5 ways to celebrate Mother's Day apart

Photo by: Erik in Puerto Rico

The recent weeks have presented countless new challenges, but as we have seen, they’ve also presented countless new ways to lift spirits and maintain our human bonds. And Mother’s Day, just around the corner, is another opportunity to celebrate our resiliency and connections, this time all focused on Mom!  

True, many of us will be spending Mom’s special day physically apart from her. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still spoil her, let her know how dearly she’s loved, and even spend some quality time with her. With a little creativity we can show Mom that no amount of social distancing will stop us from celebrating her this Mother’s Day.

Here are just five ideas of how to do that!

Love delivered to the door

The old saying goes that the way to the heart is through the stomach. Moms know this better than most, having made countless meals and cooked feasts of all sizes for family celebrations. Mother’s Day has traditionally been a time to return the favor to her, usually in the form of a Sunday brunch trimmed with flowers. This year, while we may not be able to sit down to a meal with Mom, it doesn’t mean we can’t still treat her to her favorite foods and drinks.

Food delivery companies like Doordash and Grubhub, even Uber, have stepped up their game during this challenging time. Likewise, local restaurants around the country have been getting very creative, making delicious dishes to-go while also finding ways to deliver whole experiences to their customers. Does Mom have a favorite restaurant? See what they’re offering this Mother’s Day and have it delivered to her. Does she love a good cocktail or pitcher of margaritas? Restaurants are also stirring up cocktails and drinks for takeaway. Or perhaps you’ve seen some special experience Mom might love, like a full English tea or a bouquet  made of cookies? Get it ordered and deliver Mom a Mother’s Day meal sure to warm her heart.  

Time spent together

We mentioned that we’re unable to all gather around the table this year for Mother’s Day, but that’s not entirely true, is it? As many of us have learned during these days of isolation and social distancing, just because we’re apart doesn’t mean we can’t spend quality time together. Thanks to the wonders of technology we’re still able to eat meals together, toast Happy Hours, throw birthday parties, and yes, celebrate Mother’s Day too! 

If you haven’t already, this is the perfect time to introduce Mom to the power of Zoom or FaceTime. If you have a large family, with a little planning (and given that everyone’s schedules are certainly more open!), you can arrange to surprise Mom with a family gathering on Mother’s Day. Maybe everyone sat down to that fancy brunch, just at their separate tables. And even if you’re FaceTiming your mother every day, we know that most moms will never pass up another opportunity to see their childrens’ faces. 

Photo by: Steve in Maui

Photographs she’ll love

Speaking of seeing her children’s faces, Mom is a huge fan of photographs. She knows the power they have to connect us, especially when we’re apart. And because she treasures them no matter how old you get, they make the perfect gift and one we can personally help with. If you haven’t yet read our post on the magical power of photographs, definitely do! Then consider how you might use some of this magic in your celebration of Mom this Mother’s Day.

Knowing how much Mom loves photos of you, one option is to take advantage of the virtual photo shoots we’re offering right now. There’s still time to get a session in and have the pictures delivered to Mom’s email address by Mother’s Day! Or give her a gift card for one of our in-person photo shoot packages for when the time is right. Right now they have no expiration date and can be used anywhere in the world where we have local photographers, which is over 500 destinations! 

Timely gifts and experiences

Thanks to all the warehouse workers and truck drivers still out there getting things done, we’re able to have almost anything delivered to Mom’s door this Mother’s Day. The trick is to really identify what she wants and needs right now. Like all of us, she’s stuck at home too. So our goal is to brighten her house and her days. Thankfully, like local restaurants, many businesses have been equally creative, finding ways to deliver their services even while their doors are physically closed. Consider one of these experiences for Mom: a virtual wine-tasting session, a virtual yoga class, a virtual painting class, or one of our virtual photo shoots! 

Another idea is to make a gift! During this pandemic we’ve had the chance to hearken back to the experiences of earlier days and previous generations. Remember when Mother’s Day meant making Mom something special at school and bringing it home? Well, our wonderful postal service is still going strong too, and Mom still loves homemade gifts. (I’m thinking of the little owl I recently cross-stitched and gave my own mom!) So get creative, find some things around the house, maybe dig out some old snapshots (or print one of the amazing shots from your own virtual photo shoot), and make Mom the best Mother’s Day card ever. 

Photo by: Eliana in Tokyo

Making plans for the future

Nothing shouts out resiliency and hope during a lockdown than the act of planning a trip. It helps us look forward to the day we’ll all be able to leave our homes and communities and explore the world together again. Mom is looking forward to this as much as anyone! 

So use this Mother’s Day as an opportunity to plan a trip with Mom. Find out her dream destination, conspire with siblings and partners, and put together a future itinerary that will give not just Mom, but all of you, something to look forward to even after Mother’s Day has come and gone! And while you may not be able to book airline tickets and hotel reservations quite yet, you can definitely book one of our discounted photo shoot packages to capture those special moments of being out in the world with mom, well and together again.

Wherever this Mother’s Day finds you and your mom and however you celebrate her, we at Shoot My Travel are wishing all the mothers around the world a safe and happy day!