The late rooms sites are offering a night or weekend away. I'd check with Mum if she'd like a meal out or a night or weekend away before booking one.
Weekends Away - Paris
I met somebody who told me he'd arranged a surprise weekend in Paris but kept it secret, planning to surprise her on Saturday morning. His girlfriend thought he'd done nothing for her birthday so she accepted an offer to take the train up north to see her sister and disappeared on Friday!
So make it clear that certain times are blocked out. Just keep the destination a surprise.
If you need to depart in a hurry and want the packing done, tell Mum whether it's warm or cold, city or countryside. Another option for surprises is the quite lunch or dinner. You could have a member of the family from another city waiting at the restaurant to join you. The more the merrier.
Alternatively or in addition, after eating out, return home to a big party. Or a member of the family or a close friend who has flown in from overseas.
If travelling overseas or abroad, make sure mother has a passport with more than 6 months left on it, same for you. Some countries won't let you in with a passport which is expiring within less than six months or a year.
Have a happy day.
Holiday Wish List
By the way, why not make a public wish list of places you'd love to visit. Then family can group together merging funds, or spot a special offer and whisk you away to somewhere you actually want to visit.
I'm happy to go anywhere I haven't been before, and anywhere I have been to before - to see if it has changed.
Still on my unvisited wish list: Iceland; Estonia, Ukraine - Lemberg and Odessa - any part that's in peacetime at the time of travel, Latvia, Lithuania.
Dinner a deux
Offers are flooding into my email inbox. Senders range from gourmet Galvin for family friendly Z i z z i (one z then two). The latter offers a mimosa and a competition.
Group Dinners
To take advantage os special offers requiring a minimum booking of a table of four, combine with a next door neighbour's family, especially if their family also includes a mother (grandmothers and aunties may also be mothers with children overseas or in another city). Make sure all the mothers are given cards or gifts.
Google Searches
Google searches for you:
Late rooms
Luxury for less
Mother's day (add your home location)
Mother's day (add mother's chosen day out or holiday location)
Your local supermarket offers
Chocolate, champagne,
Your mother's basket on eBay and Amazon.
Mother's Day Cards
Short of a card on the day, or can't afford one, at the shocking prices? Look in Poundland and cheap shops. Find an old family photo, mount it in a pice of card making four diagonal slits to hold the photo corners. Anything will do, for example, a baby photo of the children, an only child being born, and 'thanks for 35 happy years'.
DIY Mothers Day Cards
Want to do better next year? Through the year note down all the things mother does and write a list of thanks on next year's card, or print a certificate:
Thanks to the world's best Mum, for
Babysitting
Baking Cakes
Being a passenger
Cooking Sunday lunch
Cleaning
DIY
Doing the accounts
Driving us to school
Flower Arranging
Gardening
Helping with the mortgage
Kisses and cuddles
Sewing on buttons
Shopping
Taking in Parcels
Teaching us ...
Tidying up
Visiting us in hospital
Washing
None of the above - teaching us to be self-reliant.
Positive Negatives (a name I just invented)
You could make a joke tick list crossing off things she doesn't do such as drinking, gambling and taking drugs.
If you don't have a mother but you have a stepmother or friend or neighbour who is like a mother you could do something similar.
Recycling
Save this years card for next year. If your mother likes recycling, recycle one year's card for the next, but add a new page for each year.
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