'Best Mum Ever' - Building Memories for Parents and Kids Every year when mothers' day rolls around, everyone is looking for something sweet, unique and memorable to honour the mothers in their lives and show them how much they are loved. For nurseries, this is a double whammy because you need to think of something new to do with the children to teach them about mothers' day, as well as something cute to send them home with for mum. And sure, there are shop-bought cards and posies you could hand out, but if your students really want to WOW their mums this mothers' day and create core memories for mums and their kids, then here are a few ideas for you to bounce around.

Handmade Gifts

You know the saying, it’s the thought that counts? It really is true, and not in a bad way! Parents love feeling special and being recognised for all their hard work, and being presented with something handmade by a beaming toddler is hard to beat. So why not work some gift-making into the plans for the week? It will fit in right next to messy play!

A few of our favourite handmade gifts you could make in your nursery or preschool include:

Cards, signed by the artists themselves in their best poster paint blobs. You can’t beat a classic. Why not create a unique design based around their handprints, so mum always has something to look back on and see how small their hands really were!

Trinket boxesdecorated in mum’s favourite colour to keep mementoes, jewellery and other special trinkets in. You can buy simple wooden boxes from Hobbycraft and other craft shops, and can be decorated with paint, decoupage and even glitter (if you’re brave)!

Fingerprint Flower Pots complete with a nice fresh daisy inside. Get the children to make butterflies and bugs using finger paints to give it that personalised feeling.

Picture Frames decorated with paint, macaroni and glitter to display mum’s favourite pictures in.

A poem, if the littles are old enough to understand or write, then a sweet little poem attached to a print or trinket is guaranteed to shed a tear.

Decorated teapots with a printed poem and a teabag attached, so mum can have 5 minutes of peace and enjoy the artwork.

Celery stamp flowers. Because who says printing is just for potatoes? Cut up some celery bundles and you’ll find they make the most beautiful flower shapes.
 

Share Some Gift Ideas

Of course, there are other things children can give their mum to show their appreciation, and you’re perfectly placed to help out the dads if they’re struggling for ideas. Why not remind them a few weeks before mothers' day, and send their little one home with a list of ideas for mum? You know, things like:

• A flowerpot and packet of seeds, so she can see your love grow every day.
• Homemade chocolates (made with supervision we hope!)
• Vouchers for her (homemade with options for someone else to do the washing, a takeaway evening, a foot rub, choosing the film on movie night etc)

Fundraising For Your Nursery

Of course, if you can find a way to fundraise for your nursery all while bringing joy to the little ones and their mums, so much the better! Here, you’re aiming specifically at dads and grandparents who want to buy something nice for mum on behalf of the child.

This is where having a range of gift options is really helpful. If you’ve booked a photo day with us in advance, then you can offer framed photographs, canvasses, mugs and more for sale with each child’s images printed on them. You could even have each child create a personalised piece of artwork to go on the gifts. Our ‘Little Artist’ project is a great place to start, or you can look for some low-cost professionally printed it ideas such as our Mothers' Day medals for something less home made, but equally thoughtful.

Finally, what’s the perfect way to sell all these amazing Mothers’ Day gifts? Why not try a secret ‘Mothers’ Day Market’? Lay out all your various gifts on a table or three, then get Dad, Gran or anyone other than Mum  to send the children in with a budget (or accompany them) and choose their personalised gift selection. Bonus points (and funds) if you gift-wrap their purchases too!

At Smiles at School, we love a mum – whether that’s our mums, your mums or students’ mums! They often don’t get the recognition they deserve throughout the year, so we really enjoy helping kids show their mums how much they care. We stock a wide range of gift options, so everyone is bound to find the right thing for them, and you can show your nursery funds some love too! Want to know more? Just get in touch with us today.