go with the flow! Aim to do one must do activity, and prepare a second or third back up plan IF you are lucky enough to have extra time! Dads - if you are reading this, I know some of you are not planners, but a plan in this case, can go a long way and gives this day a little extra detail to show the mother of your children that you really care about making sure they know they are loved and appreciated.
2. RISE AND SHINE
WAKE UP AN HOUR EARLY – I know, so counter intuitive, but we all know our kids can be relentless from the second their cute little eyelids flutter open in the morning until they droop closed, heavy from the day’s activities. Waking up before them gives you that moment of self pampering. Make your coffee, or tea, or fruit infused water (we’re getting fancy here!) and take a moment off social media - off your phone, and just breath and reflect. Reflect on what Motherhood has looked like for you this year. Cry. Laugh. And then look yourself in the mirror and say, DAMN GIRL YOU ARE KILLING THIS MOTHERHOOD THING! Because you are – even in the darkest moments, you are learning, growing, and developing your motherhood! Then send a morning selfie text to all the maternal figures in your life letting them know how much they have meant to you and your own journey in Motherhood! (Need a last minute virtual gift – click here for a free mother's day card!)
3. ACTIVITIES
Here are a list of ideas to help jump start your plan. Tweak the ideas to fit your style and circumstances. No matter what you choose to do, if it is stressful, its okay to stop the activity, take a deep breath and say, its okay this is not working out, maybe another time and move on to your back up activity, or no activity at all, that is okay too!!
COOK SOMETHING FUN
Make pancakes - for breakfast or better yet for dinner if you don't want to labor over a true dinner! - but make them fun! Get the kids involved. Mix in chocolate chips, sprinkles, or your favorite fruit (its one day, you can splurge!). Get cookie cutters to make the pancakes in fun shapes. Depending on the ages, even 1 year olds can stir batter and help sprinkle in sprinkles! Separate the batter into smaller batches and add coloring. Put them in squeeze bottles and let your child(ren) create an art piece. Or if you don’t want to do food coloring, purposefully make weird shaped pancakes and challenge your kid(s) to create a character/animal or mommy portraits from their pancake stack! And don’t forget to ask for help with clean up (if your kids are old enough!) by giving them each a task.
(Pancake Image from: Day out with The Kids)
COMMEMORATE THE PAST
Create a time capsule (with or without your kids) – Write down your memories from the past year, write down what it has been like during this pandemic (we are living history right now!), write a letter to your future self and or your child(ren), write predictions and goals for the future. Print out some photos or create a USB with your top favorite photos. Have your child(ren) create a piece of art in it (mommy portrait, portrait of themselves when they are older). Decide where to keep the time capsule and when you are allowed to open it again! There are tons of time capsule guides on the internet just search, or I've posted two links below to help narrow your search! We won't actually bury our time capsule in case we move, but you can if you want!
IMAGINE THE FUTURE
Create a mommy bucket list – write down the things you want to do as a mom with your children in one year, in five years, in 10 years. Have them plan with you if they are old enough. There are some fun FREE customizable and print from home bucket list forms if you just google. I've provided one below.
GET ARTSY
Find some paint, colored paper, and/or a canvas. Have them create you a piece of art or a card! I love this idea to create a piece of art to really remember this special mother's day!
FREE Printable Quote - I've created an 8.5 x 11 printable file for free here.
HEAD OUTDOORS
Bike Ride/Walk/Hike – If the weather is nice, head outside! Take a walk, listen to music, google “outdoor scavenger hunt” and print it out for your child(ren) to search during your walk.
GO AHEAD AND PAMPER YOURSELF
Paint your nails – if you children are old enough invite them to paint them for you with a hand massage, essential oils in the room, and relaxing music, throw on a mask! My daughter is 5 and she loves to brush my hair and give me massages. They are not the best, but it is better than nothing! OR put on their favorite movie (and don’t feel guilty about it), while you pamper yourself! Check out these cool DYI nail art hacks!
RELAX WITH A MOVIE
Set up a blanket fort in front of the TV, make some popcorn and snuggle down! For younger kids – Brave or Mars Needs Moms! For older kids – Freaky Friday or any of YOUR favorite movies from when you were a kid! I found an awesome pinterest board with fort inspirations!
PLAN A PHOTOSHOOT
Take a selfie with your child(ren) of just your eyes! This one is silly and will lead you to making a bunch of selfies! And when you're ready to stop social distancing you can plan a real photoshoot with ME! I have a deal for Mother's Day on Gift Certificates for Future Sessions! Or Send me a your family photo and I'll turn it into a silhouette! Find out information on those here.
Taken with my cell! - I never realized how similar me and Addie's eye color is!
KIDS SAY THE SILLIEST THINGS
Have your child(ren) complete a fun information sheet on you! Then have them present the sheet to you and video tape it! You’ll want to remember this in their cute little voices. Again, there are a ton available for free on the internet, here is just one example. I hope it brings you some laughs like mine did!
I hope some of these ideas help you in planning your Mother's Day. I know I am sad I won't be able to spend time with my own mother due to COVID19 and the Stay-At-Home orders (she's in NJ!), and as much as I want to head to the beach, now that some restrictions have been lifted, the idea of shuffling the kids and fighting for the limited parking spots, while worrying about exposure the whole time does not sound like fun to me! I will be happy to spend some more time with my kids (and I'll try not to work or do house chores for ONE day!)
If you missed all my fun Mother's Day products - check them out below! Although I can't guarantee Mother's Day delivery, they still make great gifts.
Free Mother's Day Print-from-home Card (need to save to computer!)
And as always, the greatest thank you for any small business owner is a referral! Please feel free to share this blog post and refer my services to your friends.
JOIN MY NEWSLETTER TODAY and stay up to date on all my specials and upcoming events - Up Next.- Kindergarten Graduation!
