How to choose the perfect Mother’s Day gift

Before we start, I know that actually I should be calling it Mothering Sunday, but it really annoys Fiancé when I call it Mother’s Day, and so now I do it deliberately, just because that’s the sort of annoying, belligerent girlfriend I am.

(Also, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever typed the word belligerent, which is nice, because it’s good to try new things.)

Mother’s Day then. What do you normally buy your mum for Mother’s Day? Now that we’re grown ups we can’t get away with glueing some dry macaroni and glitter to a piece of card and calling it art, so if you’re anything like me, it will be something from this list:

  • A card – one that doesn’t scream ‘I just went to the supermarket this morning and this was all they had’. (A couple of years ago I got my mum a card that said ‘Best Mum in Somerset’, which I think she appreciated.)
  • Chocolates – mid-range, unless you went SUPER FANCY and made the effort to go to Hotel Chocolat. (Get you, trying to make the rest of us look bad.)
  • Flowers – small bunch of.
  • A homemade ‘cheese stew’ – I received this rather than gave it. If you’re intrigued, you can read more about it in this article I wrote recently for Prima Magazine.

Not a very inspiring list is it? (Apart from the cheese stew.) Sorry Mum.

cheese platter

Just getting my ingredients ready to make my Mothers’ Day gift.

This year I have decided* I can do better, with the help of Tesco. In case you didn’t realise it, (which you may not have, because I didn’t), as well as baked beans and stuff, Tesco also sells gift experiences. You know the sort of thing I mean – afternoon teas at beautiful hotels, relaxing spa treatments – treats that your mum is sure to like more than that bunch of petrol station carnations. If your mum is on the adventurous side, they even do things like indoor skydiving, super car driving experiences and bungee jumping. (I can’t really picture my mum tied to the end of a bungee cord, but you never know. Click here for another idea.)

To try and help me choose a gift experience that’s perfect for my mum, the experts at Tesco sent me a little questionnaire to find out more about her and the kind of things she likes to do. I diligently completed it.

  • Likes – Crunchies, knitting, buying excessive amounts of wool
  • Dislikes – bungee jumping, not being allowed to buy anymore wool, going to the fridge and discovering there are no Crunchies left

(That wasn’t really what the questionnaire looked like. They asked me about sensible things like her favourite hobbies and interests.)

She likes spending time with us of course too, but who wouldn’t?

Tesco Mothers' Day

Tesco looked at my answers, and came back with what they thought would be the ideal Mother’s Day gift for my mum. One of the options was a trip on the West Somerset Steam Railway, which I’m sure a lot of mums would really love. Unfortunately my mum’s partner is a steam enthusiast, and so she has been on the West Somerset Railway approximately 3,729 times already, so I’m not sure she’d consider it a ‘treat’ exactly.

We settled on afternoon tea at Moonfleet Manor in Dorset.

There were a few reasons I plumped for Moonfleet Manor, even though it is a little bit of a drive from us. Firstly, have you ever read the book Moonfleet? It’s AMAZING. It’s all about pirates and smugglers and high adventure – jolly exciting. I have wanted to visit Moonfleet ever since reading it, just in case I get the opportunity to solve a mystery, Nancy Drew style. Secondly, we used to live in Weymouth when I was little, which is just nearby, and I know my mum really likes being by the sea. Moonfleet Manor is right on the coast, with amazing views.

And thirdly:

Moonfleet Manor afternoon tea

Well dur!

And this is just part of it! In the full afternoon tea you get finger sandwiches, champagne, pastries – the works.

The best thing of course about a gift experience is that often you get to do it too, which means you get a treat at the same time as looking super generous. ‘Oh Mummy, I bought you this amazing gift! You get to have a cream tea and look at the sea and spend the whole day with ME! You lucky thing!’

If you DO find yourself come Saturday, still desperately racking your brains fro thoughtful Mother’s Day gift ideas, then you can always pop along to one of Tesco’s helpful ‘Inspiration Stations’. The Inspiration Stations are taking place in 300 stores this Saturday, 25th March, in time for the last minute rush for Mother’s Day shopping. There’ll be experts on hand from the Tesco experience team to help you pick a gift for your mum, and I’ll be going along to the Tesco near me in Burnham-on-Sea on Saturday to take a look. (I won’t say what time, because I don’t want to encourage the paparazzi obviously.)

Or you know, just float a few bits of cheese in a bowl of milk. It works for me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

*When I say decided, I mean that Tesco got in touch to see if they could help me choose a good Mother’s Day gift, and so I said yes, as it would mean someone else did the thinking for me. *coughs*

Sponsored post. Cheese image – eugena-klykova/shutterstock

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2 Comments

  1. 23 March, 2017 / 11:10 pm

    Lovely post, cheese stew, not sure I could eat THAT much cheese! I (or rather our little one) has already sorted a lovely surprise gift for her Mothers FIRST Mothers Day this Sunday, I can’t give too much away as I don’t want to ruin the surprise for her! Suffice to say they are in France right now (terrible timing) so hopefully everything is where it ought to be by Sunday!

  2. Jonet Middleton
    23 March, 2017 / 11:35 pm

    Thank you, darling! I shall look forward to it! Xx

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