10 Creative and Virtual Ways To Celebrate Mom From A Distance
by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table® - Content provided by the Editors of the Farmer’s Almanac
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 9! Again this year, many of us are rethinking how to give extra recognition to moms, especially if we’re apart. Check out 10 fun ideas for spending time with Mom—from a virtual dinner date to a long-distance movie night to a Zoom talent show!
10 WAYS TO CELEBRATE MOM
In 2021, given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, many of us are rethinking how to give extra recognition to moms. Some of us are apart from our moms when we’d normally be together. And many of us are worried about our moms, some of whom are in the high-risk age range.
How Can We Celebrate Differently?
Most moms simply wish to connect with their children and spend time with family in any way possible—if not in person, then with a phone call or video chat!
If your mom is at home, give her a day off from any family chores, especially during this difficult time. Someone else can take full responsibility for making or serving the food, clearing and cleaning the dishes, and doing the laundry. Volunteer!
This probably covers the big stuff, but here are 10 creative ways to reach out to mom to show her a little extra comfort, love, and recognition. After all, moms are always there for us!
1. Offer yard and garden services.
If you’re local, give Mom a “gift certificate” for your family’s yard and garden services. Help her by laying down mulch. Put the “certificate” in a flower pot with spring-planted bulbs which flower in summer.
If you’re not local, how about a 1-year subscription to The Old Farmer’s AlmanacGarden Planner? Any gardener would love it! And it’s an instant present without shipping!
2. Decorate your mom’s door or front porch!
If you’re local, you can have fun decorating your mom’s front door with streamers, special signs, a wreath, and flowers! If you have kids, get them involved! Mom or grandma will love the surprise.
Of course, flowers and plants are always a delight. If you’re local, deliver plants to her porch in person. If you’re not local, there’s always delivery in most places (but order well enough ahead!).
Or, perhaps a dogwood or flowering shrub for her garden would be appreciated.
Buying cut flowers? See the symbolic meanings of common flowers! Or consider the monthly birth flowers for each child.
3. Cook for Mom or set up a virtual brunch date.
If your mother is living with you, breakfast in bed is always a classic and appreciated. Something simple is fine for this, such as toast or a croissant with jam or fruit and a cup of coffee or tea. Or, if she’s not fond of eating in bed, how about preparing a sit-down brunch? Here are 15 delicious brunch ideas.
If you’re not with mom in person, how about a virtual brunch date? We suggest these Champagne Mimosas. You can drop off the ingredients at her door if she’s local, or send the recipe in advance to everyone! Then Zoom with the entire family and raise a glass to mom!
If your mom is local, drop off a casserole dinner. It’s great comfort food, and you can put it all together to drop off on her porch! See 15 casserole recipe ideas.
Or, bake a cake! Traditionally, children in England always baked a cake for their Mother’s Day. If you like this tradition, here’s a truly delicious (and better than boxed) cake recipe: Chocolate Mousse Cake. We also love Nana’s Funny Cake.
Frittata de Nonna. (Nonna means grandmother in Italian.)
4. Give your mom a long phone call or put on a virtual talent show!
Talk to her (or videochat) and make her laugh. Perhaps throw in some good “mom jokes.” All most moms want is time with you.
If the young kids are involved, put on a talent show for Grandma! It can be simple! Sing a song, show off some gymnastics, play an instrument.
5. Watch a movie or show together, side by side.
If you’re all at home in one place, have a movie that night, complete with theater treats.
If you’re in separate locations, watch the same movie on your computers at the same time. Or, start a marathon of your favorite TV series while indulging in a glass of wine or cup of tea.
(Did you know? Netflix also has a way to watch together online. If you and your mom have a Netflix account and Chrome installed on her laptop or desktop, you can watch a movie together! There is even a group chat function for commenting live during the movie from wherever you are in the world. See Netflix Party.)
6. Get creative: Make Mom a video, a music playlist, or a piece of art!
Record a video from all of the children. They can each say “Happy Mother’s Day” and why they appreciate her. You can always use iMovie to splice videos together on your phone.
