Let your mum know you’re thinking of her with these alternative gifts.
he information below is correct at the time of publication. Advice may change so stay abreast with guidance.
It’s a sad blow that so many Mother’s Day plans are being cancelled but governmental guidelines stress that it’s a necessary precaution given the coronavirus pandemic.
Current advice recommends limiting social interaction where possible and self-isolating in cases. This obviously means no Mother’s Day gifts online roast or spending quality time together with your mum this weekend while sharing gifts.
Fear not—you can still show your mum just how much you love her in other ways. It’s just time to get creative and think outside the box a little. Keep reading for seventeen, albeit slightly alternative, ideas and ways to show your mum you love her without seeing her this weekend.
Alternative Mother's Day presents: Try send something in the post
While you may have to act fast on this one, there are still many websites offering midnight gifts delivery online straight to your mum’s front door, so long as you order by midnight on Wednesday, 18 March.
1.Pick a letterbox package
Moonpig has a whole host of packages on offer to celebrate Mother’s Day, ranging from chocolate bundles, to retro sweet parcels, to gin and tonic boxes. Plus, if you hadn’t already guessed from the name, they’re delivered in neat, letterbox sized cardboard boxes, so they’re guaranteed to fit through the letterbox. No hand-to-hand delivery, here.
2. Deliver some flowers
You’re kind of spoilt for choice for wonderful fresh flower delivery services in the UK. There’s almost too many, what with Interflora, Haute, Prestige, M&S and more (read our ranking of the best flower delivery services, here). While it’s worth giving a thought to supporting local businesses in this unstable time, we’d assume any standard flower delivery will involve face-to-face delivery contact, unless they’ve updated their delivery policy in recent weeks.
Bloom & Wild, on the other hand, uses a similar delivery style to Moonpig in that they pop your blooms through your postbox; may sound, well, unconventional, but trust us when we say B&W ensure every bunch is fresh as you’d like and without any signs of being squashed.
3. Order a gingerbread lady with a difference
On the letterbox theme, once again, if you’ve never heard of Biscuiteers, you’ve been missing out. Launched in 2007 by a husband and wife duo who wanted to offer more exciting home presents than flowers, Harriet and Stevie set about designing collections of beautifully iced biscuits and, in turn, invented a totally new kind of gifting.
They’re really neat, hand-iced by some of London’s best bakers, and can be personalised, so are sure to make your mum smile, sweet tooth or not. There’s a Super Mum gingerbread woman, Super Nan, Queen Gingy… Need we say more?
4. Personalise a food-filled Fortnum & Mason hamper
VIP, according to F&M, stands for “Very Important Parent”, if you didn’t know. This luxurious hamper is packed to the brim with nibbles, treats and delectable tipples. Plus, it’s fully personalised, with a bottle of Blanc de Blancs Champagne labelled with whatever message you should choose. And the favourite child award goes too…
How much? £125 for the personalised hamper, or £100 without personalisation.
How? Order online here
How? Order online here
5. Stock the store cupboards and give the gift of recipes
Appropriate for the current climate: why not buy your mother the new Melissa Hemsley cookbook, so she can take inspiration for simple at-home meals? Plus, fun fact; if you buy online at Belazu, you can purchase the book plus a tasty selection of their store cupboard ingredients, the ideal essentials for making tasty pantry meals in the upcoming months. Your mum will receive their finest tahini, olive oil, apple vinegar and smoked sweet paprika, all of which feature in the recipes, in a Belazu tote bag. Last order date for guaranteed delivery is midnight on Wednesday 18th March.
How much? £45 for cookbook and four Belazu ingredients.
How? Order online at Belazu for the book and ingredients, belazu.com, or head to amazon.co.uk to buy the book and scroll other cookbooks on offer.
How? Order online at Belazu for the book and ingredients, belazu.com, or head to amazon.co.uk to buy the book and scroll other cookbooks on offer.
6. Send a pamper package in place of a spa day or nail appointment
Ok, so you may have had to scupper your spa plans. Don’t let that result in no pampering for your mum whatsoever. Instead, deliver the pampering to her—literally. John Lewis has heaps of lovely goodies on their website and a whole section dedicated to helping you find the right bits for your mum. From Neal’s Yard bubble bath, to Liz Earle facial sets, to Cowshed body care sets, there’s something for everyone.
7. Give the gift of a project
Ever heard of Makebox+Co? It’s a recently launched box service which delivers a new craft project to your (or your recipient’s) door each month. March's box is an English Meadow embroidered clock, and uses simple embroidery techniques to decorate a working timepiece, thanks to the addition of the clock mechanism.
Featuring a spring meadow of apple and cherry blossom, forget-me-nots, wild roses and peonies, the package promises to teach your mum everything she’d need to know to embroider to perfection—no experience required. A perfect productive use of a weekend, if she’ll have time spare on her hands in coming months.
Try spend time together virtually
Can't be together in person? Fear not—spend time together online. Guaranteed to make you smile.
8. Host a Skype dinner party
So, you can’t get together to host the dinner party you had lined up. Why not have a virtual lunch, instead, suggests Josie Buck, food and eating psychology coach and author of The Mindful Cook? “I’ll be sharing a link to either Zoom or Skype – whichever will be easiest for me to help them set my parents up on their laptop given they are not that tech savvy – and enjoy lunch with them virtually.”
She even suggests going so far as to email or gifts your mum your Mother’s Day recipe ahead of time and making the same for yourself, making sure it uses ingredients you know your Mum will have in the house so you are all eating the same meal. That way, you can spend the same amount of time together, eating and enjoying the same food just over call, rather than in person. Virtual dining? Sorted.
How much? Free
How? As above, work out the best way to call your parents, be that FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype or Zoom, and arrange a suitable time. If you'd like to cook together, work out a tasty recipe
How? As above, work out the best way to call your parents, be that FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype or Zoom, and arrange a suitable time. If you'd like to cook together, work out a tasty recipe
Try buy her a virtual gift
Because, thanks to the wonderful world of the Internet, you can still enjoy a whole host of experiences online, too.
9. Invest in an at home style consultation
Before you scratch your head at this one, picture this: personal shopping, but from the comfort of your own home, with clothes you already own (reduce, reuse, recycle and all that) and without a pushy sales rep trying to get you to buy 101 blouses you likely don’t need.
Award-winning stylist Susie Hasler is offering online styling sessions for Mother’s Day gifts online, where she calls your mother up and, having been guided through her wardrobe, delivers her with an example capsule wardrobe guide and advice on how to put outfits together with personal guidance on colour analysis and dressing for their personal body shape. Certain packages even include makeup suggestions, wardrobe must-haves and advice on which jeans best suit their shape.
10. Book a virtual cookery lesson with one of the UK’s most famous chefs
Did you know there’s a whole bunch of Gordon Ramsay guided cookery classes available for you to buy as a gift (or for yourself) online? Let the chef and Hell’s Kitchen star take you on a tour of his kitchen, plus guide you through a series of exclusive lessons. You’ll start with learning how to use a knife and advance to more specific skill sets, with how to make entire dishes, like beef wellington, thrown in the mix.
If you’re on a budget, you could always point her in the direction of Queer Eye’s Antoni latest IG TV series, where he’ll be live streaming cookery lessons for you to cook along too.
How much? £85 a class, or you can pay an annual fee if you’d rather it be an ongoing gift for your Mum to enjoy.
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