Guest Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 My mother is getting a pot of snowdrops we planted for her, and MIL will be getting plants for the garden, while they will both be getting various homemade cards for the children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I don't 'do' Mother's day or any other day dreamed up by business's for commercial gain, therefore my children ignore it. However, when my mum was alive she would have been upset if I had ignored it. So she got a card, nice bunch of spring flowers and her fave chocs, I also moved heaven and earth to drive down and visit her. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 My Mum & MIL are both getting flowers delivered to them. My MIL is a bit odd about Mothers day,Birthdays & the like. She insists on getting a card, which I disapprove of,but I compromise & make sure she gets one without the sort of slushy nasty sentimental poem in it that she always gets us for our birthdays. To me there is nothing more cringe making than a gooey card poem & being told to read it out loud by the sender So she gets a more 'me' type of card with no soppy words & thats that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 To be honest, I think any event can be seen either in the commercial way, or in another way... birthdays, xmas, any day can be turned into a commercial madness, and it often does... Personally, I quite like the intention, the making a moment special for someone or something, ignoring the commercial hype... when my daughters beam when giving me a card full of paper flowers and scribbles, it's the beaming I like... I am their mum every day, not just on mother's day, but I like spending the day playing with them reflecting on what it all means to me... same on birthdays... I like to see those days as little milestones when I take stock of recent achievements and failures, and look forward to the next year and plan it... when DH asks what I want for birthday or mother's day, I usually go for something I'd buy anyway, even if there was no special event to justify it, so I don't really think any business makes more money from us than they would if we didn't celebrate, same with my girls, I'd buy them toys even if we didn't celebrate birthdays... the commercial aspect of all those things are huge, but it's up to people to decide for themselves how to interpret and live those events... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I don't 'do' Mother's day or any other day dreamed up by business's for commercial gain, therefore my children ignore it. History of Mothering Sunday Most Sundays in the year churchgoers in England worship at their nearest parish or 'daughter church'. Centuries ago it was considered important for people to return to their home or 'mother' church once a year. So each year in the middle of Lent, everyone would visit their 'mother' church - the main church or Cathedral of the area. Inevitably the return to the 'mother' church became an occasion for family reunions when children who were working away returned home. (It was quite common in those days for children to leave home for work once they were ten years old.) And most historians think that it was the return to the 'Mother' church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family. As they walked along the country lanes, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift. It wasn't dreamed up by commercialism, it has a much nicer origin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I make my own cards wherever possible and if I have time, I write a little verse tailored for the person. I can't afford to buy my mum ad hoc gifts as we don't have much money but I give her eggs and home made bits and pieces now and again so I like the idea of mother's day, so I can make a little more fuss than usual. I'm also going to enjoy putting their little goodie boxes together. My mum is 76 this year and my dad 81 so every day they're still happy and healthy is a blessing. They've done an awful lot for me and my husband over the years so I like to do something special for them without lining the pockets of 'the man' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 My Mum gets cross if we buy her anything for Mother's Day so she's got a homemade lemon drizzle cake, jar of my lemon curd, some lemon shortbreads I made this morning and a pot of tiny Tete a Tete daffodils which we've taken from our garden all in a basket which I'd had in the cupboard for ages. Homemade card too. She can't complain as I've not bought anything . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I have bought a pair of earrings for my mother in law, because their family is big on presents and I will be buying some kind of plant for my own mum as she really likes gardening now that she's retired. My son has been making stuff at school which he "can't tell me what it is", then later he asked me if I was "looking forward to my sweeties" ?! He is so excited and can't believe that he has to wait till Sunday to give them to me . Such a little poppet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I'll have to remember not to go through the girls' schoolbags tonight as I usually do checking for notes from the school and on what homework there is for the weekend... I love it when they come out carrying something that didn't quite fit in the bookbag (like a 3d collage), trying to hide it behind their backs and saying 'mummy, don't look at me'... and you have to walk all the way to the car, put them and their stuff in, all the time making sure you don't look at the one thing you're not supposed to see, even though it's usually very bright and hard to miss!