Or, make a tape or a music playlist. You could gather calming songs for bedtime, such as the sound of the seas. Or, you could gather her very favorite songs from the era that she loves most. (If your mom has an iPhone, create a special iTunes playlistthat will get emailed to her.)
How about a special work of art for Mom? For example, paint the outside of a terra-cotta flower pot and fill it with garden seeds and a card. Or, make a beautiful photo frame with your family photo inside. You can find many ideas on Pinterest and elsewhere on the Web.
7. Get outside! Go for a stroll in the park or how about packing mom a picnic?
Fresh air always lifts the spirit. There’s plenty of room to spread out and enjoy nature! Spring is a wonderful time to visit a park.
How about packing a simple picnic? If mom’s living nearby, drop off a picnic basket on her porch!
If you’re living together, pack a cooler for a beautiful drive through the countryside. Here are great picnic food ideas.
8. Make a homemade gift!
You don’t need to go out to a store and buy a gift. Mothers love gifts from the heart.
Here are some fun craft projects—including gifts from the kitchen as well as DIYbeauty products for a home spa basket!
If you wish to buy a gift online, how about jewelry with her child’s birthstone?
For example, if your birthday is in August, give your mother peridot stud earrings. She’ll always think of her dear child when she wears them. See birthstones by monthif you’re not sure of your birthstone or its meaning. Many small online businesses offer free shipping. Etsy is also a great place to find unique jewelry and help support small businesses at the same time.
9. Take a virtual tour of a museum or garden together!
Even if you’re not together, the wonders of technology make so much possible today! More and more museums are opening up their “walls” to offer virtual tours during this time!
Set up a Mother’s Day date for you and your mom to visit the Louvre in Paris! Or how about the Vatican in Rome? Or, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City?
Would you rather take in the marvels of nature? Check out this Nature Conservancy virtual field trip in Oklahoma!
Is mom a garden lover? The famous Holland tulip farm Keukenhof has created a virtual tulip tour since they can’t welcome visitors in person! You could also visit Monet’s Gardens in France to see the waterlillies! Or, how about taking a virtual trip to Hawaii to see tropical flowers?
10. Make your own card.
Don’t forget to send a card in advance! In our home, it’s a tradition to make a homemade card every year. Moms love homemade! Here’s one way to make Homemade Note Cards.
Wondering what to write in the card? How about sharing a funny story or happy memory of you and your mom? It will make her smile!
Here at the Almanac, we shared some of the happiest or funniest memories of our own mothers. We welcome your happy memories and stories, too! (Please share in the comments below.)
My mom sang a lot around the house and I thought she made up all of the songs. When I got older, I started to hear those same songs on the radio and was like “Hey, … !”
–Sarah P., Almanac editor
When I was a teenager, my mother went back to college to get her Master of Library Science—studies that required her to learn how to program computers. This put me in the unique position of being able to help my mother with her homework.
–Peter R., Almanac programmer
When I was young and all of my older siblings were in school, my mom and I would have breakfast by the kitchen window and watch the hummingbirds. We loved watching the hummingbirds!
–Colleen Q., Almanac art director
We went to Ocean City, Maryland, every summer for a week on the beach. My mom went out on the beach every sunny day and sat there, under a big umbrella. She never got a tan (she had very fair skin and burned easily). No one can remember her ever going into the water. Not once.
–Tim C., Almanac editor
Some of my happiest memories are singing songs with Mom as she played the piano. She also encouraged me to play. Even though it was a struggle at times, I am glad to have had lessons, not only because I discovered how to play an instrument but also because I learned how to read music and how the notes worked together to make a melody.
–Heidi S., Almanac editor
My Mom and I have what we’ve always kind of called “our psychic connection” because it always seems like she will call me when I’ve been thinking of her a lot that day, or I’ll call her and she’ll say she’d been thinking of me. It seems like my daughter and I also have the “psychic connection”!
—Stacey K., Almanac staff
Before I started school, Mom took me to the library every week to take out five books and return the five books from the prior week. We’d read together almost every day.
–Colleen Q., Almanac art director
Together, let’s honor the women who raised us—making sacrifices for us every day and nurturing our families and greater communities.
Of course, if you are a mother, all of us at The Old Farmer’s Almanac wish YOU a very Happy Mother’s Day!