Friday, March 29, 2024
23.6 C
Sydney

How to spend Mother’s Day

Debbie Cramsie
Debbie Cramsie
Debbie Cramsie is a writer and commentator for the Catholic Weekly.

Here are some ways to make the day easy, fun and relaxing that should leave all mums feeling truly loved and appreciated.

If you’re a member of the sandwich generation, torn between devoting time to your children and an ageing mum, you can at times feel torn.

And days that you think should be easy, such as Mother’s Day, can, at times, even be a tad stressful when you’re trying to celebrate it in a way that ticks every generation’s box.

You wouldn’t be the first Mum to have looked around on Mother’s Day and quietly thought isn’t this day supposed to be just a little bit about me when you’re rushing to meet everyone else’s needs?

Heck, should it be celebrated on a Saturday instead of a Sunday when you’re having to prepare for the week ahead doing meal plans, grocery shopping and ironing school shirts?

You might be the daughter of a senior parent, but you’re also a mum and perhaps a grandmother.

As tempting as it is to want to relax with a glass of wine and a good book in your own company, the pressure to be present remains.

So why not embrace it and enjoy the day making family memories that will last a lifetime?

As a special surprise for mums, we are giving away 5 copies of The Lido, a joyous feel-good novel about community, friendship and outdoor swimming. To be in the running to win a copy of the best-selling book by Libby Page see below.

Here are some great ideas on how to spend Mother’s Day in the company of loved-ones.

  1. Go To The Movies

A great way to share family memories is to look at old photographs or home movies that otherwise sit in the bottom of the drawer or in the computer. Ask all members of the family to pull out old photos and films from their childhood and take a trip down memory lane. Laugh, cry and reminisce together about your favourite family moments. The younger children will get a kick out of the styles of clothes you wore.

This Mother’s Day revisit some old favourite movies or family photos. Photo: Javi Indy/Freepik
  1. Find the humour in family life

Start a new tradition by creating a family comic strip. Take a long sheet of paper and draw three or four large squares next to one another, like a newspaper comic strip. Think of an event, celebration, or something funny that happened this past year, and illustrate it. Be sure to include some dialogue, a date, and a title, such as ‘Life with the Smiths’. Save your comic strip and create another one next year and others in years to come. When you’re ready to compile your strips into a book, stack the pages and thread them together.

  1. Make a little music

Nothing brightens a family celebration quite like music. Ask your children and your parents to choose a couple of their favourite songs which can be compiled on a disc. Use it as a go-to for future family get-togethers.

  1. Get pampered.

At some point on Mother’s Day, you will want some time alone or a chance for a little rest and relaxation. Make sure you get what you need—and deserve—by asking for it in advance. You still have time to ask for your “wish list”:

  • An hour alone so I can call a friend
  • A chance to sleep in until 9am
  • A manicure
  • No sibling squabbles for an hour
  • Candles in the bathroom for a soak in the tub
  1. Read a good book

If you want to have some downtime on Mother’s Day, take a blanket outside and leaf through a good book or you could also select one of your own childhood favourites, and read it with your parents and kids. (See our giveaway below).

  1. Plant some flowers.

If you have some extra space in your garden, you can create a real, live Mother’s Day canvas. Encourage your kids and your mum to buy their favourite flower seeds. Have your kids write ‘We love Mum’ in the soil with a stick and drop the seeds into the dirt lines and cover them up. Come Spring, your message will be blooming and you’ll have a Mother’s Day gift that keeps on growing.

  1. Make a “lasting impression”

If you haven’t got a sneaky growth chart in the true Australian sense – initials, date and height pencilled inside a door frame that guests won’t notice – it’s the perfect day to start one. Check in and update again next year and see how much taller everyone has grown.

WIN a copy of The Lido, a novel about the power of friendship and community.

Kate is 26 and lonely in London where she works for a newspaper. Rosemary is 86 and has been lonely since her husband George died.

When Kate is sent to cover a story about the local lido threatened with closure, she and Rosemary form an unlikely bond.

Heart-warming and uplifting, The Lido is set to make quite a splash.

To enter send your name, suburb and email address to [email protected] entries close Wednesday, May 16.

Good luck!

 

- Advertisement -