I can't even to begin to count the number of meals my mother has lovingly prepared for me over the years.  From eggs and bacon left untouched because I was late for school to brown bag lunches and delicious family dinners, she always knew exactly what to serve and how to serve it.  At the time, I probably did not appreciate it but looking back, it means so much.  So with Mother's Day around the corner I am really looking forward to being able to prepare a special meal for her! I have few tricks up my sleeve that I hope will bring smiles to faces of my mother and maybe your mother too!

Tip One: Always tackle the guest list first.  The amount of people attending will determine the size of table, amount of place settings and quantity of food servings that you will need.  I love the idea of the entire family getting together but if this can not be the case, why not put together a mother daughter group and invite some friends?  It is always fun to share stories with others and listen and learn from other generations.  Ask your friends to invite their mothers to be honored at your get together as well.

Tip Two: A Mother's Day brunch just sounds so charming and I love preparing food for brunch more than I do for lunch!  I just love breakfast food and most mothers don't take enough time out of their schedule to sit and enjoy a long brunch very often.  It would certainly be a special treat. 

Tip Three: On a Sunday it is best to schedule your event to begin after church services are let out.  I would begin mine around noon and leave a twenty minute time at the beginning to serve iced tea or mimosas before people are seated.  After you ask everyone to take their seats (use place cards to direct people to their chairs) you should remain standing and make a short toast to honor your mother (and all of the other mothers in attendance) and/or the blessing. After people have gotten their food, you could ask everyone to go around the table and talk about what they admire most about their mother.

Tip Four: I like the idea of a buffet brunch so ask people to head to the buffet and fill their plates.  Give them a variety of options that come from old family recipes.  Try to serve your mother's favorites!

Tip Five: Make place cards with your guest's baby photos.  Make a copy of the photo and shrink it down to about two inches or less.  Using your prettiest penmanship and a colorful pen write the guests name on the top line and then follow it below with "daughter of ……" and fill in the mother's name.  Our mothers are such a big part of who we are and isn't that what we are there to celebrate?  Glue the corner of the photo to the corner of the place card and each guest can take it home as a memento.

Tip Six: Take the time to set a beautiful table with a beautiful white tablecloth.  Then gather ribbons in various spring time colors (or your mother's favorite colors) and varying widths from half and inch to three and a half inches.  Lay half of the ribbons in a random order across one side of the table and let the ends hang over the edge then weave the other half thru going the opposite direction.  This will make a beautiful overlay to your clean and crisp white table cloth.  If you like the way it looks you can stitch the ribbons together and use it on other occasions as well.  Set the table with your finest things and place flowers in the middle.  I like to use potted hydrangea or lily of the valley in the spring.  You should paint the terra cotta pots they come in a crisp white color and then tie corresponding ribbons around the edge of them.

Tip Seven:  There are a lot of great songs about mothers out there so get on your itunes and put together a nice mix of music to play through-out your brunch.  If you can't find enough music about motherhood, put all of your mother's favorite songs on one disk that you can play during your party and then give to her afterwards to enjoy at home.

Tip Eight: I know that most mothers cherish the home-made gifts more than the store bought kind so get your creative juices flowing and get started.  I love putting photo albums together for my mother because she never has time to do it herself.  She keeps a lot of her photos in shoeboxes so I sneak one away from her home and put it together in an album that she can place on her shelf and have easy access too.  I also like to make handmade cards for her, just like I did as a child.  I know that she kept everyone I have ever made!

About the Author