(And what not to do)
Mother's Day is this weekend and if your anything like me, you're likely to forgot until the Friday before and then you scramble to make plans either because your kids are too young or too self-focused to remember themselves. So, this blog is serving one of two purposes, one an early reminder so you can keep yourself out of trouble or help you come up with a last minute plan.
First thing, don't take Mom to brunch at IHOP. I love IHOP and their food is great, but that's the problem: EVERYBODY loves IHOP. It's always busy/crowded on a Sunday, especially after church, but its 10 times worse on Mother's Day. We tried that once and it was like an hour and a half wait. For IHOP. And IHOP is pretty good at speedy service. It was as bad as trying to have brunch at Cracker Barrel.
 |
 |
Second thing, don't buy a card, have your kids make one. The kid-made card will mean a lot more to mom and you can save yourself the five plus dollars those cards cost. And it'll fit into the drawer of our A053A case (see below).
Thirdly, if you get her flowers from the supermarket or Walmart or somewhere that's not a florist, you need a display case for them not a vase. If your mom/wife is anything like my wife, you don't need anymore vases.
[She complained one time that she didn't have enough room for her pots and pans. Turns out she had an ENTIRE KITCHEN CABINET filled with vases {that's pronounced vah-ses not vay-ses}; she had over twenty of them in that cabinet. She said she was keeping for the day when she would have fresh flowers in every room of her house. I told her that would be her second husband's job because she was lucky to get flowers from me three times in a year. That was probably the closest I ever got to getting divorced]
You need to get a display case. That's were our A053A case comes in. It's a nice way to display the flowers with the top portion water tight and then you have the drawer below where you can put candy, strawberries, jewelry, artwork by her kids, or a Mother's Day card. And it's reusable all year long for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Experience has taught me that what mothers want most on Mother's Day is time with the family/kids so I'm going to make a slightly unusual suggestion. If the weather is even remotely nice, take mom to the amusement park. It sounds strange on the surface but think it through. Nobody is at the amusement park because they're all waiting to be seated at IHOP or Olive Garden, etc.; most moms like the rides as much as the kids do; it's quality fun time for the whole family; and the you don't have to get the kids dressed in fancy clothes that they're going to slop food all over anyways. And you can do this at the last minute, but it can still look like you planned it out in advance. And you can treat her to funnel cakes and/or cotton candy! With all the walking you'll be doing around the park, she can even work off those extra calories.
If mom isn't an amusement park kind of gal, take her out to the movies. The trick is to let HER pick the movie. Odds are she is NOT going to want to go to see John Wick 3.
[A good Keanu Reeves movie for Mother's Day is A Walk in the Clouds. A nice romance movie, rated PG-13, so there's nothing overly explicit. Probably a better choice than Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure(rated PG), although I think that movie is under-appreciated and Mom might like it if she's looking for a comedy. The best of his action movies for Mother's Day would be Speed, but we're now getting into the R-rated movie category]
Or take her someplace she has been wanting to visit, but you haven't had a chance to get to yet. Take her to the theater to see a play or to a baseball game (minor league games can be great for this!). Or stay at home and play games while dad cooks a nice dinner out on the grill.
