Things To Do for Mother's Day

It can be hard to come up with ideas for Mother's Day when you have limited resources or want to complete a simple do-it-yourself project. This list brainstorms some ideas.


If you have an herb garden, it makes a great resource for homemade gifts. If you don't have one, now may be a great time to start one. You don't have to be good with plants just to grow herbs. When you grow herbs and plants that are native to your area, they can be very hardy. Many can grow like weeds and some are weeds with some very useful properties. Work with herbs and ingredients you're already familiar with and find safe or take precautions trying something new especially if you have allergies.

To start it off, here's a nice virtual tour of the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden that you can watch as a family:
https://youtu.be/BtZ0dcUzGX8

If you have Epsom salt around the house and you can safely use it, how about a relaxing foot soak? If you have an herb garden, you can add in herbs such as sage and rosemary.
https://www.healthline.com/health/diy-foot-soak

If you're growing soapwort, you can make your own soapwort shampoo rinse. Add other herbs such as rosemary and sage for dark hair, chamomile for blond or horsetail which is a great source of silicon.
http://gardenspot-natalie.blogspot.com/2014/06/soapwort-and-shampoo-diy.html

Scents can strongly affect mood. Scented herbal gardens are used in therapy. You can make a scented potpourri by dehydrating ground rosemary and citrus peels like orange and/or lemon.
https://www.gardenguides.com/12446836-how-to-make-rosemary-potpourri.html

If you have leftover organic citrus peels, you can make candied peels with a sweetener like honey. Eat them plain or dip them in chocolate for a special treat.
https://perchancetocook.com/2016/06/27/paleo-candied-orange-peels-gf/

Flowers from the garden make a nice present. However, some flowers such as nasturtium, chive blossoms, borage flowers, pansies and violas can do double duty. They make a wonderful addition to a salad or can be used to decorate a dessert. Are you growing any edible flowers in your garden?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/edible-flowers


If your garden's not yet ready to harvest, how about communicating how you feel with song?

Music can be very relaxing and has some health benefits. If you're family has musical talent, you can sing and play favorite tunes together. If not, you can create your own music using your computer and ABC notation.
http://www.distasis.com/recipes/music.htm

There are several wonderful public domain tunes you can play or have your computer play. Here's one that's appropriate for Mother's Day:
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/detail.do?action=detail&fullItemID=/lilly/devincent/LL-SDV-167052


What about downloading an ebook to a computer or mobile device as a present and giving the gift of something interesting to read?

Check out public domain poetry books.
https://books.google.com/books?id=7dUCAAAAYAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&ppis=_e&dq=kitten%27s+garden+of+verses&source=gbs_navlinks_s

See if there are any interesting public domain joke books. Laughter can be the best medicine. Can't find a joke book that appeals to you? Then write your own and give it as a present.


Need more ideas? Think about making some homemade crafts or DIY projects for Mother's Day.

How about creating a homemade recipe book with the recipes you've been using most lately? You can also check for recipes online and see if you come up with any new favorites. There are some interesting public domain recipes books for World War I that have recipes and tips on what to do during food shortages. Also check recipes books with tips on stocking your pantry to deal with prolonged power outages or other restricting situations.
https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/12966.html
http://www.distasis.com/recipes/booklist.htm

Have photos of the family? Put together a new photo album and enjoy looking at it together.

If you don't have flowers in your garden at the moment, how about creating some origami ones?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Origami_flower.svg

You can create homemade cards on your computer or draw them by hand. When you make homemade cards, it's also a great time to practice or learn calligraphy.

One of my favorite projects is creating a game set. Use items around the house or collect cards, dice, etc. and put together your favorite games in a collection. You can also create new games with your family. There are public domain books that describe how to play popular games such as those that use cards or dice. Find out about older games like chess and checkers and there many variants, Chinese checkers, reversi and mancala. Create your own games or favorite variants. You can also play games on paper or create your own game set renditions for games like peg solitaire, tic tac toe, battleship, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peg_solitaire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulls_and_Cows
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_tic-tac-toe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dots_and_Boxes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprouts_(game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangman_(game)


Here's some further background on the origins of Mothers Day and some gift ideas:
https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-mothers-day