Mother's Day: With or Without the Family

Surprise your mum this year with something spectacular for Mother’s Day – after all, she’s deserved it. Here are some of our favourite treats for mothers of all kinds, from brand-new mums to grandmas, from mums who need some hard-won time to themselves to those who prefer a break with the family or a mother-and-daughter pampering package.

But while you’re enjoying yourselves, don’t overlook the fact that 22nd March is also World Water Day, organised by the UN to raise awareness about the global water and sanitation crisis. This your chance to help mothers in the developing world gain access to safe water for their family – either by buying your own mum lunch in a restaurant that supports WaterAid, such as the very child-friendly Banner’s in north London, or by buying a practical gift for a developing-world mother through the wateraid website.

The deals
As usual, Luxury Family Hotels – some of TTF’s favourite destinations – have some special packages lined up. Woolley Grange near Bath and The Elms in Worcestershire are both running Mother’s Day Weekends including pampering for Mum, lunch, dinners with baby-listening, daytime childcare, champagne, and a surprise gift. Even more tempting is the Mother's Day Treat at Moonfleet Manor in Dorset, which starts off with an aromatic bath, fruit platter, champagne cocktail and dinner on the Friday evening, progresses to a facial or massage. cookery masterclass, wine tasting and gourmet dinner the next day, and ends on Sunday with a stroll through the countryside and a family lunch. Find out more about Luxury Family Hotels and get a 10% discount with Take the Family.

In London, Firmdale is running Mother’s Day packages at several of its hotels: the Covent Garden Hotel has a Mamma Mia! promotion including a screening of Mamma Mia! in its own cinema and a 30-minute beauty treatment for Mum; while the Soho Hotel also has a Mamma Mia! screening, plus a bouquet of flowers and a three-course Sunday lunch or champagne afternoon tea. The Charlotte Street Hotel in Fitzrovia offers a Film Club screening, a champagne afternoon tea and a gift for Mum, and in its restaurant a Mother’s Day menu. Lastly, the Haymarket Hotel package includes champagne, afternoon tea, and a back, neck and shoulder massage plus a mini pedicure or manicure for Mum. Most offers include a late check-out. Click here more on Firmdale hotels.

Another TTF favourite, The Athenaeum on London’s Piccadilly has a long-running pampering offer that’s great for mums and daughters, including a scalp massage and blow dry, a light three-course lunch with champagne or a Pink Afternoon Tea in the Garden Room. For more on the Athenaeum, click here.

Or, in Marylebone, try the Landmark Hotel’s ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’ package, with 90-minute ESPA treatments, spa and swimming pool access, lunch, and ESPA gifts. Alternatively, Mum can enjoy a day-spa package by herself. The hotel’s gorgeous Winter Garden is also laying on a champagne brunch for Mother's Day.

Other options are Harrod’s, for a Mother’s Day afternoon tea of sandwiches, pastries, scones and champagne in the Georgian Restaurant, before an afternoon of serious shopping. Or for all the family, The Blue Elephant Thai restaurant in Fulham is offering a Mother’s Day brunch with more than 20 curries, stir-fries, soups, traditional desserts and unusual fruits, plus entertainment and face painting for children, and a gift for Mum. Its Indian sister restaurant in Marylebone, La Porte des Indes, is even more tempting, with a Mother’s Day brunch including live jazz and street food stalls, plus entertainment and face painting. Both restaurants do, in fact, offer lively family brunches every Sunday, without music but including cookery/sugar-spinning demonstrations.
     
Lastly, book kids in at the Cookie Crumbles workshop at the Cookbook Café at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane the day before Mother’s Day – a chef will teach them to make gingerbread men, carrot cake and other goodies for Mum while parents relax over a brunch of charcuterie, waffles, pastries and champagne.