Candy and flowers can always be your standby gifts on Mother’s Day, but if you really want to show Mom you care, these options will surely inspire her creative spirit.
The best part—these activities can be done alone, with friends, or as potential family bonding experiences, too.
Flower Arrangement Workshops
This Saturday, May 12, head over to The Peninsula Hotel for a flower arrangement workshop with flower experts Flowers of the World. For $165, you get to keep your special arrangement as well as enjoy The Peninsula’s legendary Afternoon Tea, complete with a glass of Champagne.
You are also entered to win a gift card from Flowers of the World or a 60-minute Holistic Massage with lunch on the Sun Terrace from The Peninsula Spa. For details call 212-903-3923, visit www.flowersoftheworld.com or email diningpny@peninsula.com to make reservations.
Need some R & R? Try out the Mother’s Day Spa Packages at The Peninsula Spa for some pampering at considerably discounted prices in honor of the day.
In addition, Flowers of the World offers year-round workshops in flower arranging, a lovely way to spend time with Mom or on your own while delighting the senses.
Gift cards are available upon request. Not from New York City? Check out local florists for classes.
Plant a Garden
The act of planting together and watching a garden grow can be extremely rewarding and exciting for moms and their children. Plant a Gourmet Herb Garden as seen on Proflowers.com and you will receive all you need to make your garden grow. Then when the fruits of your labor begin to sprout, you can use the herbs to make finely flavored dishes to savor—together.
Don’t have a green thumb? The website GourmetSpot (www.gourmetspot.com/herbfeature.htm) has easy-to-follow advice about what each herb needs to thrive.
Scrapbooking
Are you a collector of miscellaneous items, hoard loose photos, and delight in random buttons, materials, or paper scraps in all colors and shades? Then scrapbooking may suit your Mother’s Day plans. It can make for an entertaining, memory-filled activity that you can do with your mom, children, or alone. And scrapbooking is a wonderful way to reduce and reuse waste by upcycling items that would end up in the trash.
Ecojot (www.ecojot.com) makes eco-friendly scrapbooks using paper made from 100% post-consumer waste—no trees cut down. And the adorable website www.acherryontop.com gives useful suggestions and guidance to prompt creative juices.
Glassworks
For another fun and creative activity, head over to Morristown, N.J., and visit Glassworks.
Walk in during public hours or arrange a private Moms’ Night Out or Family Night and start designing your very own fused glass project. After receiving some basic working instructions, the time is quiet and therapeutic, according to the website.
On Tuesday, May 8, Glassworks will be running a workshop on how to create fused-glass pocket vases to hang on the wall and fill with flowers.
There is a $25 instructor fee and $15 materials fee. Registration is required.
In addition, Glassworks offers many projects that would make wonderful Mother’s Day gifts, including picture frames, jewelry, and candy dishes. Items take at least two or three days to be ready (with no timing guarantees), so if you want that special gift to be ready for the 13th, you need to come earlier in the week.
If you don’t quite make it in time, gift certificates allow Mom to join in the fun, or you could take a photo of the project that’s on its way.
You will walk away with your unique project in your choice of different finishes and shapes. Find Glassworks at www.umakeglass.com or call 973-656-0800.
For the Uber-Active Mom
Ready for an adventure in the park? Take an Elliptigo for a spin! This machine is the cross between an elliptical trainer and a bicycle and gives a full-body workout. You really have to see it and try it to believe it. Contact a local Elliptigo owner to take you for a trial run: www.elliptigo.com.
Who knows? Mom may love it so much that she will join the thousands of others who already own one.
Are you inspired by “So You Think You Can Dance” or “Dancing with the Stars”? Take your mom dancing.
Check out www.broadwaydancecenter.com located in New York City or Fred Astairedance classes around the nation and take her for an exciting spin around the dance floor.
These suggestions are sure to awaken Mom’s creative and fun spirit on Mother’s Day.
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