14 Ideas to Celebrate Mother's Day This Year

Whether you can be with your mom this Mother's Day or not, here are some ways to make sure Mom feels extra appreciated and special this year.

By Melissa Wickes April 21, 2021

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Go for a Wine Tasting

Wineries are much more than a place to drink wine. You can enjoy appetizers, take in the scenic views, and some will allow kids to run around and play. If you live near Long Island, check out this list of the best family-friendly wineries.

Make Mom a Special Dessert

If Mom has a sweet tooth, surprise her with her favorite dessert. Here's the recipe for about one quart of Van Leeuwen's Roasted Banana Ice Cream excerpted from Van Leeuwen Cookbook:

For the Roasted Bananas:

• 4 medium bananas, preferably somewhat speckled but not brown, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt

For the Roasted Banana Ice Cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 recipe Roasted Bananas (recipe above)

Make the Roasted Bananas:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F; position the rack in the middle. In a bowl, toss the bananas, dark brown sugar, butter, and salt. Spread the ingredients on parchment-lined shallow baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until caramelized. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Make the Roasted Banana Ice Cream:

1. Pour cream and milk into a bowl set over a pot of simmering water (this is acts as a double boiler). Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Whisk in 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and stir until both are dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top.
2. While the dairy mixture warms, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and placing another bowl over it.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks with remaining sugar until combined. Take a splash of the warm dairy mixture and add to the yolks while whisking. Continue to add the dairy mixture, bit by bit, until you’ve added about half of the mixture. This process is call tempering and ensures that the yolks are slowly brought to temperature to avoid cooking or scrambling them. Once tempered, transfer the yolk mixture to the bowl with the remaining dairy mixture in your double boiler. Set the heat to medium to medium-low (you need to monitor to see how your stove works best), and cook the custard, stirring constantly until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold your spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the gap stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
4. Strain custard into the bowl sitting over an ice bath and stir about 3-5 minutes or until the custard has cooled. Transfer custard to a quart-sized container, add the roasted bananas, and using an immersion blender, buzz the custard until fully combined. Cover custard, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
5. Pour custard into an ice cream maker and freeze until the texture resembles soft serve. Transfer ice cream back to its storage container and freeze to harden. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. 

Celebrating Mother's Day if You Can't Be with Mom

Not being with your Mom on a special day like Mother's Day can be difficult, but it's something some of us need to do to keep each other safe. Because of the world we live in, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate virtually even if you can't be with your mom in person. Here are some ideas:

Zoom Celebration

Order the same dinner or cook a meal and then eat together over Zoom for a virtual Mother's Day Celebration. You can even get dressed up to make the occasion feel more exciting and out of the ordinary. 

Make a Special Flower Arrangement

Have flowers and all of the tools needed to make a luxurious arrangement shipped to mom's door so she can participate in Zoom & Bloom, a virtual flower workshop led by a professional.

Write Mom a Letter

An old fashioned, handwritten letter via snail mail never gets old. Take this extra time to tell Mom how you feel about her and thank her for all of the things that she does for you and mail it so she has something exciting to open on Mother's Day.

Drive by Celebration

If you live close enough to drive by or say hello from a safe distance, seeing her kids on Mother's Day at all will surely bring a smile to any mom's face. 

Make a Special Memory Keepsake 

You've had tons of happy memories with Mom and not being with her this year doesn't mean you won't have a lot more in the future. Make Mom a special photo book or scrapbook so she can spend this mother's day reminiscing on the happy times you've had together and look forward to those you will have again when you are able to be together again.