A Stay-at-Home Mother’s Day Celebration

Chances are, your mother could use some extra love this Mother’s Day! Show how much you appreciate her with a Mother’s Day extravaganza, complete with homemade gifts and breakfast in bed. Here are some Mother’s Day ideas to get you started!

Gifts She Can Use

Painted Flower Pot

Materials:

• Terracotta Pot
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Brushes
• Sealer

This one’s easy: Paint the terracotta pot, and let dry. When completely dry, use a clear, acrylic spray sealer to seal the pot. Spray lightly but thoroughly both inside and out. Once the first coat has dried, add a second coat.

Take this to the next level by filling the pot with soil and planting a flower seed! You and your mother can watch the seed’s progress over the coming weeks.

Sugar Scrub

Materials:

• ½ c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 5-7 drops of essential oil (Rosemary, Lemon, Peppermint or Lavender would all work well)

Mix sugar and oil together. Add essential oils and stir to distribute evenly. Place your finished scrub in a mason jar or other sealed glass container. Decorate with a ribbon and label.

Gifts from the Heart

Egg Carton Flower Bouquet

Materials:

• Recycled Egg Carton (Not Styrofoam)
• Washable Tempera Paint
• Buttons
• Green Pipe Cleaners or Popsicle Sticks*
• Glue

1. Cut the bottom of your egg carton into individual egg cups. Paint each egg cup a bright, floral color.
2. When the paint has dried, add the stem. If using a pipe cleaner, poke a hole in the back of each “flower,” and thread the pipe cleaner through, wrapping the end into a ball so it can’t slip back through. If using a popsicle stick, simply glue it to the back of each flower.
3. Glue a button into the center of each flower.
4. Next, find a “vase” to put them in. One option would be to glue painted popsicle sticks around the outside of a tin can or other vase-like object. Wrap a ribbon around the outside of your vase to finish it off!

*We recommend using pipe cleaners over popsicle sticks. The popsicle sticks we used were so short, it was difficult to find a vase that fit. As you can see from the photo, we had to improvise!

You’re Tea-Riffic! Mother’s Day Card

Materials:

• Recycled Egg Carton (Not Styrofoam)
• Washable Tempera Paint
• Construction Paper
• Cardstock
• Markers
• Glue
• A Bag of Mom’s Favorite Tea!

1. Cut the bottom of your egg carton into individual egg cups. You’ll only need one per card, and the corner cups seem to work best. Then, cut the individual egg cups in half so that when you lay it against the piece of paper, it looks like a teacup cut in half.
2. Paint your egg cups, then let them dry.
3. While they are drying, cut your construction paper into a 5 ½ by 4” rectangle. Cut your cardstock into a slightly larger rectangle, about 6 ½ by 5”. Glue the construction paper onto the cardstock. Decorate as desired, leaving a space in the middle for your teacup.
4. When the egg cup is dry, glue it into the center of your card. Draw a matching handle, turning it into a teacup. Stick a bag of your mother’s favorite tea inside.

Wrapping Up

Now that you have the perfect gift, it’s time to think about presentation. Here are a couple of creative gift-wrap ideas:

1. If wrapping a box, use recycled grocery bags instead of store-bought paper. Make sure the plain side of the bag is facing out. Then, have some fun decorating the bag! Try drawing pictures of you and your mom spending time together. Or, leave it minimalist by finishing it off with a simple ribbon.
2. It’s easy—and fun—to make your own wrapping paper! Lay out a long sheet of butcher paper on the floor. The butcher paper is your canvas! Cover it with a design using either paint or markers. If using paint, make sure you’re doing this over a covered surface. Once the paint is dry, use the butcher paper as you would regular wrapping paper.

Breakfast in Bed

Whatever gift you give to your mother, she’d probably love to have it accompanied by breakfast in bed, the ultimate luxury. Use adult supervision, and don’t leave her a mess to clean up later!

French Toast

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of bread
• 2 Eggs
• 2/3 c. Milk, Half & Half or Cream
• Orange Zest, to taste
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• ¼ tsp. Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. Nutmeg
• Butter
• Syrup

1. In a pie plate, whisk together eggs, milk, zest, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Soak one slice of bread in the mixture, making sure to turn it over so it soaks through both sides.
3. Melt ½ Tbsp. of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Once it’s melted, add your gooey slice of bread to the center and cook until golden-brown. Flip, and cook the other side until done. Repeat, using remaining slices of bread. If you run out of egg mixture but need more toast, simply whip up another batch in whatever proportion you need.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs

Serve your French Toast with a healthy Fruit Kabob. Use raspberries, mandarin orange slices, banana slices, kiwi slices and blueberries to create a rainbow effect. Simply thread each fruit onto a wooden skewer; repeat the rainbow pattern until the skewer is nearly full.

Hard Boiled Egg

Don’t forget the protein! This is how I hard-boil eggs:

Add eggs to the bottom of a small saucepan. Cover the eggs with water; the water should rise about ½ inch above the tops of the eggs. Add a splash of vinegar. Bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and cover. Let rest 15 minutes in covered saucepan. Place a colander in the sink, and empty the eggs into it. Rinse with cold water until cool enough to peel. For even better results, cool the eggs faster by using an ice bath before peeling.

Beverage of Choice

What does your mother like to drink in the morning? Think about how to make it extra-special.

If she likes tea or coffee with cream and sugar, serve it alongside a bowl of sugar cubes and a small pitcher of cream. Does she prefer OJ? Garnish the glass with a sprig of mint (and maybe some champagne!).