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 It's lovely isn't it when they try to hide something Even my eldest came home from Guides hiding something from me My youngest was devastated this morning as she had to miss Brownies last night as she is in a dance show, and her friend wispered (very loudly ) that she had missed making mothers day gifts Unfortunately we don't have mothers or in-laws to buy for, and this is the first year I haven't been able to get my Nana something To all mums and MIL's out there, have a lovely day on Sunday Karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Lemon shortbread eh Kate? Is it the regular recipe with just grated lemon rind in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 It's lovely isn't it when they try to hide something Even my eldest came home from Guides hiding something from me My youngest was devastated this morning as she had to miss Brownies last night as she is in a dance show, and her friend wispered (very loudly ) that she had missed making mothers day gifts Unfortunately we don't have mothers or in-laws to buy for, and this is the first year I haven't been able to get my Nana something To all mums and MIL's out there, have a lovely day on Sunday Karen x I'll echo that Karen... Rosie is 'up to something' too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 my mum - nice card and some money as she would prefer money to buy what she wants MIL - planted M & S basket and some organic chocolate truffles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clash City Rocker Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 My Mum would be really upset if I didn't bother, so it's 2 tickets for the "Spring Show @ Malvern 3 counties show ground" plus delivered "Hotel Chocolate". As for the card I've got to agree with "Cinnmon" the first thing to look for when buying a card "This card is Blank inside"!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I've sent my Mum a card made by a friend of mine who does her own cards, and a bookmark (made by a local person) and some chocs from our local gift shop...sounds very "local" doesn't it but its because I didn't realise Mothers Day was this Sunday until the day before yesterday so I've managed to get everything locally instead of traisping into town. Just hope the post gets there in time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Claret my shortbread recipe calls for the grated rind of one lemon. I'm making some later for my Nanna. I'm getting my mum some Anais Anais because it is what she asked for , & my boys are buying me an egg skelter ( well I wrote the cheque to pay for it & the envelope to send it in, & Alexander posted it for me on Wednesday night ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 It wasn't dreamed up by commercialism, it has a much nicer origin! It has however been horribly commercialised We had our youngest child christened on Mothering Sunday which was lovely, it was done as part of the service along with another child and all the children were given a posy of daffodils to give to their mother. I am not a regular church goer but I think it is important to remember the Christian festivals which have been so commercialised that people have forgotten what they are really about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I've made 3 Mothers Day cards, one for my mum, MIL and step MIL. We live at the other end of the UK from them so I will buy them a present when we next visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Lemon shortbread eh Kate? Is it the regular recipe with just grated lemon rind in it? Yes, that's right, Clare. I wish I'd grated the rind of 2 lemons in it now as it's not quite as lemony as I'd have liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfamily Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 DD and DS are each getting me a lilac glug for my new lilac cube My mum's coming round for dinner on Sunday and I've made her some chocolate pistachio fudge and a card :D I find mother's day very commercialised now and I also much prefer to treat my mum to a few things throughout the year :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Lemon shortbread eh Kate? Is it the regular recipe with just grated lemon rind in it? Yes, that's right, Clare. I wish I'd grated the rind of 2 lemons in it now as it's not quite as lemony as I'd have liked. I love the fact that you have taste tested it Kate!! Both mum and MIL are getting flowers - very traditional but they both love them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I love the fact that you have taste tested it Kate!! Quality control is so important, Em . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 never mind tasting it, I'm making a whole test batch. It's in the oven just now. I'm using Delia's recipe http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/home-made-scottish-butter-shortbread,1087,RC.html ...but added a few drops of vanilla extract at the butter stage. I've never made it before so I;ve got a good excuse to test it out first What recipe do you use Kate? Just in case this one's rubbish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 I've always used a simple recipe I got with some ceramic shortbread moulds years ago to make individual biscuits 9oz plain flour 6oz butter 3oz caster sugar (vanilla pods kept in sugar canister make a lovely flavour) additions - rind of an orange/lemon/lavender flowers Rub butter into flour and sugar, knead to make soft dough. Roll out and cut into discs with cookie cutter. Bake for about 12 mins at 180C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 great, thanks. That will be plan B as yours says 12 mins, I'm a bit concerned at Delia's 60-70 mins! However, the oven is on low so wish me luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
