Mother’s Day is just around the corner. It’s a special day when we get to recognize Mom’s giving spirit and help her destress a bit. After-all, Mom is the one who bakes cake for your birthday, sends care packages to your college dorm, stands at your side when your heart is broken, embraces your new spouse, cuddles your babies, and cheers for your promotion. Mom is the one you can call anytime, no matter what time - day or night. Mother’s Day is a chance to say, “Mom, I see all you do for us, and I’m grateful. Now, I want to give you the chance to relax for a moment and take a little break.”
This Mother’s Day, take time to think about all the joy that Mom has brought to your life and recognize the stressful moments that she has gone through to make that happen. Celebrate Mom by using these five ideas to help her destress.
- Create an at-home spa day. If you live far away from Mom, an at-home spa treatment is the perfect way to help her unwind. Simply pull together all of the elements for a soothing and revitalizing day in her robe. Package candles, a favorite beverage, skincare essentials and a new book. If Dad or kids are still living at home with her, make arrangements for them to be elsewhere on Mother’s Day. She’ll be soothed and refreshed by the time they return.
- Plan a girl’s night out for her. One of the best ways to destress is through laughter and social interaction. Surprise Mom with a “night” out on the town with her best buddies. Is Mom a wine and dine type? Order an Uber and send the whole crew to a favorite local restaurant. Is she more of a hiker and biker? Pack a picnic lunch and wave farewell. Of course, if there are things at home that add to Mom’s stress, make sure to have a plan for dealing with these too. It’s a great way for her to escape her day-to-day worries.
- Give her a makeover. In earlier years, Mom was probably like many young parents - focused on family; running here, there and everywhere; and barely carving out time to sit still for boxed hair color. It’s just a phase of life. But, those “just get through the day” habits, can leave Mom feeling a little frumpy and not like her best self. Spend a day helping Mom get her groove back: schedule a salon appointment for a new hairstyle, go out shopping together for a killer outfit, revitalize her older-than-necessary looking face with a new skincare routine, and head out on the town together. It’s a memory, a gift and a way for her to get back into the self-care groove after all these years.
- Build some healthy habits together. Let’s be honest, whether you’re a Mom or not, you could probably use the chance to destress a bit too. So make that a goal and tackle reducing stress alongside Mom. Challenge each other to try three new destressing activities for a minimum of three months. Join a yoga class. Buy matching gratitude journals and keep up with them. Try a new skincare routine. Swap breakfast and healthy snack recipes. Take up walking or enter a road race. Practice meditation or embrace prayer. You pick three; she picks three. Then, make a plan to check-in with each other on the progress over the course of the next three months. It’s a good reason to keep in touch, and it will lead you both down a path to less stress.
- Break her out of a rut. Mom can be so focused on others that she forgets about or puts off her own goals and dreams. Of course, that can’t be helped sometimes, but it can be draining and stressful to constantly race to help others without having a bigger picture of who you are or what you want your life to be like. Spend an afternoon helping Mom figure this out and inspire her to bring joy back into her life by creating a vision board. It’s fun to do in person together over a cup of tea. If that doesn’t work out, scour up a batch of old magazines and encourage her to do it with friends. Or, try using a digital tool like Pinterest. Taking a creative approach to looking at life will help Mom let go of the day-to-day grind and start dreaming about hobbies, new life events and goals for the future. It’ll put a little pep back in her step!
There’s no doubt that Mom works hard for you. Offering her the chance to destress this Mother’s Day is the perfect way to let her relax, unwind and drift off into memories of all the happy moments that you’ve spent together. And, if you’re a Mom too - Happy Mother’s Day to you!
