Despite what advertising executives want you to believe, many of us moms don’t need big fancy jewelry or extravagant, expensive gifts. In fact, many of us would be quite pleased with a nice, calm Sunday with a day off from listening to the arguing, doing jobs, and general craziness of modern households.
If you are scrambling for ideas to make Mother’s Day special at home this coming Sunday, here are a few Disney-centric options to show the leading lady in your household a good time.
Put on a Show!
Does Mom have a favorite Disney movie or character? Put those official Disney dress-ups to use and start your rehearsals, because come Sunday, Mom could be sitting in the audience for her very own Broadway-quality musical!
Create a setlist that is appropriate to the ages of your children — in terms of what they can handle remembering — re-enacting scenes and songs from her favorite movie. On the day, make a special seating area complete with her go-to hot or cold beverage of choice, dim the lights, and let the show begin. If your kids (or you dads!) are shy, sing over the top of the movie’s soundtrack for that added boost of confidence.
If you have older kids, trade in the costumes for some fancy makeup and hairstyles to portray your characters. Who knows, your show might even include some of the choreography we learned from the Disney on Broadway Aladdin cast a few weeks ago.
Bonus Magic: The best part comes when Mom enters the kids’ bedrooms an hour later and doesn’t find those beautiful costumes all over the floor. Be sure to clean everything up just as you found it to keep the magic alive!
Have a Cook-Off!
I don’t know about you, but my kids are unexpectedly enjoying Disney+’s Be Our Chef, the family cooking gameshow where themed challenges are set around Disney parks and characters. Take charge and cook up a storm around the Disney theme of her choosing while she sits back and relaxes.
One of my favorite Disney movies is The Princess and the Frog, so that means some gumbo and beignets wouldn’t go astray! Are you paying attention, Wood Kids?
Bonus Magic: The next time Mom steps foot in the kitchen, make sure it doesn’t look like that blender scene from The Game Plan. Anyone can dirty a kitchen; the real love is shown in cleaning it up and making look as good as new before she sees it again.
Create a Family Activity
If your family enjoys doing things together, start a new activity for Mother’s Day. You might like to begin that epic Disney puzzle you’ve been saving or start a Disney+ marathon of Imagineering documentaries.
For the mom that spends all her time looking after everyone else’s needs and activities, it is time to encourage her interests and enjoy them alongside her.
Bonus Magic: If you want to create a completely new family experience, you can find more activities here, including a Build Your Own Attraction challenge and a Design Your Own Restaurant game.
Plan Your Next Disney Trip
Yes, my friends, this will always be among my suggestions for celebrating the Disney fan in your life because truly, there is nothing more exciting than planning your next trip to the parks with the people you love the most. And for us moms, that’s our kiddos and partners.
Start with a trip down memory lane, looking at any photos or videos from previous trips that will spark that tingling feeling. Then, move on to the Disney planning videos that are available online here. The sights, the sounds, the smiles; all of the framework is there to fulfill some of those next-times that you’ve accumulated.
If you make some headway and think you are ready to hit go, contact a Dreams Unlimited Travel agent and start making some solid plans to celebrate your next family adventure.
Go Virtual Shopping
If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to shower Mom with all the things she would never buy for herself as a way of saying thanks-for-not-letting-us-kill-each-other-over-the-last-6-weeks on top of everything else she already does, then why not go virtual shopping?
Let her choose that beautiful new Alex and Ani Bangle or the Dooney & Bourke Bag she has been longing for. Maybe this is the right time to treat her to that Disney dress she has been wanting for years or add to her collection of pins.
No matter what you do, it doesn’t have to be expensive to show her you care. If you are working with a budget, pre-select a few things for her to choose from and show her the options as a family.
Need more gifting inspiration? Check out the end of Monday’s Merch Meeting for more Disney gift ideas that this Mum (in Australia we are mums, not moms) would love!
Whatever your plans end up being, I want to wish you all a safe and enjoyable Mother’s Day. To all the moms, aunts, sisters, grandmothers, and dads that fill the role of a mom; we thank you for everything you do to look after us all.
A special shout-out to anyone that is hurting on Sunday as well. As with all special occasions, they can be confronting for some people, and my thoughts are with you.
Zoë Wood is a travel writer from Sydney, Australia. Since her first visit to Disneyland at the age of 6, she has spent her years frequently visiting Disney Parks and traveling around the world.
Join Zoë as she lets you in on all the tips, tricks, anecdotes, and embarrassments that arise from her family adventures.
