NOW EXPERIENCING:

5 unbeatable at-home activities to celebrate the matriarch in your life this Mother’s Day

Read time 7 Mins

Posted 25 Apr 2024

By
Alexandra Whiting

A Mother's Day table setting with bottles of wine and bagels

Because you’re a bit old for breakfast in bed.

Mums give so much and, for years, receive no thanks. Then, they receive glued-together Paddle Pop sticks and finger paintings as thanks, and for some time after that, huffing and hormones. Now, you’re a grown-ass grown-up, so it’s time to show the mother figure in your life that she’s loved, special and oh-so-important to you. No finger paintings, no huffing – just a great time that’s excellently catered.

You know that saying, “It’s the thought that counts”? It’s become a way of dismissing bad gifts or poor planning as a good try. That’s not what it means – it’s about putting in thought, research and effort into creating something truly special for someone. It goes a long way. And making plans around what your mum would actually like to do will make everything feel so much more special on the day. So, do some thinking and cash the points for creativity. In this case, that just means reading this article because we have five excellent ideas for great at-home Mother’s Day celebrations.

Click image to shop

1. The brief: Garden(ing) party

If Mum spends her Sundays repotting petunias and tending to her hedges, Mother’s Day is the time to get amongst it. Turn up early with your sun hat and gardening gloves, coffees and a fresh bag of soil, and get stuck in. Listen when she shares her green-thumbed advice, do the mowing, and don’t roll your eyes when she tells you you’ve got no knack for weeding. Then, when the work is done, treat her to an al fresco lunch. Really great sandwiches would suit, but if Mum doesn’t like a lot of bread, you could also do rice paper rolls. Then, the full-bloom moment: mix her a Gin Basil Smash (preferably with Mum’s homegrown basil) made with Roku Japanese Craft Gin. A gin made by people who are as meticulous about quality as Mum is about her watering schedule, Roku is balanced, botanical, clean and perfected. Mixed in a herbaceous cocktail, it’s the best way to toast to a hard day’s work and a hard-working mum.

2. The brief: Pizza and reality TV binge

Mums need chill too. Set things up so she can do just that. Make sure the house is tidy, her chill outfit is washed and ready, lounge pillows fluffed, and anyone who could disrupt the plans for the evening knows to keep their after-work rants to themselves for the night. With the scene set, let’s talk content and snacks. Movies are great, but a full, juicy reality series to make your whole world for the night is even better because they lend themselves to commentary. We have suggestions but a new season of something you haven’t got to yet, or an old, notorious season that you’ve never got around to watching is just what the doctor ordered. Snacks? Go all out. Popcorn, a cheese board, pizzas or some other takeaway that’s easy to eat on the couch, then chocolate or ice cream for after (this is about indulgence, after all). The evening would not be complete without a really good bottle of wine. Oakridge Ovata Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV is just that – a sparkling wine with real crackle and pop, elegance and effervescence. Tasting of red berries and fresh bread, it’s something special. Just like your mum.

Click image to shop

Click image to shop

3. The brief: Host an at-home paint and sip

A group activity is bonding, and special days are for exactly that. Rather than joining a group with strangers, take it upon yourself to host a family Paint and Sip. Get all the equipment – paints, brushes, canvases and mini easels – and set up a paint station for each family member. Announce to them their subject. It could be a sunset, something in the garden, a recreation of a master, or, the big one, Mum herself. Portrait mode, kids! Have some technique advice prepared in case members of your group need it, water to wash brushes, and most importantly, drinks ready. That’s the “sip” part. Luxardo Limoncello is an excellent choice. Served over ice, or with tonic, it’s celebratory and the perfect tipple – bright, tart and authentically Italian, like so many of the masters of the paint brush. Unleash Mum’s inner artist!

4. The brief: Nancy Meyer day

She might not be a coastal grandma (yet), but if your mum is a Meryl Streep or Diane Keaton stan, loves to shop at fancy groceries, wear turtlenecks and fret over how the napkins are folded, she might want nothing more than for you to join her in a Nancy Meyers day. For the uninitiated, Nancy Meyers is the filmmaker whose protagonists are usually successful women with beautiful homes (particularly the kitchens) and space to be themselves. There’s also usually a great family dynamic and a white picket fence. Think Father of The Bride, which is also hers. So, a Nancy Meyers day is one of wholesome family time and a bit of quiet luxury. On this day, you will join her at the flower markets and the butcher, and help her cook the epic feast you’re hosting together for the whole family. You’ll clean up afterwards and then curl up and watch her favourite Meyers film. It’s Complicated is a good one, or go old-school with Baby Boom. Do bring Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses Pinot Noir to this day. It’s a Mediterranean-style red in a truly beautiful bottle that a Meyers mum will deeply appreciate.

Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses Pinot Noir with food

Click image to shop

James Squire Ginger Beer Raspberry Sour Cans with food

Click image to shop

5. The brief: Games night

As a family, you try to eliminate opportunities of competition… because Mum is cut-throat. But on her special day, we play. She can blow off steam, let her competitive flag fly and smack-talk everyone over the Monopoly board. It’s only once a year, you can talk to your therapist about it later. Get everyone on board, set the agenda for the games that will be played and in what order. Throw in some crowd pleasers, like Cranium, something a bit silly, like Celebrity Heads, and Mum’s classic favourite, be it Scrabble, Rummy, or, sigh, Trivial Pursuit. Make sure you take care of dinner and the game snack situation. Arancini balls, sliders, pretzels, pickles, anything that will fit the vibe. Then, add sour cans. Specifically, James Squire Ginger Beer Raspberry Sour Cans. Something between ginger beer and creaming soda, but alcoholic, it makes for very fun, scrumptious drinking. Each can is one standard drink, which makes things easy, and it’s limited edition, which will appeal to Mum’s ambitious nature.