Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 13th and we should all have it on our calendars and have some special plans!!  Mother’s Day is not just for honoring our own mothers (though that is, of course, very important).  It’s also about honoring the other important women in your life, including grandparents, stepmoms, sisters, aunts and any other woman who has had an impact on you.  Not sure how to best celebrate this day?  Here are a few ideas!

Time

If your mom is like most, she really only wants one thing: to spend as much quality time with her children as possible.  As we get wrapped up in our own busy lives, we sometimes forget how important it is to spend time with those we love the most.  This can be especially true if your mom doesn’t live nearby.  Make it a priority this year to spend some time with your mom.  If she lives close, arrange to take her out for lunch or dinner or out to a movie on the 13th.  If she lives further away, make plans to visit sometime soon for part of her Mother’s Day gift and find a way to fit it into your schedule.

Here are a few ideas for making that time extra special for Mom:

–Plan an outing with the kids.  If you have kids, it’s a pretty safe bet that your mom wants to spend time with them as well.  Why not arrange a day with the whole family?  An outing to the zoo, a trip to the park complete with picnic, a matinee at the local movie theater or even just a homemade dinner at your house followed by family game night would all be highly appreciated.

–Take her on a ‘staycation’.  You don’t have to take Mom out of the country or even out of town to treat her to a nice vacation.  Why not take her on a ‘staycation’ this year at a local hotel?  Even though she won’t even be leaving the city, she’ll feel like it as she’s pampered in a nice hotel.  Add on some spa services, a nice dinner at the hotel or a restaurant nearby and hang out by the pool with her and you’ll both feel like you’ve had a vacation without the travel time!

–Plan something around her favorite hobby.  What does your mom love to do?  Does spending time in the garden make her happiest?  Does she enjoy visiting craft shows or antique shops?  Is 18 holes at her favorite golf course the way she’d most like to spend her time?  Sharing in her favorite hobby is a great way to spend time with her doing what she loves the most.

–Make plans for Mother’s Day and beyond.  Although it’s nice to plan some time together for Mother’s Day, why not extend it this year?  Make plans to do something with that special lady in your life every week (or every month if that’s more feasible) for the next six months to a year.  Maybe it’s coffee every Sunday morning or a movie the first weekend of every month.  By making this into a tradition, you’ll create wonderful memories together and spend that quality time together that is so important.

Clothing and Accessories

Does your mom love fashion?  Or do you find that she enjoys nice clothing and accessories but rarely buys them for herself?  If you answered yes, then you have the perfect gift idea!  “Clothing can be a little tricky, but accessories always make a great gift because they always fit,” explains Susie Keuck with Nouvelle Eve.  “We have a great hand-painted scarf that we can’t keep in stock from a local designer called Wrapped.  We also carry the Prairie Creations sterling silver finger print kits that allow you to make an impression of a loved one’s finger print.  You can’t go wrong with either of these for a Mother’s Day gift.”

A special piece of jewelry is something that most mothers love.  Many times they won’t take the opportunity to buy themselves a nice ring, bracelet or necklace and would love to brag to all her friends about the unique piece of jewelry you have chosen for her.  Keep your mom’s tastes and style in mind when picking it out and consider getting something personalized with grandkids’ names or a special message from you to make the gift extra special.

Other ideas would be a new handbag, a sweater or jacket that Mom can use on those chilly spring evenings or even a time when you can take her out shopping to one of the local boutiques to pick out her own gift.  You could pair this with a lunch or dinner at her favorite restaurant for a Mother’s Day that is truly memorable.

Salon and Spa Services

“Women play many roles these days,” says Lynn Klein with Lynn Klein Skincare.

“They are mothers, wives, educators, business owners, caretakers and more.  It’s always nice to give personal gifts like spa treatments to let that someone special take some personal time and focus on the ‘me’ time.  It’s a great way for them to get re-energized, re-focused and to de-stress.  Massage therapy has significant physiological benefits including lowering cortisol (stress hormone), lowering heart rates, releasing endorphins (natural pain killers) and countless other benefits.  And don’t forget the skin!  Your skin is your largest organ and it needs some pampering as well.  You can get your mom one of five spa packages we offer or a gift certificate that she can use for whatever she chooses.”

One of Urbane Salon & Day Spa’s favorite gifts for Mom is the Stress Fix Body Massage.  “Stress can really take its toll on your physical, emotional and spiritual health,” explains Nate Frye with Urbane.   “Aveda turns to Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old healing tradition from India, and western science to find 21st century technology, for solutions to the stress we experience every day.  Both teach us that the power of touch, breath and aromaology can be combined to create quick and easy wellness rituals you can do at home to give yourself the mental, physical and emotional break your body needs.”

“Our Stress Fix Body Massage is a new service being offered in our spa in conjunction with the release of the Stress-Fix product line created by Aveda,” continues Nate.  “The massage combines the power of Swedish and deep tissue massage, acupressure, foot reflexology and the Stress-Fix Aroma.  Products in the line include a body lotion, soaking salts and concentrated aroma.  All products in the line are Ecocert-certified organic.  They are aroma-infused with French lavender, lavandin and clary sage from organic farms and clinically proven to relieve the feelings of stress.  This is perfect for mothers everywhere!”

Pictures

What mother doesn’t love pictures of her family?  This is a great opportunity to get portraits taken of your kids or of the whole family to give to your mom for her big day.  If you want to make it extra special, you can even invite her to the photo session so she can be in some of the pictures as well.  Once you get the portraits back, frame a large one for her gift and also give her a few wallets and smaller copies so she has plenty of copies.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching.  If you haven’t yet made plans or gotten a gift, don’t panic!  You still have time to make her day extra special.  Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who makes our lives special!