Search by category:

Mother’s Day this weekend. Such a fun time, and the most popular brunch day in America — so that’s cool. The unfortunate thing, though, is that every list of Mother’s Day ideas says the exact same stuff:
- Have the kids make cards
- Spoil her
- Breakfast in bed
- Brunch
- You (the man or partner) do everything
I agree with all this, of course. If the holiday (is it a holiday if it’s on a Sunday?) is called “Mother’s” Day, well, the focus should be on the mother. She should get “reprieves.” But maybe there are some different approaches here.
Take a day outing: Too much of the focus is always on how the mother can retreat and not engage as a reprieve. But most of us legitimately love our children, so why not spend the day doing something fun with them? Obvious options are zoo, nature preserve, hike, outdoor concert, etc. You can still be spoiled having a day that’s “brunch” + “family activity outside.”
Organize a neighborhood party: … and then it can become a sixth-grade dance, whereby all the women/moms are in one area and all the guys/dads are in another area. And then there’s kids running around, so it’s basically exactly a sixth-grade dance.
Have the kids make a playlist: Seems more interesting than glued cards, and they can pick songs that remind them of mom or speak to how they feel about mom.
Don’t do gifts: Every Google search on Mother’s Day is about gifts. While I’d like gifts, sure, shouldn’t the idea be that the kids themselves are the gifts? I’ll take a nice hammock outside, sure, but the kids in it would be the real gift.
Social media block: To some, this might feel like a punishment — but it’s a gift in some ways. Too much of social media on Mother’s Day almost feels like moms one-upping each other on cutest kids, most artistic angle, most flowing prose about the power of motherhood, etc. If it’s your friends, awesome. After a while, it gets tedious. Take mom’s phone and be like “This day is about you, not what Joann from down the block did with her pancakes in bed.”
Sex: This one needs to be said, even if it seems “controversial.” Every couple is different but in a lot of couples, especially with younger children, sex becomes (a) formulaic and (b) driven by the male. Well, this is her day … so make it her day. Amen, yea?
Have the kids scrapbook their lives to this point: Won’t work with newborns, but if you have 4-6 year-olds, this can be an adorably perfect gift.
Surprise her with a vacation plan: … you probably would have needed to do this already, but if you have the funds, you could come in with a bunch of catalogs and decide/plan it that day. Talk about reprieve.
Re-enact the boombox scene from Say Anything: Who wouldn’t love that?
Have the kids paint/draw mom: She sits for a session and the kids act like master artists. Kinda cute and engaging.
That’s a beginning list — anyone else got any additional different Mother’s Day approaches?