With Mother's Day around the corner, we think all Mummy's deserve some serious recognition and spoiling this year. Of all the years, this past 12 months has been such a juggle for all the mothers out there.
Whether you are a more experienced, worldly mama, who has missed her grandchildren or children so much during lockdown, or are a new and inexperienced mummy who is missing their mother in the new days of becoming a mother herself.
You might, very sadly, have lost your mummy recently or in the past, and this is actually a really hard day to get through as it isn't a day to celebrate but is in fact, a huge wrench thinking about the hole that is left.
Perhaps you are yet to be a mummy and are excited, worried, nervous to cross into that world.
There is no 'one size fits all' for Mother's Day, but if you are looking for gift ideas to celebrate the strong female presence around you then we think we have some really pretty options for you. Sometimes a comforting cuppa in a new mug is all it takes to show your appreciation for everything our mummy's do for us!
We also feel it is really important to look after yourself with a little self care as often as you can, why not use Mother's Day as an excuse to stay in the bath a bit longer or sit down and really enjoy that cup of coffee you normal only drink half of!
We have included our favourite top 5 self care tips below to encourage you to take a few extra moments for yourself, or create some moments for your own Mama this year!
1. Finish your comforting cuppa
If you possibly can, always try to finish the delicious cup of comfort you took your time over to make. I know it can sometimes feel like things won't or can't wait, but for the extra 5 minutes it takes to finish what you lovingly started, it really does make all the difference to restoring you before the next challenge of the day.
2. Lock yourself in the bathroom!
I know this sounds weird but try to carve out some time once a twice a week when you light some candles, run a lovely hot bath using your favourite bubbles and oils and either read or just be in the tub. If a bath isn't for you, why not treat your face to a scrub and mask and lie on your bed for 20 mins and let the goodness soak in! Take some deep breaths in and out, try counting to 4 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale and pause for just a second before taking your next breath.
3. Cook something you love
I aboslutely love pouring over my cookbooks. There is nothing I find more satisfying than leafing through the pages and finding something that makes me really excited to cook. I am not sure I could ever be fully plant based as I simply cannot give up milk in my tea, for me nothing can replace organic semi-skimmed milk in my first brew of the day! However the benefits to eating a diet rich in plants, veggies and whole foods has really proven to suit my system and I have loved exploring this world and feeling the benefits daily.
4. Move your body
This tip isn't for any fad reasons or weight loss, but put simply I literally mean, move your body for 20 minutes a day in a way that you enjoy and can find time in your day to do. So many of us during lockdown have found walking with family, the dogs or my favourite, on my own (!) has been a joy and such a beneficial way of clearing my head and cultivating perspective on how the day is going. For me I love a balance of low impact HIIT, yoga/pilates and walking but I love a blast of running occasionally too. This needs to be what you like doing best so find what that is and allow yourself the time to do it, you will feel so much better if you do!
5. Be honest with yourself
For so many of us we are longing to see family and friends after such a worrying, upsetting and a times frightening year. We have not been able to do what comes naturally to us as pack animals, experience togetherness. However, you might like me, feel quiet reflective on everything that has happened over the last 12 months and you might be thinking that going forward, you want to use your time more wisely, with fewer plans, spreading yourself less thinly, like we all did before the Pandemic and ending in fatigue and burn out. I am so keen to get back out into the world but I don't want to forget the good things that have come from lockdown and want to be honest and authentic going forward, spending my time with who I really want to, doing what I really want to and being more than happy to sit on the sofa with tea, netflix and chocolate! I find writing down feelings and thoughts helps so much to get them out of my head onto paper, where I can think more clearly and reflect on how best to deal with things.
