How Moms Are Celebrating Mother’s Day at Home This Year

updated May 8, 2020
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Parents should be appreciated at all times, but even more so in quarantine. When you’re too busy doling out snacks every five minutes, or loading the dishwasher, or managing your kids’ Zoom activities while trying to get just a little of your own work done, it’s hard to take time for even a bath or a sheet mask.

Don’t get me wrong, sheltering in place with my family is the best, it’s a blessing, it’s a privilege—but damn is it a lot of work. So, when it comes time to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, my wishes are simple. I don’t want to do anything. Any by anything, I specifically mean dishes. I’d like to sleep past 8 a.m. (my one-year-old is ready to roll at 6:30 a.m. every day and has no consideration for a hangover). If my husband is reading this, ordering me the Meredith Kahn Infinity Oval Link necklace would be a smart move.

But really, a celebration wouldn’t be complete without seeing my own mom. We’re lucky enough to live a quick 20-minute drive from each other, so I’d love to take a socially distant walk together (in our masks, of course). To show my appreciation for her, I plan on putting together a box of some of goodies I know she loves: granola my 6-year-old and I will bake the night before, a batch of her favorite creamy tahini dressing, and dreamy, pale peach ranunculus from Fox Fodder Farm (the florist is providing pick up and deliveries of blooms grown at regional farms). Lastly, because she is the best, I’m also ordering her James Perse sweatpants. Everyone needs some exciting loungewear right now! 

If you’re still stuck on how to honor the maternal figure in your life this year, take cues from these five women who shared their plans for the special day.

Bring on the zen

For Teresa Cheng, an ideal morning starts with a big yoga session. “That’s my church!” says the mother of twin eight-year-old boys. It’s no surprise than that the L.A. resident has been hinting at a new Liforme yoga mat for her gift.

Next on the agenda is FaceTiming with her mom and sister who live across the country in New York as well as her five aunts and mother-in-law. “Staying connected with loved ones during this pandemic is just as important as staying at home,” says Cheng. “Last week, we sent them photo gifts from Artifact Uprising with sweet pictures of the twins.”

To round out the day, Cheng would love some pool time with her husband and boys followed by some delicious sushi. “Takeout from SugarFish!” she adds. “While I enjoy cooking tremendously, isn’t Mother’s Day about giving us a day off?”

Credit: Martí Sans/Stocksy

Recreate an at-home spa experience

“The day is going to start with a spa-like experience: slathering my face in an Origins charcoal mask; my body in Herbivore Coco Rose body polish and Garden of Life lavender essential oil; and my hair in a Shea Moisture hair mask,” says Régine Labossière. “I’m going to light a candle, sip coffee slowly, and flip through a magazine while my husband takes care of our 15-month-old toddler downstairs.”

Once me-time is done, the New Jersey resident is planning video chats with her mom and mother-in-law. Then it’s time to bust out their new pasta maker. “I hope we can make pasta together from scratch for an extra special homemade meal of cacio e pepe with white wine, followed by a really great cocktail, probably an Aviation.” 

Credit: Lauren Volo

Deliver the comforts of home (and learn something new) 

This Mother’s Day, Maria Adamo is focusing on her mom. “My mom and dad have been sheltering with us in Grafton, Massachusetts, for the past eight weeks, as they live in the epicenter of the pandemic in the Bronx,” she says. “Fortunately we had the opportunity to get them here right away where they could stay at home with me and my family—my husband and three young kids.” 

But it isn’t all baking cookies and family game nights (though there’s that, too). With their time together the mother and daughter duo started an inspiring initiative to make ear savers for hospital workers, helping to alleviate pain behind their ears from wearing masks and PPE all day. “My mom is the real talent sewing together the ear savers, while I work on soliciting donations and sourcing materials which also include disinfectant/sanitizers and PPE to send to hospitals back home in the Bronx, where there is a dire need for them,” explains Adamo. “On top of that, my mom has been so helpful—she cooks, cleans, helps watch my three kids (ages 6, 5, and 3)—while also making anywhere from 30-100 headbands a day. She is literally the kindest, cutest, pint-size person I know, and everyone thinks of her as their sweet little Asian grandma.”

To make this Mother’s day special for her mom, Adamo is getting a hold of a lot of her mom’s favorite comforts from home. “She misses her kitchen, trips to the Asian market, specific foods she can only find in Chinatown, and things like that. So my siblings and I have ordered Vietnamese food and supplies from a number of different places to bring a little bit of home here to her.”

The sweet gesture doesn’t stop there. “My mother, a 60-year old New Yorker through and through, also does not know how to drive,” says Adamo. “She is 4’9″ so I don’t even think she can fit into the driver’s seat of a car. But after a nice Vietnamese meal, I plan on surprising her with a trip to an empty parking lot, propping up the driver’s seat with pillows, and teaching her to drive. She will make me take a thousand pictures and freak out the entire time, so the inevitable fender bender will be worth it.”

As for her own celebration, what the mom of three wants most is to sleep in and do her own thing. “I know it sounds sad but we’ve been sheltering in place for eight weeks and there are eight people under my roof right now so I need some solo time. I will probably just sit in my car, eat a Big Mac, and listen to Mariah Carey and then come home after an hour or two, but that would make me really happy. I think every mom for Mother’s Day, especially this Mother’s Day, just doesn’t want to mom for the day.” 

To donate to Maria and her mom’s PPE initiative, head to their GoFundMe page.

Get crafty

On her first Mother’s Day as a mom, Catherine Dash is indulging in some creativity. 

“I’d like to finally find some time to partake in all of the fun tutorials my creative design friends have been putting out into the world, like Rebecca Atwood’s potato printing how-to and Rachel Cope of Calico Wallpaper’s Sumimagashi demonstration,” she says. To make the process even more fun, the San Francisco resident is expecting a wine delivery from Scribe. “So, if all goes as planned, I’ll be enjoying that simultaneously.”

As for the other mamas in her life: “I’m making some easy-to-ship preserved flower arrangements for my mom and mother-in-law, who both live across the country, and I’m sending my friends with kids these adorable painted wooden bead jewelry kits from Oh Canary. Not only will they keep their kids busy for a bit (ie: the gift of free time!), but the end product is a super-sweet gift for mom.”

Credit: Kim Lucian/Stocksy

Spread the love (flowers are always appreciated)

An avid runner, Kathleen Hyppolite normally runs 10-12 miles early Sunday mornings, venturing from Fort Greene, Brooklyn to Prospect Park. “I am still debating whether to move my run to Saturday so that I can sleep in on Mother’s Day—at least as much as my 4-year-old son will allow anyway,” she says.

If not for COVID-19, the onetime floral designer would be prepping for her ninth annual Mother’s Day pop-up. “I still ordered flowers (peonies, ranunculus, tulips and other spring faves) from one of my wholesalers to make bouquets for family and dear friends. My small act of kindness is not only for the mamas in my life, but also for me since it brings me so much joy,” she says. The main recipient of her blooms, of course, is her mom. “I’ll be delivering some flowers and treats to mommy and if at all possible, maybe we’ll take a socially distant stroll through Pratt’s sculpture garden together,” says the Brooklyn native.

Her own family celebration is pretty low-key. “I just want cuddles and kisses from my sweet and amazing son, who made me his mommy,” she says. “Like most parents, we’re spending a lot of time together and while some of it has been frustrating and angst-ridden, it’s also the incredible silver lining of this whole thing. The longest shortest time and all that.”

How are you celebrating this year?