15 Ways to Celebrate Mother’s Day: Activity and Gift Ideas During Coronavirus

Date published: 2022-4-02

Celebrate Mother’s Day traditions creatively

Since many people aren’t fully vaccinated against coronavirus yet, it’s still a good idea to take precautions while celebrating Mother’s Day this year.

To celebrate the important woman (or women) in your life, we share 10 unique activity ideas.

These suggestions help you spend quality time together whether you’re already living in the same household or at a distance for safety.

And since last year’s Mother’s Day celebrations also happened during the pandemic, you might want to repeat the things that went well and modify or skip the things that weren’t as successful.

We also share 5 thoughtful Mother’s Day gift ideas that will let them know how much you care about and appreciate them.

Note: For those who are fully vaccinated and plan to celebrate together in person, check the CDC’s guidelines for the fully vaccinated just to stay on the safe side.

10 wonderful Mother’s Day activity ideas during coronavirus

1. Share a lovely meal
Even though indoor restaurant dining is still risky, you can still share a special meal with the special woman in your life.

You could order their favorite meal via takeout meal delivery service or if you live with or near them, drop off their favorite homemade dish and maybe some table decor as well.

Then, on Mother’s Day, you could eat together in person if you’re in the same household or eat together virtually via video call or on the telephone together.

2. Say hello from a distance
If you live in the same area, a fun thing to do is to make some big Mother’s Day signs or giant cards and make a festive, but “distanced,” visit to their house.

Stand on their sidewalk, outside their closed window, or in the yard and display your lovely, festive signs. You could call them from your mobile phone to speak with them or simply speak loudly through the window glass.

3. Enjoy nature together
Getting some fresh air feels especially good after a long winter. Sit together on the porch or in front of an open window and just enjoy nature together.

If you’re not in the same household, do this virtually via video call or telephone.

4. Attend a virtual concert or show
Another experience you could enjoy together is to listen to music or attend a virtual concert.

Many musicians, orchestras, and broadway musicals are making shows available online for free.

For a list of virtual live shows, check out our article Coronavirus Virtual Experiences at Home: Animals, Music, Art, World Travel, Museums, Theme Parks.

5. Tour a museum, virtually
Art lovers may enjoy visiting a museum. This year, visit museums around the world and even hop from one museum to another.

Take some of the virtual museum tours we listed in our article Coronavirus Virtual Experiences at Home: Animals, Music, Art, World Travel, Museums, Theme Parks

A good conversation starter is to ask your older adult some open ended questions about what they like best out of what they’ve seen.

6. Relax with casual activities
Another relaxing way to spend time together, virtually or in person, is to watch a favorite movie or TV show. 

Many major TV stations like ABC, NBC, and CBS offer full episodes of their shows for free on their websites and through their apps.

You could also do a jigsaw puzzle, sudoku, or crossword puzzle together. If you’re not in the same household, it doesn’t have to be the same puzzle. The goal is to enjoy an activity together.

7. Watch their favorite sports together
A sports fan would love to have company while they watch an exciting game. 

A fun way to watch a game from the safety of home is to catch a replay of a game. 

Signing in with your cable TV account gives you access to past games available on popular online sites like ESPN.com.

Or, use a subscription site like NBC Sports to watch a wide variety of sports. A subscription to a sports streaming service could also be a great gift for a sports enthusiast!

8. Bake or cook together
If you’re living in the same household, you could bake cookies or cook a favorite dish together. 

Depending on their abilities and interests, they could work side-by-side with you, prep a few simple ingredients, or observe and be your taste tester.

9. Relax with music
Another activity that can be enjoyed in person together or via video call or telephone is to listen to music together.

If you both play the same song, you can listen or even sing along together.

10. Read a book together
Whether in person or on a call, you can read aloud from a book of their choice.

Download a variety of books online free through your local library’s online services, buy Amazon Kindle e-books, or get free e-books from Project Gutenberg.

5 thoughtful Mother’s Day gift ideas

1. Send a heartfelt card or letter
Sending a card or letter with a lovely message is always a thoughtful way to show how much you care and that they’re in your thoughts.

2. Send flowers

Support local flower shops by calling to find out about their Mother’s Day delivery options.

Or, use an online flower delivery service:

• Amazon Fresh Cut Flowers
• Proflowers
• 1-800-Flowers
• FTD

For a fuss-free, low maintenance gift, send some beautiful faux flowers like these.

3. Gift a device that makes video calling easy
It can be tough for a non-tech-savvy person to make or receive video calls.

To make it easier for your older adult to be able to virtually see you more often, consider gifting them with a video calling device and taking care of the setup ahead of time.

Whether or not they have dementia, we share many helpful tips in our article Best Way to Make Video Calls to Seniors with Alzheimer’s or Dementia in Nursing Homes.

These devices do need to be set up to connect to a WiFi network, so if possible, ask someone in their household to help get it set up.

Devices that make video calling easier for seniors include:

• Amazon Echo Show – It’s like an Alexa personal assistant with a video screen. You can also enable a “drop in” feature between two devices that allows you to make video calls without your older adult needing to accept the call. You’ll just appear on the screen and be able to speak with them.
• GrandPad – A simple, secure tablet that’s designed to make it easy to video chat with family and friends.
• ViewClix – A smart picture frame with an auto-answer mode so the older adult doesn’t need to do anything to receive a video call.
• Facebook Portal – It has Alexa built in and a “smart” camera that follows the person if they move around the room.

4. Give gift cards for favorite services

Treat them to a great meal by giving a gift certificate to a restaurant they love (with a delivery service) or to an online store.

Grocery delivery services have been essential for many seniors this past year. A giftcard to a delivery service in their area makes a wonderful gift.

Grocery delivery is available from a variety of stores, including:

• Walmart Grocery
• Instacart
• Shipt
• Safeway

5. Create a custom photo album, calendar, blanket, or puzzle
With a custom photo album, you can showcase special photos or events so your older adult can reminisce anytime.

For people with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you could even create a custom book they’ll love to read by adding simple text to photos or images they enjoy.

• Walmart – from $5
• Walgreens – from $10
• Shutterfly – from $20

Make a custom photo calendar to help your older adult keep track of days, months, and appointments while seeing smiling family faces.

• Walmart – from $7
• Walgreens – from $10
• Shutterfly – from $23

A custom photo blanket will keep your older adult warm and cozy with familiar faces all around. These photo blankets are especially nice for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

• Walmart – from $45
• Shutterfly – from $60

A custom photo puzzle uses a family photo or picture with special meaning to create a fun puzzle your older adult can put together again and again.

• Shutterfly – from $33, variety of photo layouts
• Portrait Puzzles – from $35, comes in a variety of sizes & number of pieces

 

Next Step  Get more gift ideas in the article 50+ Mother’s Day Gifts She’ll Love

 

Recommended for you:

• Best Way to Make Video Calls to Seniors with Alzheimer’s or Dementia in Nursing Homes
• 8 Shelter-in-Place Coronavirus Tips for Senior Care in Your Home
• Nursing Home Lockdown: 6 Ways to Stay Connected with Seniors During a Coronavirus Scare

 

By DailyCaring Editorial Team

 

This article wasn’t sponsored, but does contain affiliate links. We never link to products or services for the sole purpose of making a commission. Recommendations are based on our honest opinions. For more information, see How We Make Money.

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