Music
10 ways to make your mum feel special on Mother’s Day
Your mum is amazing (after all, she gave you life), so you should do something really great for her this year.
Mothering Sunday is coming up on 26 March. Are you ready? Flowers and cards are nice, but there’s a better way to show her how much you care. Take her to “the mother of all events”. What’s that, you ask? Put simply, it’s a fantastic time out that she’ll never forget. Since finding the perfect event can be challenging, we’ve rounded up our top picks for Mothering Sunday below.
1) Take your mum on a trip down memory lane
What could be more fun than a blast to her musical past? Thanks to a variety of incredible tribute bands and shows, you can bring those bygone days back to life by treating her to a night out with The Bootleg Beatles in Chatham, Frankly Sinatra in Bristol, Celebrate Sinatra in Birmingham or Thriller Live – In Concert in London.
2) Take your mum to the theatre
You’ll find plenty of great choices to please mums of all tastes in London’s West End. School of Rock the Musical (shown above), Disney Presents The Lion King and Matilda the Musical are sure to make her grin from ear to ear – and ideal if you’ve got the whole family in tow. Or she’ll crack up at the hilarious staging disasters in The Comedy About a Bank Robbery and The Play That Goes Wrong.
Since many productions are dark on Sunday, you could opt to spoil your mum a day or two early with tickets to the some of the most beloved shows on stage including Mamma Mia!, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. For a complete list of what’s playing in the West End visit our London Theatre Guide.
3) Take your mum to balance her chakras
If your mum is health-conscious and loves fitness, head to Glasgow for the OM Yoga Show. With over 80 open classes and a meditation area, this event will relax and rejuvenate her. Bonus: At Yoga Studio’s Aerial Yoga Class your mum will have the chance to get vertical in a yoga swing!
4) Take your mum out for a laugh
There’s nothing like a night of comedy to lift her spirits. Jimmy Carr (shown above) will have her in stitches on his The Best of, Ultimate, Gold, Greatest Hits tour which stops in Oxford. Other cream-of-the-crop funnymen performing on Mothering Sunday include Omid Djalili in Salford Quays, Al Murray in Inverness, Sean Lock in Leeds and Russell Howard in Nottingham.
5) Take your mum to see some bright lights
Dazzle her with Illuminasia, the world’s largest indoor illuminations experience, at Blackpool Winter Gardens. Blending traditional Chinese lantern crafts with the latest in lighting technology, your mum can gaze upon all sorts of stunning creations including giant models of Tower Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.
6) Take your mum to a gig
Whether it’s a small club or a big arena, nothing beats live music! Give mum the experience of rocking out, singing along with abandon or just clapping enthusiastically at a concert. In London she can hear R&B vocal sensation Craig David (shown above left), rock supergroup Mike + The Mechanics and Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow. Lovely Laura Marling is bringing her folk pop charm to Exeter, while pop-opera four-piece G4 are performing their iconic hits in Eastleigh. Your mum will swoon like a groupie for former Soft Cell star Marc Almond (shown above right) in York, Grammy Award-winning British guitarist Albert Lee in Liverpool or rock metal legends Thunder in Ipswich. She’s also sure to enjoy smooth-sounding legend Billy Ocean in Glasgow, celebrated Indian singer-songwriter AR Rahman in Manchester or solo acoustic singer Jack Savoretti in Sheffield.
7) Take mum behind the scenes of her favourite soap
Spend quality time with her while going on The Emmerdale Studio Experience, an 80-minute guided tour of the beloved show at ITV’s Burley Road Studios in Leeds. Your mum can check out props, costumes and full-scale set reconstructions as well as step behind the bar in The Woolpack pub to snap a keepsake photo.
8) Take your mum to have a barking good time
Does she have a lot of furry, four-legged friends? Your mum won’t want to miss seeing TV animal behaviourist Cesar Millan (shown above), better known as the “Dog Whisperer”, when he rolls in to London on his Once Upon a Dog tour.
9) Take your mum to an otherworldly exhibit
If she’s a bit of a sci-fi geek, then boldly go with your mum to Star Trek: The Exhibition in Blackpool. In addition to viewing over 100 pieces of memorabilia from all the TV series and films, she can sit in the captain’s chair on a replica of the USS Enterprise’s Bridge.
10) Take your mum to see some fancy footwork
She’ll get caught up in the excitement while watching Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole on his All Night Long tour in Edinburgh. Joined by eight world-class dancers and a 14-piece band, it will be a night of pure ballroom magic.
Need more ideas? Check out our Mother’s Day Guide for additional Mothering Sunday weekend events and our go-to gifts.
