With Mother's Day on the way this Sunday, Champneys, the original health spa, invited me to take part in their "A Little Something Special" Mother’s Day blogger challenge and come up with some ways of treating mums to the most special of days. It's funny when you're a mum yourself because you are both the mum to be pampered and the daughter wanting to honour their own mum so it seems a bit strange ! Here are my top tips for making mums feel extra special, thinking about what would appeal to me as a mum but also my own mum.
1. Five Minutes Peace !
As the well-loved children's book portrays, most mums of young children would give anything for five minutes peace - in the early days, even going to the toilet without having someone banging on the door hollering "Mum ..." is a luxury ! This one works particularly well if you have a friend or neighbour who is a single mum - offer her a bit of mum-time by taking the kids off her hands for a couple of hours so she can do something special just for herself, be that a trip to the cinema (to see something that isn't produced by Disney Pixar !), a night out with her friends, a probably long overdue visit to the hairdresser's or even just the chance to sit down with a cup of tea and a magazine enjoying the calm for a while!
2. Something she'd never buy herself
Mums are great at putting everyone before themselves so, while they don't bat an eyelid at shelling out far too much on their kids' "must-have" clothes, shoes and gadgets, the chances are, they can never quite justify buying the things that they are secretly hankering after themselves. Whether it is designer shoes, a new handbag, afternoon tea at a posh hotel or a spa day, try to do a bit of detective work and find out what they'd secretly love "if money were no object" then surprise them.
3. Something she had and loved many years ago
OK, so velvet bellbottoms and platform shoes may not be the way to go, but try taking a trip down memory lane (your mum's memories that is) and think of those special things that she often harks back to. Ebay is a great place for uncovering lost treasures and all things retro seem to be hugely popular right now, which makes it slightly easier. I bought some reproduction Jackie annuals a few years ago which were worth a giggle, but you might be able to replace old favourite records or cassettes on CD, or even buy concert tickets for an old heart-throb doing a comeback tour (minus the hair and quite possiby his own teeth by now though !)
4. Bake Mums Day !
You can't beat a homemade cake, however wonky, especially if it's been made with love in the kitchen (which now looks like a bomb's hit it!) by giggling kids and dads behind their mum's back. If you're culinary challenged, try buying shop-bought fairy cakes and just decorating them with ready-to-roll icing cut out with heart-shaped cookie cutters and topped with icing gel pens. (I blogged yesterday about Dr Oetker's book full of easy peasy recipes for mother's day, which can be downloaded for free on their website.) If you've outgrown homemade cakes, order a personalised cake with a special photo or message for your mum.
5. A Pamper Session
If you think your mum would love sitting around in a fluffy robe, sipping champagne while having her feet pedicured, book her a special spa day or even a weekend (you could even go with her). If that's not her thing or your budget won't stretch that far, bring the spa experience to her own bathroom with some luxury beauty products.
Champney's sent me their A Little Something Special gift box that includes an array of pampering treats to leave you feeling at your very best self this Mothering Sunday. It includes:
· Citrus Blush Enlivening Daily Scrub 250ml
· Citrus Blush Enlivening Shower Cream 350ml
· Summer Dream Rewarding Bubble Heaven 500ml
· Citrus Blush Enlivening Body Lotion 350ml
· Summer Dream Rewarding Candle
The products look totally divine - even the names sound indulgent ! - and the presentation box adds an extra touch of luxury. All I need now is five minute's peace to really make the most of them !
Disclosure : I received the gift box as a thank you for taking part in the blogger challenge.
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