While it's important for your child to show mum how much they love and appreciate her on Mother's Day, that reminder doesn't have to break the bank.
And it doesnât mean it canât be special.
Here are a few suggestions from us to help you and your family have a great Mother's Day this year. These presents and activities also great for your childâs development too.
You may not have time for them all, but even one or two can be a great bonding opportunity for families as well as a way of making Mumâs day.
And of course, these fun activities don't just have to be for Mum on Motherâs Day. You could easily make any of these things for Grandma, Auntie, or any special person in your childâs life.
1. Make a Motherâs Day card
Letâs get in early with the essentials â youâre going to want the card ready and waiting for Sunday.
Time to get the paper, pencils and crayons out with your little one.
Encourage your child to draw something special for Mum and talk to them about what theyâre drawing.
Let them take the lead and name the things theyâre drawing. If theyâre able to say the names themselves, try and extend their sentences: âYes thatâs a rabbit, a bouncy rabbit â Mummy likes rabbitsâ.
If you have different craft materials like felt, cotton wool balls or shiny paper, encourage your child to feel the different textures and use words for how they look and feel, like âsparklyâ, âsoftâ or âfluffyâ.
2. Plan a Motherâs Day treasure hunt
Help your child to think of some things you could hide around the house for Mum on Sunday and where the best hiding places might be.
Some ideas of what you could hide include:
- Notes for Mum â these could be things your child would like to thank Mum for â you could think these up together and talk about all the things Mum does
- Pictures your child has drawn
- Mumâs favourite treats
Use simple location words like âinâ, âonâ and âunderâ to talk about the hiding places, then your child could give Mum clues on the day â âlook under a bookâ, âlook in your shoesâ.
3. Make a crafty present
You donât have to spend money to impress Mum, chances are sheâll love something your little one has made for her.
You could try making a scrapbook with family pictures, giving you plenty of chance to chat about all the days out youâve had in the past.
Or you could have a go at some finger painting.
You could even try making a Mummy out of scrap materials!
With older kids, you could try and channel your inner Wordsworth and write a poem together for Mum. They could help you think of rhyming words to include. Donât worry if they use nonsense words in their poems, playing with words and sounds will still help their word learning and make Mum smile.
4. Get thinking about breakfast for the big day
Nothing says pamper day more than breakfast in bed â and to help with this, Childrenâs Dietitian Angharad Banner has come up with a few ideas for breakfast foods you can make together with your little one.
Youâll want to make sure youâve got all the ingredients, so now might be the time to get shopping.
Talk about their favourite foods, and Mumâs favourite foods, to help choose what to make, then talk about the bits youâre going to need. If you have some of these ingredients in already, maybe they could feel and taste them? Talk to them about the different flavours.
Once youâve brought everything home, talk through all the things in your shopping bag, naming them and deciding where to put them.
5. Make a nature collection for Mum
Spring is just about upon us, so thereâs plenty of new life for your child to experience outside, whether itâs in the local woodland, the park or even in your own garden or neighbourhood. Why not make a collection of things to show Mum?
- Take a small bag or envelope with you to collect things that you see - it might be a leaf, a flower from your garden, a colourful stone or anything you find as you are going along.
- Name the items as you find them - encourage your child to put them into the bag.
- Help your child feel the textures of the items and describe them , for example âwow, thatâs a smooth stoneâ or âthat daisy is really pretty!â.
6. Bake with love
Our friends over at ±«Óătv Food have some great suggestions for some child-friendly baking projects if you have time.
After all, special days call for a treat or two!
Whilst youâre baking, talk about all the actions youâre doing together: pouring, stirring, sprinklingâŠ
Why not sing a song together while youâre at it?
7. Enjoy the day!
Disconnect from social media and go easy on the telly. Enjoy that breakfast and let your little one talk to Mum about all the presents theyâve made for her. Set Mum going on that treasure hunt when sheâs up and ready.
In the afternoon, there might be time for a walk together or a video call with grandma over a cup of tea and whatever you may have baked.
You may all be at home together, but hopefully with a few ideas thereâs every chance to make memories of Motherâs Day this year, just like any other.
We understand that for some children Motherâs Day can be a tough time of year, particularly those that have lost their mum. and have ideas and advice that may help support bereaved children on Motherâs Day.