8 Unique Ideas for Mothers' Day | Guest post by Rebekah Dan

It may seem a bit early to think about Mother's Day, but it's never too early to start planning.

This post features some ideas to help you rise above the cliché of Mother's Day traditions: a bouquet of flowers, a card, breakfast in bed, and an outing to a special restaurant. Nice, but you can take it up a notch by being more original.

If you are looking for some fun ways to make Mother's Day more meaningful and memorable, this is the post for you!

1. Potted fruit tree. Instead of the usual bouquet of flowers, surprise your mom a potted fruit tree! If you have several siblings, you can put your money together to get nice a tree. Buy a tree with her favorite fruit, or an exotic fruit. Some ideas are: citrus, cherry, fig, apricot, (or even avocado)... the options are endless. Add a nice big bow on the tree to make it extra special! She will have the tree throughout the years to remind her of you. If she's not into fruit trees, a bonsai tree could be another idea.

2. A photoshoot. Seems like everyone is into photography nowadays. There are photoshoots for every event imaginable: high school seniors, maternity, you name it. But we rarely see photoshoots of a mom, right? If you own a good camera, plan a photoshoot for your mom on Mother's Day! Or hire someone to do a photoshoot of her. Then she can have some really professional and lovely pictures to keep and frame. You can even make it a multi-generational photoshoot of grandmother, mother, daughter etc!

3. Take her to a flower field or botanical garden. If you live near a flower field or a botanical garden, spring is the best time to go visiting, and it's a lovely way to spend Mother's Day together! Or, if flowers are not her thing, take her fruit picking on a farm. Then you can make fruit jams, pies or preserves together with the fruit you picked!

4. Print her recipes/photos into a book. Compile a collection of her best recipes, or photos of her life (from your birth to the present), and print it as a special book for her! Or you can have all your siblings put together "mom's words of wisdom", such as sayings that you always remember her repeating to you, and print it into a fun scrapbook with pictures of your life. It's super easy to do with websites like Blurb, Shutterfly, Snapfish, or even local stores like Costco or Walmart.

5. Cooking contest! Cook something and let Mom be the judge. Skip the restaurant crowds and do something special at home! Have everyone in your family cook a dish or bake a dessert, then present them to your mother and have her be the judge. Do not reveal who cooked which dish! Then have her give scores and awards/ribbons to the best dishes, and at the end, identify the cooks. To keep it simple, you can have a pie contest, everyone making a different type of pie. Or if you want a challenge, have each person cook one of your mom's favorite dishes!

6. Surprise envelopes every hour! Have everyone in your family write special notes of appreciation, Mother's Day cards, Bible verses, sweet memories, or words of encouragement and put them in separate envelopes. Tie the envelopes together in a bundle, and label each with the time she should open an envelop (example: open at 8:00 A.M., or at noon). Every hour that day, she can open a surprise envelope with a special note inside! You can add envelopes with little surprises like gift cards, tickets to a museum/amusement part etc.

7. Make it classy, go to a music hall! Let your mom experience something new this Mother's Day! If she's never been to a classical music concert and she loves music, now is your chance to spoil her! If you live near a music hall, look up dates around Mother's Day when there will be nice concerts with choirs, philharmonic orchestras or chamber music in your area. Before the concert you can visit a cafe, antique shop, or bakery for a treat!
Of course, when it comes to a special outing, the options for fun adventures are abundant (horseback riding, kayaking, hunting, depending on what your mom enjoys doing ;)).

8. Mom interview. Get your family together and have everyone interview mom and videotape it. Make a list of questions in advance, such as "how did you imagine yourself as an adult?", "what was the most exciting moment you remember as a child?" "who did you admire most when you were young?" "what advice would you give for....?" "what is the best advice you got from your parents....?" You can also look up ideas online.

Hope this will get you bubbling with ideas for making Mother's Day better than ever!

What Mother's Day traditions do you have?



Rebekah is a homeschool graduate and college student living a life redeemed and justified in Christ. She blogs about theology, art, music, health & nutrition, book reviews, and a variety of other topics she is passionate about at Heritage of Grace. She enjoys connecting with her readers and using her blog as a ministry to her peers.