This article was first published in May 2020.
One day in the yearly calendar that often creeps up unexpectedly on most dads is ‘Mother’s Day’. Go to a supermarket the evening before and you’ll likely see a lot of men panicking, looking for something they can pass of as a present ‘from the kids’.
If you rather want to make Mother’s Day special, have a look at this dad’s tips! Now is your opportunity to get busy and create a fully personalised, home-made Mother’s Day.
A special breakfast for mum
Make sure the kids let their mother have the lie in she so rarely gets these days. Have them write a menu with all the available breakfast options and see if you can get imaginative with the food. You can ask the kids to rearrange breakfast on the plate to look like their mother…
Some good examples could include a slice of bread or toast for the face, scrambled egg for hair, slices of banana for the eyes and nose and chunks of apple for the mouth. The result will almost certainly not be flattering, but today is all about the thought and effort that the kids (and you) are putting in to make their mother feel special.
A treasure hunt organised by the kids
Plan ahead and get the kids to write down some things that they love about their mum. Have them run ahead and hide the notes in specific places in the garden or at a park and turn it into a fun finding game, with a nice surprise for their mother when she finds each note.
Or how about taking a bag with her favourite snacks and drinks and letting the kids surprise her at various points on your walk. An iced lemon tea and a bag of her favourite crisps can go a long way to show your appreciation.
How to go about presents…?
Let’s be honest, what do most mothers want as a present for Mother’s Day? Do they want a last-minute panic buy? Or do they want something that has been made by the little hands of her children?
In my experience, a home-made present will be appreciated a lot more. It doesn’t have to be something made with high end materials from a craft shop either. Anything around the house or garden can be turned into a thoughtful gift. If you have a printer and laminator at home or at work, find some nice photos of the family and in a matter of minutes, you’ll have unique placemats for your dinner table. Let’s not forget papier-mâché is quick, easy, cheap and can be used to turn anything into a special gift. It will bring infinitely more sentimental value than a bunch of flowers from the local supermarket!
Speaking of flowers, take the kids outside and collect some fallen flowers or petals, either press them inside a large book with something heavy on top for a few days and then create a picture with them. If you’re short on time, fill an empty glass jar with water, mix with flower petals and you have homemade ‘perfume’. Decorate the jar with ribbons and hearts and you’re on to a winner.
The Card…
And finally, the card. What better present is there for any mother than a homemade card from their children? Nobody needs telling how to make their cards, as each child will have no doubt perfected this already over the years. Here’s a tip though …. as the years go by, even with the best intentions, it’s hard to keep all the homemade cards and gifts safe.
Buy an empty hardback book and glue the homemade Mother’s Day and birthday cards onto each blank page. Each year you take the book back and stick in the most recent addition and the children give this book to their mother each year.
Admittedly the first time they hand this over, it won’t be that impressive. It’ll be an empty book. But for one paper card in, fast forward ten years however and you’ll both be able to look back on how your children’s art and writing skills have progressed as they’ve grown. By the time you’ve got two or three years under your belt of doing this, the first thing mum will be looking for on Mother’s Day, will be her updated personalised card book. She won’t even give the half-melted box of chocolates, that no one else wanted to buy, a second thought!
Dave is in his mid-30s and married with two kids. He is originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In 2018 he quit his job and moved with his family to Malaysia to be a stay at home Dad….or stay abroad Dad.
